Translate & Adapt URL HANDLE problems. SEO impact ?

[juan3211]

Hi, we have being using Transalte & Adapt app to translate all our shopify store, from english to spanish.

But we think that there is something that shopify hasn't solve yet.

URL HANDLE keeps the same, only add "/es/" to it, but it goes on same product handle or even worse "collections" instead of "collections".

Could our SEO be impacted negatively because of the "same URL" is in both spanish and english ? (only the change of "/es/")

Please help.

Thanks.

[richbrown_staff]

Hi @juan3211 good question but no it is actually a positive impact. This has been a key consideration in the domains strategy of Markets.

[juan3211]

Our marketing partner has told us that it is a negative impact because we have a webpage in Spanish with a URL in english. I am not an expert in SEO, but now, with your answer, I have two different conclusions. Why do you think that it is a positive impact? For me, our partner answer has more sense: spanish with url in english is not consistent.

Hope your answer explained, please.

[richbrown_staff]

Hi there, I think there are two parts to the question here:

1. Does having two URLs that are the same, except for a subfolder (/es/), create duplicate URLs and an SEO risk?

2. Can URLs be translated on Shopify? E.g. example.com/products/red-chair in English and example.com/productos/silla-roja in Spanish?

The answer to 1 is no it is not seen by search engines as duplicate content. The way subfolders are created with Shopify Markets is SEO best practice, and has an SEO benefit (versus if, for example, you had the same URL but just the ability to switch language on the page). We know it has a positive impact via internal data.

The answer to 2 is: this is not currently possible unfortunately. It is under consideration in 2024. We agree that a Spanish URL in English is not consistent. However the benefit, once it is possible, will be more that it looks better than it indexes better.

Thanks, Rich

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UPDATE: URL translation is entering beta in April 2023. If you would like your store to be involved, please send the details on this form: https://forms.gle/foUpkQTohrHMcubY8 

[PeanutButter]

hi @richbrown_staff good to know that this is in consideration for 2024.  It is the first concise info I have read from Shopify. 

You say that translating handle would not have a big impact in SEO, E.g. example.com/products/red-chair being able to translate it to example.com/productos/silla-roja would not improve seo for searches of the spanish term "Silla roja"?

All SEO agencies of our Plus clients are recommending using expansion stores vs. markets for not being able to translate URL handle in markets and would like to be able to refute this.  Any info or studies that prove your point?

thanks

[juan3211]

I agree with you.

I t has a DEEP impact

Shopify, are you going to solve this soon?  I must decide to migrate or not our shops. Thanks

[PeanutButter]

Actually I do not agree with many SEO experts in this... 

This is a quick research I just did:

https://www.seroundtable.com/google-words-url-very-light-weight-factor-31081.html

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/technical-seo/url-structure/#close

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ranking-factors/urls/#close

Looks like Google says URLs are a very light ranking factor.

Also, another point, Amazon does not translate a lot of terms in URLs, at least in amazon.es and still ranks super well. Following toy has the english name (Paw Patrol) in URL but still shows up first in google searching for the spanish term (Patrulla Canina)

 

[PeanutButter]

A Shopify's Markets product manager has answered about this on Shopify's Slack channel.  She said:

"this is on our roadmap and we are targeting Q3/Q4."

[Sirtaki]

Was she referring to Q3/Q4 2023 or Q3/Q4 2024? This would be super useful for us too as we have the same problem to solve (asked so many times to Shopify support but never received any consistent answer).

I personally think that by using the same handle not translated in all the markets is not going to deeply affect the SEO, so I agree with the articles previously shared. But at the same time I do not understand why it shouldn't be possible to have such a feature available. Even if it might affect let's say for only 5%, this wouldn't be a good scenario since the SEO has meant lots of efforts during the last couple of years.

[richbrown_staff]

Hi folks, it's coming very soon. I'll update here.

[Attrexx]

Great news. Subbed to topic.

[metrop]

yeh, but Amazon have 10 million links..... so you can not compare.

[richbrown_staff]

If you are interested in a beta for translating product URLs please share your store here or in a DM to me.

[afriis]

Very interested in beta testing - how can I DM you?

[victoriaz]

Hello, I'd like to try this as well, how can I get in touch ? THanks

[richbrown_staff]

@afriis @victoriaz @Scoch It might be that you don't yet have direct messaging enabled as you're new to the forum. More context here.

Please send the details on this form instead: https://forms.gle/foUpkQTohrHMcubY8 

[Scoch]

Hi @richbrown_staff,
I saw that the beta function of the translation of SEO handles had been activated in my store.
Is there a form in which to send comments?

Thanks

[richbrown_staff]

Hey @Scoch , drop me a DM if you have DM turned on (it needs a certain number of posts). If not reply here; it would be great to talk through with you, thanks Rich

[davidhoang]

Hi @richbrown_staff ,

A client of mine has product handle translation in his Translate & Adapt. How can we get the translated handles? I searched the latest translation API but could not find anything helpful.

[richbrown_staff]

Hi @davidhoang , it's only available via Translate & Adapt at the moment. API availability coming at the next release (assume October, though it might be earlier)

[Scoch]

I'm interested in the beta test, too. How can I send you a DM?

[Adamzuo]

Our practice tells you that this is ridiculous. You better focus on a single market. At present, all translation apps are waste money.
I personally think that Shopify can improve their work, but I do n’t know why they have not done better. The sub-url settings can undoubtedly absorb the juice of the parent domain, but the premise is that you must make verything perfect. Even if Google does not judge that as repeat content, but is not enough for you to repeat the page. If you want Google to give you a higher ranking, then you must be authoritative, otherwise it is useless, as if you claim to be a first-class product and service, but no one sees you and uses it, then all your work is nothing.

[SEOProStaff]

Hi @juan3211 ,

It's great that you're optimizing your Shopify store for multiple languages! Regarding your concern, having "/es/" for Spanish URLs is a common practice and generally not harmful to SEO. It helps Google understand your website structure and serve the correct language version to users.

SEOPro can further enhance your multilingual SEO efforts. While it doesn't directly address URL translation, it helps identify and fix SEO issues across your site, ensuring that each version of your site is optimized for search engines. This includes optimizing meta titles, descriptions, and ensuring your content is fully accessible to search engines, potentially mitigating any negative impacts from URL structures.

Full disclosure: We are the developer of this app.

[SEOProStaff]

Hi @juan3211 ,

Utilizing the Translate & Adapt app for your Shopify store's translations, including URL adjustments, is a great approach for reaching a wider audience. Regarding SEO, the practice of adding "/es/" to signify language variations is aligned with Google's recommended practices for multilingual websites, which helps in maintaining the clarity of your site's structure without negatively impacting your SEO. It's important, however, to ensure each page's content is fully translated, including meta titles and descriptions, for the best SEO performance.

In this context, SEOPro could significantly assist in optimizing your store's SEO for different languages. SEOPro can help audit and fix SEO issues across your multilingual site, ensuring that meta tags, titles, and descriptions are appropriately optimized for each language version of your store. This level of optimization can enhance your visibility across various regions and search engines.

Full disclosure: We are the developer of this app.