How to Make Multilingual Content More Discoverable

I know some of you are following my switch from Substack to Ghost. Some reasons included getting more control over things like LLM discoverability and how search engines understand my content. One piece of that puzzle, especially for a multilingual creator like me, is something called hreflang tags.

If you're posting the same article (or piece of content) in different languages–for example, an English version and a Spanish version–you might think simply putting a link from one to the other is enough.

The Problem: Google Gets Confused

Without a specific signal, Google sees your English and Spanish articles as very similar text. It might think you're just publishing "duplicate content" (which it doesn't like), or it might not know which language version to show to a user searching in Spanish, or in English. This means your content might not show up at all, or it might show the wrong language to the wrong person, leading to a frustrating experience for your readers and lost visibility for you.

The Solution: The "Secret Note" Called Hreflang

This is where hreflang tags come in. Think of them as a secret note you leave for Google inside each of your articles. This note tells Google: "Hey, this page is in [language], and here's where you can find the exact same article in [other language]." It helps Google understand that these are different versions of the same thing, not duplicate content.

How to Implement Hreflang in Ghost

Ghost doesn't automatically generate these tags if you just use a specific tag like #es or es. You'll need to manually inject a small snippet of code into each article's settings. It's a bit tedious, but it's crucial.

Here's the process for each pair of translated articles:

1. Publish your articles first: You need the full, final URL for both your English and Spanish articles. So, write and publish both versions as you normally would.
2. Open your English article in Ghost's editor.
3. Access "Code Injection": Click the gear icon (⚙️) in the top right (or side) for post settings. Scroll down to the "Code Injection" section and find the "Post Header" box.
   • Remember to replace the placeholder URLs with the actual, full URLs of your English and Spanish articles.
   • The hreflang="x-default" line tells Google which page to show if no specific language version matches a user's settings (often your primary language, like English).¹
4. Open your Spanish article in Ghost's editor.
5. Access "Code Injection": Again, click the gear icon (⚙️) and go to "Code Injection" -> "Post Header".
   • Again, replace the placeholder URLs with the actual, full URLs.
6. The "Update" Button Trick: After you paste the code, you might notice the "Update" button doesn't light up. To activate it, simply go back into the main article text, make a tiny, invisible edit (like adding and deleting a space), and then the "Update" button should become active.
7. Click "Update": Make sure to click the main "Update" or "Publish" button for each article to save all changes, including the injected code.

Paste this code for your Spanish article:HTML

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="[FULL URL OF THIS SPANISH ARTICLE]" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="[FULL URL OF THE CORRESPONDING ENGLISH ARTICLE]" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="[FULL URL OF THE CORRESPONDING ENGLISH ARTICLE]" />

Paste this code for your English article:HTML

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="[FULL URL OF THIS ENGLISH ARTICLE]" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="[FULL URL OF THE CORRESPONDING SPANISH ARTICLE]" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="[FULL URL OF THIS ENGLISH ARTICLE]" />

Why This Tedious Step Matters

This might seem like extra work, but it's crucial for:

• Avoiding Duplicate Content Penalties: Google will correctly understand your content.
• Serving the Right Audience: People searching in Spanish will see your Spanish article, and English speakers will see your English one.
• Maximizing Discoverability: Each language version can rank independently, effectively doubling your organic reach.

By properly implementing hreflang, you're ensuring your valuable multilingual content gets the visibility it deserves in the right places, for the right people, and is correctly understood by LLMs as well.

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