Structured data plays a critical role in helping search engines understand the content of your website, enabling rich results such as featured snippets, knowledge graphs, and more. For multilingual websites, properly implementing and optimizing structured data is essential for improving search visibility across different languages and regions. Structured data ensures that search engines like Google can interpret and display your content accurately for each language version, leading to better rankings and enhanced user experiences.

In this article, we’ll explore best practices for optimizing structured data for multilingual websites, including schema markup implementation, handling language variations, and ensuring your structured data supports your global SEO strategy.

Why Structured Data Matters for Multilingual SEO

Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying its content. It helps search engines understand the relationships between different elements on a page, such as articles, products, reviews, and events. For multilingual websites, structured data is particularly valuable because it:

• Improves Search Engine Understanding: Structured data helps search engines interpret your content correctly, especially when there are multiple language versions of the same page.
• Enables Rich Results: By implementing structured data, your content becomes eligible for rich results like featured snippets, FAQ boxes, and product carousels, enhancing your visibility in search results.
• Supports Local SEO: Local businesses can benefit from structured data by providing localized information like business hours, addresses, and reviews, helping users find relevant information in their language and region.

Key Strategies for Optimizing Structured Data for Multilingual Websites

1. Use Schema Markup for Each Language Version

Schema markup is a type of structured data that helps search engines understand the specific elements on your pages. For multilingual websites, it’s essential to apply schema markup to each language version of your content to ensure that search engines can interpret it correctly in all regions.

Best Practices for Implementing Schema Markup:

• Apply Schema to Each Language Version: Implement schema markup on every language version of your pages. This ensures that search engines understand the content in the appropriate language and can serve it to users in that region.
• Use the Same Structured Data Type Across Languages: Ensure that you use consistent schema types across different language versions. For example, if you’re marking up an article in English with Article schema, use the same Article schema for the French, Spanish, and other language versions.
• Include Language-Specific Properties: Use properties like inLanguage in your schema markup to indicate the language of the content. For example:

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Les meilleures destinations de voyage en 2024", "inLanguage": "fr", "author": "Jane Doe" } </script>

This helps search engines identify the language of the content and serve it to the correct audience.

2. Leverage Hreflang Tags Alongside Structured Data

Hreflang tags are crucial for ensuring that search engines display the correct language and regional version of your content. When used in combination with structured data, hreflang tags help search engines understand which language version to serve while the schema markup provides additional context about the page’s content.

Best Practices for Combining Hreflang and Structured Data:

Use Hreflang Tags for Language and Region: Implement hreflang tags on all language versions of your pages to signal to search engines which region and language each page is targeting. For example:

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://www.example.com/en-us/article" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-fr" href="https://www.example.com/fr-fr/article" />

Ensure Consistency Between Hreflang and Schema: Make sure that the language indicated in your hreflang tags matches the language specified in your structured data’s inLanguage property. This alignment ensures that search engines correctly identify the language and region of your content.

By using hreflang tags and structured data together, you improve search engines’ ability to serve the right content to the right users, enhancing your multilingual SEO efforts.

3. Implement Local Business Schema for Regional SEO

If your multilingual website targets users in specific geographic areas, implementing local business schema can help improve your visibility in local search results. Local business schema allows you to provide detailed information about your business, such as its name, address, phone number, and operating hours, in a structured format that search engines can easily read.

Best Practices for Local Business Schema:

Include Localized Information: Use local business schema to provide region-specific information in each language version of your website. For example:

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "LocalBusiness", "name": "Café du Monde", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "123 Rue de la Paix", "addressLocality": "Paris", "addressCountry": "FR", "postalCode": "75001" }, "telephone": "+33 1 23 45 67 89", "openingHours": "Mo-Sa 08:00-18:00", "inLanguage": "fr" } </script> 

This schema helps search engines understand that your business is located in a specific region and provides the necessary details for users searching in that language.

Adapt Schema for Each Region: Ensure that the local business schema for each region reflects the correct address, contact information, and business hours relevant to that specific location.

4. Optimize Product and Review Schema for E-Commerce Sites

For multilingual e-commerce websites, implementing product and review schema is essential for improving visibility in search results. Product schema allows you to provide detailed information about your products, such as price, availability, and reviews, while review schema enhances your product listings by displaying star ratings and customer feedback.

Best Practices for Product and Review Schema:

Implement Product Schema for All Language Versions: Apply product schema to each language version of your product pages to ensure that search engines display accurate product information in search results.

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Product", "name": "Chaussures de course", "inLanguage": "fr", "image": "https://www.example.com/images/chaussures.jpg", "description": "Chaussures de course légères pour femmes", "sku": "12345", "brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "Adidas" }, "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "price": "79.99", "priceCurrency": "EUR", "availability": "http://schema.org/InStock" } } </script>

Add Review Schema for Customer Feedback: Use review schema to display customer reviews and ratings in search results. This can increase click-through rates by making your listings stand out. Ensure that reviews are localized for each language version.

Provide Currency Information: For e-commerce sites targeting multiple regions, include the correct currency information in your product schema to avoid confusion for users in different countries.

By implementing product and review schema, you can improve the visibility of your e-commerce products in search results and attract more users from different regions.

5. Monitor Structured Data with Google’s Rich Results Test

After implementing structured data on your multilingual website, it’s essential to monitor it to ensure that it’s working correctly and providing the intended rich results. Google’s Rich Results Test tool allows you to test your structured data and verify whether it’s eligible for rich results.

Best Practices for Monitoring Structured Data:

• Test Each Language Version: Run the Rich Results Test on each language version of your pages to ensure that the structured data is implemented correctly and that it’s eligible for rich results in search results.
• Fix Errors Promptly: If the test identifies any errors or warnings in your structured data, fix them as soon as possible to ensure that your content remains eligible for rich results.
• Monitor Regularly: Periodically run the Rich Results Test as you update your website to ensure that any changes to your content or structured data do not negatively impact your rich results eligibility.

Using Google’s Rich Results Test ensures that your structured data is working as intended and helps you maintain high visibility in search results.

Case Study: Boosting Visibility with Structured Data on a Multilingual Travel Website

A global travel website with content in English, French, and Spanish wanted to improve its search visibility and attract more traffic from rich results. The company implemented structured data across all language versions of its site, including schema for articles, local businesses, and reviews.

Key Actions Taken:

• Applied Article Schema: The company used article schema for travel guides and blog posts in all language versions. This allowed search engines to display featured snippets and rich results for travel-related queries in multiple languages.
• Localized Review Schema: The company added review schema to its hotel and tour listings, displaying customer ratings and reviews in search results. The schema was localized for each language version, ensuring that users saw reviews in their preferred language.
• Implemented Local Business Schema: The company used local business schema for its regional offices, providing localized contact information and business hours for users in different countries.

As a result of these optimizations, the website saw a 20% increase in organic traffic from rich results, with improved visibility in search results across all target regions.

Conclusion

Optimizing structured data for multilingual websites is essential for improving search engine visibility and enabling rich results across different languages and regions. By implementing schema markup for each language version, using hreflang tags in combination with structured data, and optimizing for local business and product listings, you can enhance your site’s performance in global search results.

For businesses looking to expand their global reach, Web Zodiac’s SEO Services offer expert solutions for structured data optimization, including white-label SEO services and enterprise SEO services. By following these best practices, you can ensure that your multilingual website delivers the best possible search experience and ranks well in all target markets.