Looking for Tips Regarding Bilingual or Multi-lingual GBP Optimization

[cferg33]

Hello local search friends - I have had a question posed to me regarding the "best practices" of optimizing GBP for multiple languages. I skimmed through some past conversations on here and I feel like I really didn't get much insight. So, I am asking for advice/opening the discussion for anyone else to weigh in.

The only actionable thing I could do based on advice already on the forum is create *another* listing in a different language. Then we run the risk of getting flagged as a duplicate business and IDK about all that.

The particular business in question is just looking to highlight English and Spanish on their profile at this time - but I have other clients that speak 10+ languages.

If you've made it this far: thanks - and I hope to hear your thoughts!

 

[JS Girard]

I've written a whole series on this. My conclusion is that this leads to middling results in all languages. It's 100% better to pick one language and stick to it. Also managing multilingual business names is a complete nightmare.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

I've written a whole series on this. My conclusion is that this leads to middling results in all languages. It's 100% better to pick one language and stick to it. Also managing multilingual business names is a complete nightmare.

Hi Jean-Sébastien, is your series published anywhere? Would really like to read them. We are getting ready to launch a bilingual website for a client in a city with population with roughly 50% being Spanish speaking. I saw @cferg33's post and was hoping someone would reply regarding GBPs. Thanks!

 

[JS Girard]

My series is in French and focussed more specifically on the context of Quebec. The shortest description is that it's impossible to have the entire profile switch between two languages.

The longer list of issues:

• You cannot access foreign language names (i.e. those not of the area you're in) even if your Google is set for that language.
  • At least in Quebec, I can NOT change the English name from within the GBP dashboard, this is important because that name does not necessarily change when I change the French name!
• Only text that you cannot modify (e.g. attributes, categories, predefined services, hours) are translated by Google.
• Those translations are NOT always very good (the French translation for the plumbing service "sewer repair" means "sewing machine repair")
  • If you're not in the US, you have to contend with US-centric services in e.g. lawyers and especially for the notary category. Not a problem for you, I suspect, but in Quebec? Very much so.
• Google does Weird Things with category names not yet available in your non-English language.
• Localization of translation within the language (i.e. European French vs. Quebec French) varies from inconsistent to middling
  • I've run into instances where the knowledge panel gives the European French name for a category, while on Google Maps or the Finder it shows the Canadian French one!
• Your descriptive text (i.e. for products, posts, business description, services etc.) are still character-limited, but they must now cover two languages.
• If you use the minisite, there is no name translation, and the tagline is also character-limited.
• Some services get auto-translated, others stay as is, so you will always have an awkward mixture of English and whatever other language(s).
• Oddly enough, some categories do not have the language module. Most home, legal and health services do, but strangely enough not medical spas...

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

@JS Girard Thanks, this is great info, much appreciated that you shared it!

 

[Brian - TGL]

I've written a whole series on this. My conclusion is that this leads to middling results in all languages. It's 100% better to pick one language and stick to it. Also managing multilingual business names is a complete nightmare.

For service-based businesses . . . any thoughts on creating some posts specifically advertising the services in the other languages the staff speak and setting the CTA button to call to set up an estimate appointment (these are owner-operated businesses)?

Leaving the GBP as English language but having some content that could be relevant to the alternate languages within the posts?

 

[JS Girard]

For service-based businesses . . . any thoughts on creating some posts specifically advertising the services in the other languages the staff speak and setting the CTA button to call to set up an estimate appointment (these are owner-operated businesses)?

Leaving the GBP as English language but having some content that could be relevant to the alternate languages within the posts?

That's certainly a reasonable approach (might even lead to post justifications in the secondary language? Would be interesting, I've never seen one in the wild in Quebec myself). Having multilingual content on the chosen landing page and leveraging the new languages spoken attributes (these attributes were not available in Quebec at the time I wrote my articles) should be part of such a strategy.