Serving customers in Europe and China sounds simple, translate your site, publish content and hope that Google and Baidu understand what you meant. In reality, multilingual SEO is often where SMEs create duplicate content, broken slugs and tangled hreflang tags that nobody dares to touch later. In this article I share a structure that I use with clients who need English, European languages and Chinese, without turning their site into a fragile experiment.

Start with structure, one domain and clean folders

Before you think about plugins, you need a language structure that humans and search engines can understand. For most SMEs a single primary domain with language folders is the simplest and most flexible model.

  • /en/ English for Europe and international default.
  • /sv/ Swedish for Sweden and nearby markets that accept Swedish content.
  • /de/ German for Germany, Austria and German speaking Switzerland.
  • /zh/ Simplified Chinese for Mainland China and Chinese readers elsewhere.

Keep slugs consistent across languages whenever you can. In other words, use /en/wechat-setup/, /sv/wechat-setup/, /de/wechat-setup/ instead of four different translations of the slug. This keeps your analytics cleaner and makes maintenance easier, and it avoids a jungle of redirects if you ever rename things.

Simple rule: One domain, one clear folder per language and as few variations of the same slug as possible.

Set hreflang correctly so pages help each other

Hreflang tells Google which version of a page is meant for which language and region. Done right it stops translations from competing against each other in the search results and gives local users the correct version.

  • en, English as the default and fallback for Europe where you do not have a local language yet.
  • sv-SE, Swedish content targeted at Sweden.
  • de-DE, German content targeted at Germany.
  • zh-CN, Simplified Chinese content targeted at Mainland China.

On each page you list all versions, including itself, and point them to each other. This can be done via tags in the head section, via a plugin or via your template system, as long as it stays in sync with your language structure.

Checklist for hreflang implementation

  • Every language variant of a page should reference all the other variants.
  • Use language region codes only where it really matters, for example sv-SE, de-DE.
  • Use canonical tags that point to the page itself, not to another language.
  • Test a few important URLs in Google Search Console to confirm that Google sees the cluster.

Slug and URL strategy that will not break later

Slugs are easy to ignore until you need to rename something, then you discover that half your internal links and marketing campaigns were hard coded. A small set of slug rules makes life much easier over time.

  • Use short, descriptive slugs that work in English first, product or service words, not slogans.
  • Do not translate slugs without a clear reason, and if you do, create proper 301 redirects.
  • Avoid dates in slugs unless the content is time sensitive and will not be updated.
  • Keep characters lowercase and avoid spaces or special characters that create encoding problems.

Translation workflow that fits a small team

Most multilingual SEO problems come from messy content operations, not from technical SEO. You do not need a huge team, but you do need a simple workflow that everyone respects.

  • Step 1, define a base language: For many SMEs this is English. All new content starts here with clear intent, target keyword and call to action.
  • Step 2, document a glossary: Product names, category names, brand phrases and industry terms should live in a simple shared glossary so translations stay consistent across pages and channels.
  • Step 3, pick translation priority: Not every blog post has to exist in every language. Translate high intent and high traffic pages first, such as product pages, pricing and pillar articles.
  • Step 4, keep one source of truth: Use a spreadsheet or a light translation management tool where each row is a page, and each column is language, URL, status and owner.
  • Step 5, review with native speakers: Ask native speakers to review at least your highest value pages, more for clarity and tone than for literal word by word translation.

CMS and plugin choices that stay under control

Whether you run WordPress, a headless setup or something else, the core idea is the same, keep language versions structured and avoid automatic duplication that you cannot easily edit.

  • Prefer language folders over completely separate domains unless you have a strong legal or branding reason.
  • Use one main multilingual plugin or framework instead of stacking several partially overlapping tools.
  • Make sure translators only see what they need, language specific content fields and media, not theme files.
  • Set clear rules for who is allowed to create new languages and who is allowed to change URL structure.

China SEO is not the same as Google SEO

When you add a Chinese version your mental model has to shift a bit. Baidu and other Chinese search engines prefer a slightly different technical setup and content pattern compared to Google.

  • Technical side: Static HTML or at least server rendered pages tend to perform better than heavy single page apps.
  • Speed inside China: Use hosting or CDN nodes that work well in Mainland China so Chinese users do not wait forever for each page.
  • Language consistency: Keep Chinese content fully in Chinese, avoid mixing long English paragraphs on core Chinese pages.
  • Local signals: Backlinks and mentions from Chinese platforms, such as WeChat articles or industry sites, play an important role in discovery.

Common multilingual SEO mistakes SMEs make

  • Launching a new language without a clear structure, then trying to restructure everything one year later.
  • Translating slugs without planning redirects, which quietly breaks old links and existing SEO value.
  • Relying one hundred percent on machine translation on sales pages and product pages where nuance matters.
  • Skipping hreflang altogether because it looks complex, which leaves Google to guess which version to show where.
  • Mixing several languages on the same page, such as German content mixed with English headings and metadata.

Simple multilingual SEO checklist

  • Decide on domain model and language folders before you add any translations.
  • Standardise slugs and document which URLs exist in which languages.
  • Implement hreflang for your main language clusters and test them in Search Console.
  • Put a basic content workflow in place, with a base language, glossary and translation priorities.
  • Make sure technical performance is acceptable in all target regions, especially inside China.
  • Review at least your most important pages with native speakers and update regularly instead of treating translations as fire and forget.

Multilingual SEO FAQ

Do I need separate domains for each country?

In most SME cases, no. A single domain with language folders is easier to maintain, easier to track and often performs very well. Separate country domains can make sense for very large brands or when there are legal reasons, but they also multiply your SEO work.

Should I translate every blog post into every language?

Not necessarily. Focus on translating content that drives leads, sales or important awareness. Keep some lighter blog posts only in your base language if the effort to translate them would not pay off. It is better to have fewer languages done well than many languages done in a rush.

Is machine translation enough for SEO?

Machine translation can be a good first draft, especially for low risk content, but for high intent pages you should always have a human review. Search engines are getting better at understanding quality and users leave quickly when content feels off, which hurts engagement signals and long term performance.

How often should I update translated content?

Each time you make a meaningful change to the base language version you should at least note it in your content spreadsheet and plan an update for translated versions. You do not have to sync them daily, but avoid a situation where the English page is current while the German and Chinese pages are two years behind.

Closing thoughts

Multilingual SEO does not have to be a mystery that only your agency understands. With a clear structure, simple hreflang rules and a realistic translation workflow, even a small team can serve several languages including Chinese without drowning in technical debt. If you want help designing a clean multilingual setup for Europe and China or want a second opinion on your current structure, I am happy to share templates and example setups that have worked well for other SMEs.

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