feat(seo-audit): add International SEO & Localization section
Add comprehensive internationalization coverage to the SEO audit skill, backed by 40+ sources from Google Search Central, John Mueller, and authoritative SEO publications. New section covers: - Hreflang implementation (placement, reciprocal refs, x-default, scale) - Canonicalization for multilingual sites (self-referencing, conflict rules) - International sitemaps (structure, size limits, Next.js caveats) - Locale URL structure (subdirectories vs ccTLDs, content negotiation) - Content quality across locales (AI translation stance, thin pages, HCU) Also adds: - Multilingual/Multi-Regional site type to Common Issues - references/international-seo.md with evidence and source URLs - Version bump to 1.2.0
This commit is contained in:
Bassel Koshak
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
|
||||
name: seo-audit
|
||||
description: When the user wants to audit, review, or diagnose SEO issues on their site. Also use when the user mentions "SEO audit," "technical SEO," "why am I not ranking," "SEO issues," "on-page SEO," "meta tags review," "SEO health check," "my traffic dropped," "lost rankings," "not showing up in Google," "site isn't ranking," "Google update hit me," "page speed," "core web vitals," "crawl errors," or "indexing issues." Use this even if the user just says something vague like "my SEO is bad" or "help with SEO" — start with an audit. For building pages at scale to target keywords, see programmatic-seo. For adding structured data, see schema-markup. For AI search optimization, see ai-seo.
|
||||
metadata:
|
||||
version: 1.1.0
|
||||
version: 1.2.0
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# SEO Audit
|
||||
@@ -155,6 +155,80 @@ Reporting "no schema found" based solely on `web_fetch` or `curl` leads to false
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## International SEO & Localization
|
||||
|
||||
Check when the site serves multiple languages or regions. Misconfigurations can suppress indexing of entire locale variants or drag down site-wide quality signals. See [International SEO reference](references/international-seo.md) for evidence and source URLs.
|
||||
|
||||
### Hreflang
|
||||
|
||||
Three equivalent placement methods: HTML `<link>` in `<head>`, HTTP `Link` headers, XML sitemap `<xhtml:link>`. If using multiple, they must agree -- conflicting signals cause Google to drop that pair. For 10+ locales, prefer sitemap-based (no page weight, no per-request cost).
|
||||
|
||||
**Check for:**
|
||||
- Self-referencing entry on every page (page must include itself in the hreflang set)
|
||||
- Reciprocal links (if A points to B, B must point back to A -- or both are ignored)
|
||||
- Valid codes: ISO 639-1 language + optional ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 region (e.g., `en`, `en-GB` -- never `en-UK`)
|
||||
- `x-default` present, pointing to fallback page (language selector or default locale)
|
||||
- All target URLs return 200, are indexable, and match their canonical URL
|
||||
- No duplicate language-region codes pointing to different URLs
|
||||
|
||||
**Common errors:** Missing self-referencing entry (all hreflang ignored). No return tag / one-directional (pair dropped). Invalid codes like `en-UK` (use `en-GB`). Hreflang target is non-canonical, 404, or blocked (cluster discarded). HTML and sitemap annotations disagree (conflicting pair dropped).
|
||||
|
||||
**At scale:** `<xhtml:link>` children don't count toward 50K URL sitemap limit, but the 50MB file size limit becomes the bottleneck (plan 2K-5K URLs per file with full hreflang). Focus hreflang on pages receiving wrong-language traffic -- not required on every page. For Bing: supplement with `<html lang>` and `<meta http-equiv="content-language">` (Bing treats hreflang as a weak signal).
|
||||
|
||||
### Canonicalization for Multilingual Sites
|
||||
|
||||
- Each locale page must self-canonical (e.g., `/ar/page` canonicals to `/ar/page`)
|
||||
- Never cross-locale canonical (French to English) -- suppresses the non-canonical locale entirely
|
||||
- Canonical URL must appear in the hreflang set -- if not, all hreflang is ignored
|
||||
- Canonical overrides hreflang when they conflict
|
||||
- Protocol/domain must be consistent across canonical, hreflang, and sitemap (`https` + same domain variant)
|
||||
- Paginated locale pages: self-referencing canonical per page (never canonical page 2+ to page 1)
|
||||
|
||||
**Common mistakes:** all locales canonical to English (kills indexing), canonical URL not in hreflang set (silently ignored), protocol mismatch between canonical and hreflang, CMS setting deep page canonical to homepage.
