English-Spanish Bilingual Website: How to Do It Right for Google
Written by the Dizayn team
The short answer
A bilingual site Google understands has one URL per language, the content actually translated on each, and hreflang tags connecting each page to its other-language version. An automatic translation button meets none of the three.
What Google says
From Google's guide to multilingual sites:
- "Google uses the visible content of your page to determine its language." The visible text decides the language, not the lang attribute or the URL.
- Different URLs for each language. Don't switch language with cookies or browser settings.
- Don't automatically redirect from one language to another based on browser or location.
- Use hreflang so results lead to the right version.
- Don't translate only the surroundings (menu, footer) while leaving the content in one language: it's a poor experience.
Which structure to use
| Option | Example | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Subfolder | yourbusiness.com/es/ | Most small businesses: one domain, one place to manage |
| Subdomain | es.yourbusiness.com | When a different team runs each language |
| Separate domain | yourbusiness.es | When each language is really another country and another business |
How to connect both versions
Each page declares the list of its versions in its code (in the head), for example:
| hreflang | URL |
|---|---|
| en | yourbusiness.com/services |
| es | yourbusiness.com/es/servicios |
| x-default | yourbusiness.com/services |
Three rules that often get broken:
- Both pages must point to each other. If the English page lists the Spanish one but the Spanish page doesn't list the English one, Google ignores the relationship.
- Each page lists itself too.
- x-default marks the version for anyone who doesn't match a listed language.
The same goes for the sitemap if you put hreflang there: the same pairs, in both directions.
What we learned on our own site
Dizayn has Spanish and English versions, for Mexico and for the US. In an audit we found the English pages declared lang="es" in their HTML, because the whole site shared one template. We fixed it by splitting the templates by language and added x-default to every page. Google decides language from content, but screen readers, browser translators and other systems do read that attribute, so it's worth getting right.
Translate well
- Translate for your customer, not word for word. Spanish titles, buttons and FAQs should sound like people talk, not like a dictionary.
- Check the searches in each language. A Spanish page title should use the words people type in Spanish, not a literal translation of the English title.
- Translate what converts too: forms, error messages, confirmation emails and the WhatsApp or phone button text.
- Dates, prices and phone numbers in the format your customer expects.
Common mistakes
- A language switcher that changes the text without changing the URL.
- Redirecting every US visitor to the English version.
- Spanish pages that aren't in the menu or the sitemap.
- hreflang in one direction only, or pointing to pages that redirect or error.
If your customers search in Spanish, also see the local SEO for Hispanic-owned businesses guide. And if you want us to build it, see our web design for US businesses service or get in touch.
FAQ
- Does an automatic translation plugin or widget work?
- For Google, almost never. If the translation is generated in the browser, Google sees the page in its original language. And Google recommends different URLs per language, not switching language with cookies or browser settings.
- What is hreflang?
- A tag that tells Google two pages are the same page in different languages, so it shows the Spanish version to people searching in Spanish and the English one to people searching in English.
- Subfolder, subdomain or separate domain?
- For most small businesses, a subfolder (/es/ or /en/) on the same domain is simplest: everything adds up to one domain and is managed in one place.
- Do I have to translate the whole site?
- Not necessarily. It's better to translate the pages that matter (home, services, contact) well than to translate the whole site badly. What you should avoid is translating only the menu and leaving the content in one language.
- How much does a bilingual site cost with Dizayn?
- Our sites for US businesses run $3,000 to $15,000 USD per project, and we build them bilingual from the start. Managed hosting is included.