Hey everyone, I'm working on translating content into other languages and running into a specific issue. Some en keywords (such as technical terms) still get searched by people in non-English markets, even when there's a perfectly good local translation. For those who've dealt with this, how do you balance the two? Do you keep the English keyword as a secondary target on the localized page? Use a hybrid title? Or just commit fully to local keyword research and let the English searches go? Appreciate any real-world experience.
it depends a lot on how the term is actually searched. look at Search Console or a keyword tool for the target country and see if people type the english term, the local one, or both, because for technical stuff it's often the english one by a mile. what usually works is making the local keyword the main target in title and h1, then using the english term naturally in the body and maybe one subheading. i'd skip a hybrid title unless the data shows both versions have real volume, otherwise it reads awkward to locals. and add hreflang so the localized page doesn't compete with your english version.
I'd start from the search data for each market rather than translating the English keyword list directly. Check Search Console and a local keyword tool to see whether people actually search in English, in the local language, or in a mix — for technical topics the English term often wins, while for everyday topics the local phrasing usually does. What tends to work well is making the local term the main target in the title and H1, and weaving the English term in naturally in the body where readers would genuinely use it. I'd avoid forcing both into the title unless both versions show real search volume, as it can read awkwardly to local readers. Two things worth getting right: use hreflang so the localised page does not compete with the English version, and have a native speaker review the final copy — a literal translation of an English keyword rarely matches how people actually search.