Localisation 6 August 2026
Search Engine Marketing: The Language of Visibility in Localisation
If the page you have translated cannot be found when people search for it, it is invisible. We examine the place of search engine marketing in localisation, keyword localisation and the techniques that work.
You can translate a page flawlessly, and yet if users cannot find it when they search, that page is invisible. The layer of visibility that decides the commercial value of localisation is called search engine marketing. This field sets out to optimise texts so that they rise up the search rankings; its goals are to increase visitor traffic, attract more customers and raise an organisation’s standing. Translation delivers a business result only when it reaches the right people.
Contents
This article looks at what search engine marketing is, how it relates to search engine optimisation, why keywords cannot be translated directly, which tags matter and which techniques are effective. Our aim is to show that visibility, too, is a localisation job.
What is search engine marketing?
Search engine marketing is the whole body of work directed at improving a website’s position in search results. Search engine optimisation, the work that lifts content up the rankings, is one part of that whole. The aim is to increase the visibility that draws users to the site. In a localisation context this calls not only for texts to be translated correctly, but for them to be positioned around the search habits of the target market.
The work combines linguistic knowledge with marketing expertise. Understanding how users behave linguistically in their search queries, reproducing keywords rather than translating them, and writing effective copy in the target language are the core skills of this field. Whether an organisation exists at all in a new market often depends on this visibility work. An invisible site delivers no commercial return, however well it has been translated.
Visibility work is also part of the post-delivery stage. Once a product or a site has been localised and put live, the promotional material has to be adapted and the content positioned correctly in the target market. For the web this is known as search engine marketing; for apps, as app store optimisation. Both have the same purpose: to bring content together with the user who is looking for it. Only with this final step does localisation acquire its commercial value.
Why are keywords not translated?
The most basic principle in this field is that keywords cannot be translated word for word. A term may be searched for heavily in the source language, yet its literal translation may be a phrase nobody in the target language uses. The localiser therefore has to build an independent keyword list for the target market before starting to translate. That list rests on the words people actually search with.
This work requires a comparative analysis across languages. The same concept may be searched for with different terms in different markets; a single term in one language may even correspond to several different expressions in another. Localising a keyword instead of translating it means taking these differences into account. It also connects directly with multilingual SEO, where we look in more detail at why multilingual visibility is a specialism of its own.
Visibility work therefore begins before translation. The recommendation is that the localiser prepare an independent keyword list for the target market before sitting down to translate the text. That list also sets the direction of the translation: which terms will be woven into the copy and which expressions will be brought to the fore both follow from it. Keywords added afterwards look artificially tacked on to the text. Visibility planned in advance settles into the natural flow of the writing.
Technical and linguistic dimensions
Visibility work rests on two legs: the technical and the linguistic. The technical dimension covers matters such as the architecture of the site, its coding, the absence of dead links and site security. User experience occupies an important place on this side as well; a slow or insecure site loses users however well it has been optimised. The technical infrastructure is the silent foundation of visibility.
The linguistic dimension concerns adapting the text to the target market. Keywords, titles and descriptions are rebuilt around the search behaviour of the target language. This usually calls for collaboration with local language specialists and local marketing teams. The two legs complete one another: without the technical side the content cannot be found, and without the linguistic work it draws no interest even when it is.
The person who brings these two legs together usually goes beyond the traditional definition of a translator. A web localiser is expected to have a command of text types, to write effective online copy and to carry out visibility work. That means language skill and marketing insight meeting in the same person, or in a team working closely together. Visibility is not a purely technical operation but a craft that requires understanding how the target user thinks and searches.
Which tags matter?
Some elements are more critical than others where visibility is concerned. These are the elements that form the first impression search engines and users get of a page. The most important are the following:
- The page title: the first text shown in search results, and the one that decides the click.
- The description: the short text that appears beneath the title and sums the page up.
- Heading tags: the headings that show the structure of the content and its priority topics.
- Alternative text for images: for accessibility and for visibility in image search alike.
