Why Automatic Translations are Damaging Your SEO (and Your Business) on the Costa Blanca
Everyone wants to be multilingual quickly. One click and suddenly your website is available in three or four languages. In reality, especially on the Costa Blanca, this is the main reason websites remain invisible and lose potential clients.
Google Distinguishes Between Translating and Copying
Google doesn’t have a problem with translated content, but it does have an issue with automatically generated content published without human oversight. Texts that come straight from Google Translate or AI tools fall into a gray area defined by Google’s official spam policies on automated content.
The result is usually not a sudden penalty, but something more subtle:
- Your pages barely rank.
- Different language versions compete against each other (cannibalization).
- Google ignores parts of your site because the quality is deemed too low.
- The wrong language version appears in local search results.
Literal Translations Miss Search Intent
SEO is not about words; it’s about search intent. And that intent differs per language. An automatic translation focuses on literal meaning but ignores how people actually search on the Costa Blanca.
For example, in real estate: The term "holiday homes" might be translated literally into Dutch as "vakantie huizen". However, a Dutch person will almost always search for "vakantiewoningen". This small difference is massive for SEO. The same applies to nuances like "apartment vs flat" or "new build vs nieuwbouw". Google recognizes these cultural nuances, but a machine does not.
Poor Translations Kill Trust
Beyond SEO, there is the issue of credibility. Visitors recognize auto-translated text immediately. Sentences don't flow, the tone is off, and the wording feels unnatural. In high-stakes industries like real estate, language is not a detail—it’s a deciding factor in building trust. A high bounce rate (people leaving your site instantly) tells Google your site isn't relevant, further hurting your rankings.
The Pitfall of the Translation Widget
Many websites use a Google Translate widget. While it seems convenient, it’s a poor choice for SEO. These widgets only translate the content in the visitor's browser. For Google, this means:
- No unique URLs or dedicated language pages are created.
- The translated content is never indexed.
- You will never rank for keywords in other languages.
Google’s documentation on multilingual sites clearly advises using unique URLs and a proper structure for each language.
Conclusion: Multilingual SEO Requires Attention
If you are serious about attracting international clients on the Costa Blanca, you must stop taking shortcuts. Feel free to use AI as a starting point, but ensure every text is human-reviewed and optimized for local search terms. Only then will you build sustainable visibility and real trust with your audience.
