Translation vs Localization: What's the Difference
Translation is transferring text from one language to another. Localization includes translation but goes further:
- Cultural adaptation — colors, images, examples, humor, forms of address. Red means luck in China but danger in Western countries. Informal "du" is acceptable in a German online store but inappropriate in a corporate Japanese catalog.
- SEO adaptation — keywords are researched fresh for the target market. "Cheap flights" in English doesn't translate literally — in German, users search for "günstige Flüge," not "billige Flüge."
- Formatting — dates (DD.MM.YYYY vs MM/DD/YYYY), currencies, units of measurement, phone number formats, addresses.
- Technical adaptation — RTL support (Arabic, Hebrew), encoding, string length in UI, pluralization (1 item / 2 items / 5 items).
SEO Localization: Why Literal Translation Kills Traffic
A translated page won't rank for target market queries if keywords are selected by literal translation. Example from our practice:
A client translated "юридический перевод" as "juridical translation." But the UK audience searches for "legal translation" (2,400 searches/month) or "certified translation" (1,900 searches/month). "Juridical translation" gets 40 searches/month. Result: zero traffic despite an accurate translation.
What SEO localization includes:
- Keyword research in the target language via Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Keyword Planner
- Adaptation of meta tags (title, description) for local queries
- Rewriting H1-H3 headings based on search intent
- Adaptation of image alt tags
- Local links and citations (Google My Business, local directories)
Hreflang: The Technical Foundation of Multilingual SEO
The hreflang attribute tells search engines which page version is intended for which language and region. Without hreflang, Google may show the English version to German users or vice versa.
Implementation rules:
- Each language version links to all others and to itself
- Use x-default for the default page (usually English or a regional detector)
- Specify the region if content differs: en-US vs en-GB, pt-BR vs pt-PT
- Place in <head>, HTTP header, or XML sitemap
Hreflang errors are among the most common technical SEO issues for multilingual websites. We verify markup correctness on every localization project.
CMS Integration: WordPress, Tilda, Bitrix
Each CMS has its own multilingual mechanisms:
WordPress + WPML / Polylang. String translation support, post duplication, automatic hreflang. We export content via XLIFF, translate in a CAT system, and import back. Formatting is preserved — no manual insertion needed.
Tilda. Limited multilingual support — essentially a site copy is created. We translate all blocks and deliver ready content for insertion. Hreflang is configured via custom code.
1C-Bitrix. Built-in multilingual module. Export/import via CSV or XML. For e-commerce — translation of product cards, filters, and categories while preserving catalog structure.
For custom CMS and SPA applications (React, Vue), we work with JSON/YAML localization files, translating keys while preserving file structure and placeholders.
Cultural Adaptation: Real-World Examples
Cosmetics e-store (Russia → UAE). Beyond Arabic translation: removed images of women without hijab, replaced reviews with local ones, adapted fragrance descriptions for Middle Eastern preferences, added halal certification section.
SaaS platform (Russia → Germany). German UI translation: formal address (Sie instead of du), GDPR-compliant wording for cookie banner and privacy policy, number format adaptation (1.000,00 instead of 1 000.00).
Corporate website (Russia → China). Baidu adaptation: removed YouTube embeds (blocked), replaced with Youku. Social media icon adaptation (WeChat, Weibo instead of Facebook, Instagram). Translation using simplified Chinese for mainland China.
Pricing and Process
Website localization cost depends on volume, number of languages, and depth of adaptation:
- Content translation — from 450 ₽ per page (1,800 characters)
- SEO adaptation (meta tags, keywords) — from 5,000 ₽ per language
- Technical integration (hreflang, CMS) — by arrangement
- Cultural adaptation of marketing materials — from 650 ₽ per page
We work under contract and provide NDA. Simplified tax system (no VAT), with closing documents for legal entities. Office in Moscow, working remotely across Russia and with international clients.
Max