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Google has revised its documentation to announce the inclusion of eight additional languages in its translated results feature. This enhancement expands the capability for publishers to reach a more global audience by automatically translating content into visitors’ native languages.
The Translated Results feature in Google Search automatically translates the title link and meta description of a webpage into the user’s local language. This allows websites originally published in one language to be accessible to users searching in another language. When a user clicks on a translated result link, the webpage itself is also automatically translated.
According to Google’s documentation on this feature:
“Google does not host any translated pages. Opening a page through a translated result is no different from opening the original search result through Google Translate or using Chrome’s in-browser translation. This means that JavaScript on the page is typically supported, along with embedded images and other page features.”
This feature is advantageous for publishers as it enables their websites to reach a broader audience.
Google recently updated its documentation to indicate that this feature is now accessible in eight additional languages.
Users who speak these languages will now automatically have access to a wider variety of websites.
It’s surprising that Google hadn’t already included major languages like Turkish, Arabic, or Korean in its translated results. To understand why there was a delay specifically for Korean, I consulted international SEO expert Christopher Shin (LinkedIn profile).
Christopher explained:
Google faced challenges penetrating the South Korean market due to strong local competitors like Naver and Kakao (formerly Daum). However, the shift began when more students and travelers returned to Korea from abroad, where Google dominates. They started recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of local search portals compared to Google’s global capabilities. Additionally, major South Korean companies like Samsung and Hyundai increasingly focused on global markets, emphasizing Google’s importance in business strategy domestically.
While Naver remains dominant for certain types of searches such as shopping and reviews, Google’s appeal grew for broader information retrieval.
Market prioritization likely delayed the introduction of Translated Google Search Results in Korea. Demographically, Korea’s population is smaller (roughly 52 million) and declining due to low birth rates. Moreover, the complexity of the Korean language posed a challenge, as it includes both Hangeul (modern Korean script) and Hanja (Chinese-origin words), making accurate translation more complex. While Google Translate was used initially, many found Naver’s Papago more effective until recent advancements like ChatGPT offered Google a more competitive edge.
In 2024, publishers have faced numerous challenges, from the introduction of AI Overviews and the 2024 Core Algorithm Update to issues like missing image thumbnails on recipe blogger sites. Amidst these setbacks, one positive development stands out: the opportunity for publisher content to reach an even broader audience through multilingual display.
Original news from SearchEngineJournal
