Image Optimization for Multilingual Sites: Increasing your Reach and Earning more Money.

SEO is important, but have you considered if your SEO truly represents your audience?

If you want to go the extra mile and ensure that your website serves users from around the world, be sure to check out hreflang tags, natively transcreated content with meta language tags.

You are ready to press the big, green launch button. There is one thing you need to do first. You might have forgotten it. It's important for many websites that want to rank and make people come back again and again. This post is about image SEO for international websites.

It's more than a phrase- it means you're making your voice heard.

Representation is a topic that has gained traction over the last 10 years. Pressure from consumers, who are now better connected to each other than previous generations, make them aware of representation in toys and films which helps bring about change slowly but surely.

Brands and broadcasters have been making mistakes by pandering to the public instead of catering for them. They are not being inclusive enough with their media, but this is slowly changing as communities diversify and society becomes more equal.

And it’s worth noting that representation isn’t limited simply to a visual image, but also extends into research for wording, iconography culture, and colloquialisms. This is especially important when trying to optimize images on international landing pages! So let's take a look at the many factors of international SEO success."

Making sure your photos are perfect

How do you represent your audience in imagery without tokenizing and driving away from the very people you’re trying to reach?

Consider the types of marketing that appeal to you the most;

• Do they employ ‘real' people rather than models and actors?

• Are you able to hear your voice in commercials?

• Is the scenario convincing and genuine, or does it appear forced?

• Is the person dressed as you would expect?

Our culture is vastly different from most other countries. As a brand, we need to be conscious of our differences when it comes to the clothes that people wear in this country compared with others. We must ask ourselves what "real" Americans are wearing and why?

Google Images is a great place to do some research on the tone of voice you should use. However, even that search engine has evolved for more diverse and realistic images.

Iconography and cultural cross-pollination

The Middle East is a place where you should never give the thumbs up. One of the main cultural differences in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, among others, is that giving someone "the thumps-up" essentially means saying: "Up yours!" It's important to understand these sorts of cultural nuances before implementing landing page designs. An SEO might just spend all their hard work obtaining certain keywords only to have them wasted because they've lost one unimportant hand gesture in translation!

Web designers should find the Adobe resource useful, but it is also interesting for SEOs because of its guide to international design and iconography.

Alt tags for multilingual images

Alt tags are essential for search engines and users outside of English-speaking countries, so when I optimize international websites, it is important to add alt tags in the languages that they will be understood. For example: seeing traffic coming from Google Images proves how well this technique works; however, writing them in a language you don't understand does not help sight-impaired people who require alternative methods such as reading text on images through an alternate tag or screen reader software. Frustratingly, this is happening all the time. If I were to rank an image in Japan using only English alt tags it would be crazy!

You want to make sure you're using a tool like Polylang for your site, which allows you to input alt tags in multiple languages on the same image file. This is game-changing because it means that instead of having separate images per language served, they can all share one single source image.

Final thoughts

With SEO being undeniably important, it is always a good idea to check your image and icons with the native of each country that you are optimizing for. If not convinced about having an identical brand across all languages, here's a list of multicultural blunders made by prominent brands!

Digital Piloto is a digital marketing agency in the UK that offers 360-degree solutions for all your online marketing needs. With years of experience, Digital Piloto has become an industry leader by providing SEO, Content writing, PPC management, and SMO services. The professional tone of voice resonates throughout the company's website to help customers feel confident with their purchase decision.