Multilingual keyword research: finding the right terms in each market

The single biggest mistake in international SEO is treating keyword research as a translation exercise. The French word for "plumber" is "plombier" — but French searchers may use "dépannage plomberie" far more frequently than a direct translation of your English target keyword. Each market has its own search behaviour, and ranking internationally requires keyword research done natively in each language.

Tools for Native Language Keyword Research

• Google Keyword Planner: switch the target language and country to get local search volumes
• Ahrefs and SEMrush: set the target country for keyword explorer to see local data
• Google Search in the target country: use a VPN or google.fr, google.de to see actual SERPs
• Google Autocomplete: type your topic in the target language to see what people actually search
• AnswerThePublic: supports multiple languages for question-based keyword research
• Reddit and local forums in the target language: discover how native speakers discuss your topic

Understanding Search Volume Differences Across Markets

A keyword that gets 10,000 searches per month in English may get only 200 searches per month in the equivalent French term. This does not necessarily mean the French market is not worth targeting — it means competition may be lower and a smaller volume of high-intent searches can still drive meaningful business results. Always assess search volume in the context of the target market size, not by comparison to English volumes.

Country-Specific Terminology and Colloquialisms

Within the same language, different countries use different terms. UK English and US English differ significantly in search terminology: "skip hire" vs "dumpster rental", "solicitor" vs "attorney", "estate agent" vs "realtor". If you are targeting both the UK and Australia with English content, these differences will affect which pages rank and for what terms.

Step-by-step: How to conduct native-language keyword research for each international market

• Open Google Keyword Planner and set the target language and country to your first international market.
• Enter your primary English keyword and note all suggested terms — do not assume the direct translation is the right keyword.
• Open a second browser tab and navigate to the target country's Google domain (e.g. google.fr, google.de) to search your topic natively.
• Observe the autocomplete suggestions and "People also ask" results — these reveal how native users phrase searches in that market.
• Enter the same topic into Ahrefs Keyword Explorer with the target country filter applied and export the top keyword ideas.
• Send your keyword list to a native speaker or professional translator with SEO experience for review and validation.
• Build a keyword map assigning specific native-language terms to each translated page on your Wix multilingual site.
• Repeat this research process separately for each target language — never copy keyword research from one language to another.
• Update your Wix page slugs, title tags, and meta descriptions to use the validated native-language keywords from your research.

How to Conduct Keyword Research for a New Language Market

Building a keyword map for a new language market requires native research tools, country-specific data, and validation from speakers who understand how that market actually searches.

How to research and validate keywords for each international language market

• Open Google Keyword Planner and set the target language and country to your new international market — do not use global data.
• Enter your three to five primary English topic keywords and record all keyword suggestions shown — note these will differ significantly from English equivalents.
• Open a second browser tab and navigate to the target country Google domain (google.fr, google.de, google.com.au) and search your topic in the target language.
• Examine Google Autocomplete suggestions in the target language — these show the most-searched phrasing by real native-language users.
• Click through to the "People also ask" results on the target country Google to find question-format queries in the native language.
• Open Ahrefs Keyword Explorer and set the country filter to your target market, then search your primary topic to retrieve volume and difficulty data for native-language terms.
• Export your keyword list and create a keyword map document assigning primary and secondary keywords to each page of your Wix multilingual site.
• Send the keyword map to a native speaker with search marketing knowledge and ask them to validate whether the terms reflect how real users in that country actually search.
• Revise the keyword map based on native speaker feedback — this step often surfaces more colloquial or commonly used terms not found in tools.
• Update your Wix page slugs, title tags, meta descriptions, and on-page content in the target language to use the validated native-language keyword map.
• Set up a Google Search Console property filter for the language subfolder and track impressions growth week over week after publishing the optimised pages.