International SEO · Multilingual websites
Two languages.
A clear structure.
More relevant reach.
Make your website work for Dutch and English-speaking customers. KOAT helps you plan multilingual pages, adapt your content and connect language versions through a consistent SEO structure.
How should you organise Dutch and English pages?
Give each language its own stable URLs, then match equivalent pages. Build a complete experience in each language, including navigation, forms and confirmation messages. Choose regional targeting according to your actual markets and check the setup before publishing.
Start with your customers
International SEO starts
with a market decision.
A second language should support a clear business goal: helping a defined audience discover your services, understand your offer and take the next step.
Who are you trying to reach?
Identify your customers’ languages, locations and buying questions. English-speaking visitors may live in several countries, while Dutch-speaking customers may be in the Netherlands, Suriname or elsewhere.
What can you deliver?
Decide which services are available in each market. Make service coverage, communication options and delivery expectations clear before visitors submit an enquiry.
Can you maintain both versions?
Plan who updates translated pages when your offer changes. A manageable set of accurate pages gives your team a stronger foundation than an extensive site nobody can maintain.
Dutch and English URLs
Give every language
an organised home.
For a business managing both languages on one website,
language folders are a practical structure to consider.
For example, Dutch pages can sit under /nl/ and English pages under /en/.
An established website may already use the main domain for one language. We review the existing URLs and migration effort before recommending a change.
The right structure depends on your current platform, market plans and maintenance capacity.
| Page purpose | Dutch URL | English URL |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | /nl/ | /en/ |
| Website development | /nl/website-laten-maken/ | /en/website-development/ |
| SEO services | /nl/seo/ | /en/seo/ |
| Contact | /nl/contact/ | /en/contact/ |
Multilingual content
Translate the meaning.
Adapt the experience.
Good localisation considers how people describe their problem, what they need to know and what makes your offer relevant to them.
Research each language
Investigate Dutch and English search terms separately. A direct translation of a keyword may miss the expression your customers actually use.
Write useful service pages
Explain the service, process, suitability and next step clearly. Adapt examples and FAQs where the audience’s expectations differ.
Complete the enquiry journey
Review buttons, form labels, validation messages, appointment booking and follow-up emails. Keep the customer’s chosen language consistent.
Use regional details where they matter
For audiences in Suriname and the Netherlands, consider service availability, time zones, contact options and relevant examples. Publish only details that accurately describe your business.
Review automated translations
Translation tools can support a first draft. Have someone who understands the language and your service review terminology, claims and tone before publication.
Hreflang and technical consistency
Connect the right
language versions.
Hreflang identifies equivalent language or regional versions. Each page’s annotations should include itself and its alternatives, with matching return links and full URLs.
| Code | Meaning | When to consider it |
|---|---|---|
nl | Dutch | A Dutch version without a specific country target. |
en | English | An English version for a broad audience. |
nl-NL | Dutch for the Netherlands | A version specifically serving that market. |
nl-SR | Dutch for Suriname | A separate version specifically serving Suriname. |
x-default | Fallback destination | A suitable destination for unmatched language settings. |
Language and country are different
Use country-specific versions when your content and offer justify them. An English page does not automatically represent the United Kingdom or United States.
Hreflang supports language selection in search. It does not guarantee indexing or rankings.
Language navigation
Make switching
languages straightforward.
Keep visitors in context
A visitor reading an English service page should be able to open its Dutch equivalent directly. Clear labels such as “Nederlands” and “English” help visitors choose.
If a translation is unavailable, provide an understandable alternative rather than a misleading link.
Let visitors choose
Avoid forced redirects based on location or browser language. Keep each language URL accessible and provide a visible language switcher.
Review the switcher on mobile as well as desktop, including menus, booking screens and contact pages.
Our approach
From market priorities
to a maintainable website.
-
Define
Agree on audiences, languages, service coverage and the pages that matter most to your business.
-
Map
Review existing URLs and prepare the language structure, page relationships and content requirements.
-
Implement
Prepare localised content and configure the agreed technical setup within your website platform.
-
Verify
Check page relationships, navigation and enquiry flows. Establish ownership for future updates.
Scope and investment
What does international
SEO cost?
The scope depends on the number of languages, pages and markets, your current website structure and the amount of content work required.
Adapting a small bilingual service website involves different work from reorganising a large website with multiple regional versions. We define the deliverables before preparing a quote.
What helps us assess your website?
- Your website URL and current platform.
- The languages and markets you want to serve.
- Your priority services and customer groups.
- Existing translations and content ownership.
- Relevant search and enquiry data, where available.
- Planned website changes and your preferred timeline.
Frequently asked questions
International SEO,
explained clearly.
How should I organise Dutch and English pages?
Start with your audience and existing website. Map the pages needed in each language, choose a consistent URL structure and plan how the versions will be maintained.
Should I translate every page immediately?
You can launch in phases. Prioritise the pages needed to understand your offer and complete an enquiry, then expand according to customer needs and available resources.
Do Dutch and English pages need identical wording?
Equivalent pages should serve the same core purpose. Wording, examples and questions can be adapted to make each version useful to its intended audience.
Do I need separate pages for Suriname and the Netherlands?
Consider separate versions when your offer or the information customers need differs materially. First identify those differences and the work required to maintain both versions.
Can you work with an existing WordPress website?
We assess the theme, page builder, multilingual setup and existing content before defining the implementation. This includes reviewing how editors will maintain translations.
Which multilingual plugin should I use?
The choice depends on your website, translation workflow, integrations and budget. We assess those requirements before recommending a suitable setup.
Can I use automated translation?
It can help prepare drafts. Review important service pages and customer interactions for accuracy, natural language and consistency with what your business actually offers.
How do you measure progress?
We agree on relevant measures, such as search visibility for priority pages, visits by market and qualified enquiries. The analysis depends on the data available and how reliably conversions are recorded.
Does international SEO include implementation?
The agreed scope can cover strategy, content planning, technical implementation or a combination. The proposal identifies responsibilities and deliverables.
What happens when the original content changes?
Use an update process that flags related translations for review. Assign an owner so changes to services, prices or contact details are reflected across the relevant versions.
