Multilingual website for SMEs: when it is worthwhile

A multilingual website is worthwhile for small and medium-sized businesses when customers, applicants, or partners search for your services in other languages. For Google to display each language version correctly, Google recommends separate URLs for each language, so-called hreflang tags and no automatic redirect based on location. Translation can now largely be done by machine, but you still need to review it.

bettersorted.de appears in seven languages: German, English, Turkish, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, and French. A noticeable share of clicks now comes from Italy, Spain, and France. The experience gained from this is reflected in this article.

When multiple languages are worthwhile

Customers abroad: You deliver, advise or sell across national borders.
Customers in Germany with a different native language: for example in medical practices, trades or care services.
Attracting skilled workers:Job postings in English or in the languages of your applicants.
Tourism and hospitality:Guests search in their own language.
Visibility in niche markets:In smaller languages, competition for specialist topics is often significantly lower.

A second language is hardly worthwhile if you sell exclusively to German-speaking customers in your region and are not looking for skilled workers either.

What Google recommends

Google summarizes the rules in its guidelines for multilingual websites as follows:

Separate URL for each language, for example /en/ and /it/, instead of switching via cookies or browser settings.
hreflang tags, that tell Google which page is the equivalent in which language.
No automatic redirect based on inferred language or IP address; instead, provide a visible language switch.
Translate entire pages, not just the menu and footer.

Translated URLs

The URL should also be translated: /en/services/ai-consultancy instead of /en/leistungen/ki-beratung. This appears more trustworthy to users and includes the search term in the target language. It is important that the hreflang tags point to the correct translated URLs. This is exactly where bettersorted.de had an error that caused around 1,860 error pages, see SEO case study.

Machine translation: what it can do and where it fails

Modern translation services and language models translate continuous text well enough for a solid first draft. In our experience, they regularly fail at:

Problem	Example from practice
Brand names are translated	Company and product names suddenly appear translated or altered
Technical terms	“Handwerk” was translated into Spanish as “crafts”
Abbreviations	The German “KI” remained in Swedish and Turkish instead of “AI” or “yapay zeka”
Titles and descriptions	Translations are often too long for search results and get cut off

That is why every translation should be checked: titles, addresses, technical terms, and brand names, at least by spot-checking in the body text.

Step by step

Choose languages based on the target audience, not on what is possible.
Choose a system that supports language versions with their own URLs and hreflang.
Translate the most important pages first: homepage, services, contact.
Review translations, shorten titles and descriptions.
Evaluate in Search Console by country whether the language versions are being found.

Multilingualism isAI visibility from bettersorted built in: New posts can be created on request in up to seven languages, with review of technical terms and addresses.

Frequently asked questions

Does machine translation harm Google rankings?

Not in principle. Google evaluates quality for users. However, unreviewed, incorrect translations can be perceived as low quality. A review of titles, technical terms, and brand names is therefore mandatory.

What is hreflang?

hreflang is a code attribute on a page that tells search engines which other language versions exist and at which address. This way, Google shows Spanish users the Spanish version instead of the German one.

Should I automatically redirect visitors to their language?

No. Google advises against this because search engines and users then cannot access all versions. A clearly visible language switch on every page is better.

As of October 2026.