Pick the Right URL Structure
Where each language lives in your URLs decides how search engines understand your site. There are three common options, and one clear default:
- Subdirectories (example.com/ja/) — recommended. One domain, one pool of authority, simple to operate. This is what we use.
- Subdomains (ja.example.com) — workable, but splits your site into pieces search engines treat semi-independently.
- URL parameters (?lang=ja) — avoid. Messy for users and unreliable for search engines.
Translate the Whole Page — or Don't Publish It
A common shortcut is translating the navigation and buttons while leaving the main content in the original language. Search engines determine a page's language from its visible content, so these pages register as near-duplicates in the wrong language — and a pile of thin, half-translated pages can drag down how your whole site is judged.
The rule is simple: only publish a language version of a page if you can make it genuinely useful in that language. A smaller, fully translated site beats a complete but half-translated one.
Hreflang, Explained Like a Human
Hreflang is a tag that tells search engines "this page also exists in Japanese, over here" — so an English searcher gets the English page and a Japanese searcher gets the Japanese one.
Three rules cover most of what goes wrong:
- Every page lists all of its language versions, including itself.
- Links must be reciprocal — if the English page points to the Japanese one, the Japanese page must point back, or both are ignored.
- Declare an x-default version for searchers who match neither language.
Write for the Culture, Not Just the Language
Direct translation produces text that is technically correct and completely unconvincing. Japanese business writing carries politeness registers and an expectation of thoroughness — company details, process explanations, and reassurance matter. English readers expect directness and scannability, and lose patience with ceremony.
The practical details matter too: date formats, currency, phone number formats, and even line-breaking — Japanese text wraps differently, and a layout that looks elegant in English can break awkwardly in Japanese.
Don't Force-Redirect by IP or Browser Language
Automatically bouncing every visitor to the language your server guesses is a classic mistake. Search engine crawlers visit mostly from US servers with English settings — force-redirect them and they may never properly see your Japanese site. Travelers and international residents also routinely want the "other" language.
Suggest, don't shove: a visible language switcher on every page, plus at most a gentle one-time prompt that remembers the visitor's choice.
What This Looks Like in Practice
This site runs the exact setup described above: Japanese under /ja/ as a subdirectory, every page fully translated including titles and descriptions, reciprocal hreflang with x-default in both the HTML and the sitemap, and copy written separately for each audience rather than translated line-by-line.
None of this is exotic — it is mostly discipline. But it is exactly the discipline most bilingual sites skip, which is why doing it properly is an advantage.