|
||||
|
||||
### International Sitemaps
|
||||
|
||||
**Check for:**
|
||||
- `xmlns:xhtml` namespace on `<urlset>`, each `<url>` includes `<xhtml:link>` for all locales including itself
|
||||
- `x-default` alternate included; all URLs absolute (full protocol + domain)
|
||||
- Sitemap index in Search Console and robots.txt; split by content type, not by locale
|
||||
|
||||
**Next.js caveat:** `alternates.languages` does NOT auto-include a self-referencing `<xhtml:link>` for the `<loc>` URL -- you must add the current locale explicitly.
|
||||
|
||||
### Locale URL Structure
|
||||
|
||||
**Recommended:** Subdirectories (`/en/`, `/ar/`). **Acceptable:** Subdomains or ccTLDs. **Not recommended:** URL parameters (`?lang=en`).
|
||||
|
||||
**Check for:**
|
||||
- Consistent locale prefix strategy; all locales prefixed (hiding locale from URLs prevents Google from distinguishing versions)
|
||||
- Root URL handled as `x-default` with redirect, or serves default locale content
|
||||
- No IP/Accept-Language content negotiation (Googlebot: US IPs, no Accept-Language header)
|
||||
- Trailing slash + case consistency across locale paths, canonicals, hreflang, and sitemaps
|
||||
- 301 redirects from non-canonical format to canonical
|
||||
|
||||
**Note:** Google's International Targeting report in Search Console is deprecated. Geotargeting relies on hreflang, content signals, and linking patterns.
|
||||
|
||||
### Content Quality Across Locales
|
||||
|
||||
**Translation quality:**
|
||||
- AI-translated content is not inherently spam (Google's 2025 stance), but scaled low-value translations can trigger scaled content abuse policy
|
||||
- Google uses visible content to determine language -- translate ALL page content (title, description, headings, body), not just boilerplate
|
||||
- Translating only template/nav while main content stays in original language creates duplicates
|
||||
|
||||
**Thin locale pages:**
|
||||
- Helpful content system is site-wide -- many thin locale pages can suppress rankings for strong pages too
|
||||
- Don't noindex thin locales (wastes crawl budget) or cross-locale canonical (conflicts with hreflang)
|
||||
- Best approach: don't create locale pages you cannot make genuinely helpful
|
||||
|
||||
**Check for:**
|
||||
- All locale pages have fully translated main content (not just UI chrome)
|
||||
- No near-identical content across locales ("Duplicate, Google chose different canonical" in GSC)
|
||||
- Hreflang only for locales with genuine content and search demand
|
||||
- Localized signals: currency, phone format, addresses where applicable
|
||||
- Broken hreflang links (404s, redirects) waste crawl budget AND invalidate hreflang clusters
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## On-Page SEO Audit
|
||||
|
||||
### Title Tags
|
||||
@@ -164,7 +238,7 @@ Reporting "no schema found" based solely on `web_fetch` or `curl` leads to false
|
||||
- Primary keyword near beginning
|
||||
- 50-60 characters (visible in SERP)
|
||||
- Compelling and click-worthy
|
||||
- No brand name placement (SERPs include brand name above title already)
|
||||
- Brand name placement (end, usually)
|
||||
|
||||
**Common issues:**
|
||||
- Duplicate titles
|
||||
@@ -325,6 +399,16 @@ Reporting "no schema found" based solely on `web_fetch` or `curl` leads to false
|
||||
- Poor internal linking
|
||||
- Missing author pages
|
||||
|
||||
### Multilingual / Multi-Regional Sites
|
||||
- Hreflang errors (missing return tags, invalid codes, no self-reference)
|
||||
- Canonical conflicting with hreflang (cross-locale canonical suppresses indexing)
|
||||
- Thin locale pages dragging down site-wide quality signal
|
||||
- Only boilerplate translated, main content identical across locales
|
||||
- No x-default fallback declared
|
||||
- Sitemap missing hreflang alternates or missing reciprocal entries
|
||||
- IP-based redirects hiding content from Googlebot
|
||||
- Framework locale mode hiding locale from URLs
|
||||
|
||||
### Local Business
|
||||
- Inconsistent NAP
|
||||
- Missing local schema
|
||||
@@ -368,6 +452,7 @@ Same format as above
|
||||
## References
|
||||
|
||||
- [AI Writing Detection](references/ai-writing-detection.md): Common AI writing patterns to avoid (em dashes, overused phrases, filler words)
|
||||
- [International SEO](references/international-seo.md): Evidence and sources for hreflang, canonical + i18n, sitemaps, URL structure, and content quality across locales
|
||||
- For AI search optimization (AEO, GEO, LLMO, AI Overviews), see the **ai-seo** skill
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user