The Hreflang tags were introduced by Google in December 2011 and came with the feature of making search results language specific. If your business has an international clientele and you want to create content keeping in mind their language preferences, then the Hreflang attribute is what you must implement as part of your business’ SEO strategies. The tags are also useful when you target your content for a local audience and if you want to reduce your bounce rate.

Let me explain howhreflang tag works.

If you are planning to create your content in French for your French audience, then you can tag the version of a webpage as “French” by using hreflang=”fr” so that the clients who are searching from France automatically land up on the French page. As a result, what happens is that the bounce rate for your English-language webpage reduces and your clicks have a better chance of materialising into sales. With hreflang in the scenario, businesses have started to target their prospective users on the basis of geographical location. You can place the hreflang attribute in the HTTP header, or the sitemap to limit your content for a language-specific user. 

Hreflang tags can help you attract international traffic and tap it for the success of your business.  Here are the reasons why you must consider implementing Hreflang tags for your business today!

10 Reasons why Hreflang Implementation is a Must

1. Cross geographical limits

Google does not always show the accurate version of your page to your international users. You need to step up and solve the problem yourself. If a Chinese user searches for your website and lands on an English-version page, he or she will obviously leave the page without clicking on anything. This will contribute to your bounce rate. Using the tags will help you direct your users to the right page.

2. Solves issues of international plagiarism

Content marketing is a big thing these days, and that is precisely why people from other countries may copy your content and use it on their site. If the IP address is different, then tracing the issue can become harder. But with the implementation of hreflang tags in your HTML, you can easily resolve plagiarism issues.

3. Stop relying on Google

Not every time does Google display the right version of the webpage based on the IP address of the user. So why rely on Google when you can do it yourself? Instead of confusing Google, implement the hreflang tag so that Google displays the correct version.

4. Lowered bounce rates and better conversions

If you have content that is targeted to your local audience, it will lead to a higher conversion rate due to the increased traffic. With more conversions and a lesser bounce rate, you will be able to see higher sales for your business.

5. Cope with the Global Internet Traffic

With the dawn of digitalisation, almost everyone all over the world has access to the internet. Now, would you not want to tap the potential of internet and target audiences and proclaim your existence on a global scale? With hreflang attributes, that has been made possible.

Before you think of hreflang implementation of your business, you will need to come up with a business plan that will successfully reflect the need for hreflang implementation in your business and how will it affect your business positively.

Here is how you should develop a business plan for hreflang implementation for your company.

Step 1 –The Problem Statement

In the problem statement, you need to talk about the problem that you are facing and how your business is suffering without hreflang. Very few people are aware of the concept. So, instead of jumping to the problem, first give an insight into what hreflang attributes are and how can it help your business to prosper. You can take a screenshot of the problem of having a non-localized webpage to prove your point.

Step 2 –An Opportunity Statement

In the Opportunity Statement, you must explain how the implementation of hreflang tags can help your business and reduce the bounce rate and other negative impacts that restricts your business marginally. According to Bill Hunt, making a section called the Missed Opportunity may help. Under the section, you can show the chances that your business has missed due to the lack of hrelang on your website.You can expand this to include the opportunities your company has lost due to the lack of hreflang implementation in its SEO strategy.

Step 3 –The Plan of Implementation

Now that you have shown the problems your company is facing and how it has to suffer due to the lack of hreflang, you must clearly explain how your plan to address the issue. Elucidate the general procedure and the number of countries that you plan on including. You must also include details of the team that you are going to employ for the purpose and the IT tools that you may need. You can talk about which approach should be the best for you.

Step 4 – Budget Statement

Whatever be your plan for hreflang implementation, you need to get approval for the budget. If the program is for a one-time project, then the budget may be relatively high as compared to a phased approach. Under the budget plan, you need to state out each section of the plan and then break them out to show the tentative amount that the project is going to cost you. You need to remember that hreflang implementation comes in many sizes. You need to take an approach depending on the complexity of your site,. You will require a big team of IT experts for the process, so you must consider the cost of labour in your budget. A customised CMS solution along with Adobe Experience Manager Integration may cost you way more than using small-scale sites. If you are taking the sitemap approach, then keep in mind that it can cost you a lot if your site is a complex one. While putting the figures in the budget, do not forget to consider costs for debugging and fixing any errors that Google detects. Here again, I have a suggestion for you – when you state the tentative charges, always assume that it will take longer than you think. The execution of the plan will take time, because of which you should consider the costs higher than what you think will actually cost you. This will ensure that you have some coverage, especially in case of an emergency.

Step 5 –Final Step

In the final step, you are required to state what exactly you want the executive to do for you.Making an assumption that your plan and budget will be accepted explains the plan of action that you are going to follow. As Bill Hunt of Search Engine Land says, it is better that you put out the smallest detail of the task that the executive team will be doing.

Remember that the purpose of any business plan it to justify the decision and the cost of it. So, make sure that your business case reflects the problem your company is facing due to lack of hreflang attributes and the requirements and expenses needed to solve the issue. While at it, make it a point to keep the case simple and precise. Avoid writing about the complexity and technicalities of the process because the chances are high and that no one is going to understand the terms. Like every other business plan, the key is simplicity, which will get your project approved.

Author Bio: Olaila Lee is a marketing expert who is working for an MNC for the past 6 years. She has been associated with Myassignmenthelp as an academic expert for a couple of years and provides Assignment help. Apart from writing engaging blogs on marketing, tech and education trends, she likes hiking and surfing when not wooing her international clients with amazing marketing advice.