Each of these elements serves a different function in search results. The title is the first impression that decides whether the user clicks; it should be short and striking. The description sums up what the page promises and encourages the click. Heading tags show the skeleton of the content. Alternative text plays a part in image search and in accessibility alike. These elements build a page’s visibility not one by one but as a whole.
None of these elements is translated; they are localised. The table below summarises the difference between translation and localisation in this context; the key difference is staying faithful not to the source but to the search language of the target user.
| Element | Translation only | Localisation |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword | Literal transfer | Built on local search behaviour |
| Title | Word for word | Effective and clickable |
| Description | A copy of the source | Shaped for the target user |
Visibility in images and video
Visibility is not confined to pages of text. Image and video searches are an important source of traffic too. If a page contains images or video, their titles, descriptions and alternative texts have to be optimised for the target market as well. Carried out before upload, this optimisation is what lets the content be found in image search too.
Alternative text has a double function here. It allows visually impaired users to understand the content, and it helps search engines recognise the image. Writing alternative text with care is therefore valuable for accessibility and for visibility alike. Alternative text that defines the function of an image clearly serves both purposes at once.
The same principle holds for video content. A video’s title and description should be written around the search behaviour of the target market. Automatic subtitling and translation technologies make videos more accessible, but those texts need optimising for visibility as well. Since images and video are becoming an ever larger source of traffic, neglecting this layer means missing a significant opportunity. Visibility concerns not only the written page but every type of content.
Techniques that work
There are some well-established techniques for improving visibility. Foremost among them are using multi-word terms that are relevant to the page and preferably state its content plainly; placing keywords among the first words of paragraphs and headings; keeping headings short; and building links that are live and carry clear text. In some cases it can also help to allow for the spelling mistakes users frequently make.
Various tools can be drawn on when these techniques are applied. Tools that show keyword trends reveal which terms are driving searches towards particular pages. Tools alone are not enough, however; the real value lies in the expertise that reads the data against the linguistic reality of the target market. When technical and linguistic knowledge come together, visibility work delivers genuine results.
Link structure is part of visibility too. It matters that links are kept live and that internal links are built with clear, meaningful text. The text a user clicks on should reflect the content of the page it opens clearly; vague link text misleads the user and the search engine alike. With some types of content, word limits need watching as well. Small as each of these details may look on its own, together they decide how findable a page is.
The Türkiye context
Turkish search behaviour is too distinctive to be captured by direct translation. Users may search for an English term, for its Turkish equivalent, or for both at once. When looking for a service, for instance, there is an audience that uses the foreign term and the local one alike. Keyword work has to allow for this dual usage and take as its basis the words the target audience actually types.
The agglutinative structure of Turkish means that keywords change shape as inflectional suffixes are added. The same term can appear with different endings inside a sentence. Visibility work calls for an approach that recognises this variety and gives priority to the form users adopt most often. The effect of dotted and dotless letters on search behaviour should also be borne in mind. This article is for general information only.
What does this mean for you?
If you are taking your site into a new market, translation and visibility need planning at the same time. Here is what you can do:
- Ask for keywords to be determined for the target market rather than translated.
- Make sure that titles, descriptions and alternative texts are localised.
- Check that your images and videos are optimised as well.
We can work together to make your content visible in the target market. You can look through our web localisation services and request a quotation for what you need. Our aim is to make sure your translation reaches the right users.
Frequently asked questions
What is search engine marketing?
It is the work of optimising texts so as to increase their visibility in search engines. Its purpose is to increase visitor traffic, attract more customers and raise an organisation’s standing.
Can keywords be translated directly?
No. Translated word for word, keywords can end up ineffective. They should be determined afresh from the terms users in the target market actually search with.
Which tags matter for visibility?
The title, the description, heading tags and alternative text for images stand out. These elements should not be translated but localised for the target market.
Who does this work?
Search engine marketing combines linguistic knowledge with marketing expertise. It usually calls for collaboration with local language specialists and local marketing teams.
References
Jiménez-Crespo, M. A. (2024). Localization in Translation. Routledge (Ch. 3/4/5/9/12). · Jud, P. & Massey, G. (2011). SEO and Web Localization. Translation and localization.