Optimizing Blog Translation Languages | Generated by AI
That’s a great question, as reducing the number of translations can save time, money (if you use a paid AI service), and reduce potential “over-optimization.”
Based on general internet and global usage statistics for blogs and websites, here’s a breakdown of your current list and which ones you might consider removing, along with an explanation of “over-optimization” in this context.
🗑️ Languages to Consider Deleting (Less People Use)
The most likely candidate for removal, based on the principle of reaching the widest audience with the fewest languages, is:
hant(Traditional Chinese): You already havezh(Simplified Chinese). Whilehantis essential for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau,zhcovers the massive market in mainland China and is often the primary choice for translation in general. If you must choose one to drop for efficiency,hantis often the secondary choice tozhfor a general blog.
If you needed to remove a second one for efficiency, the next candidate might be the language with fewer native internet users compared to the others:
ja(Japanese): Although Japan has a very strong internet presence and high purchasing power, the number of native speakers on the global internet is lower than the other major languages on your list (Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, French, German, and Hindi).
The remaining languages are all considered highly valuable for a global blog:
en,zh,es,hi,fr,de,arcover the top internet user populations globally and key economic regions (North America, Europe, China, India, Latin America, and the Middle East/North Africa).
🧐 What is “Over-Optimization” in Blog Translations?
In the context of AI-powered translations for a blog, “over-optimization” usually relates to wasting resources for negligible return and potential SEO issues:
1. Wasted Resources (Cost/Time/Maintenance)
- Cost: If you pay per translation job (which is common for AI/MT services), translating into too many languages, especially low-traffic ones, is a wasted expense.
- Maintenance: Every language you add is another URL to manage, another translation string to update, and more content to check for quality control. Having a massive number of languages, many of which get zero traffic, is an over-optimization of your maintenance efforts.
2. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Issues
- Low-Quality Translations (Thin Content): If your AI translation quality is poor in a lesser-used language, the search engine (like Google) may see that content as “low-quality” or “thin content.” If you have a large number of these, it can negatively impact the overall SEO of your site, a form of over-optimization.
- Duplicate Content Risk: For very close languages, like
zh(Simplified Chinese) andhant(Traditional Chinese), if you don’t properly implementhreflangtags, search engines could potentially confuse them. While they are distinct, some SEOs choose one over the other to simplify their implementation and reduce this risk.
Final Recommendation for Efficiency
If the goal is to be lean and efficient while keeping maximum global reach:
| Action | Language Code | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Remove | hant |
Overlaps significantly with zh (Simplified Chinese). Remove to simplify and focus on the largest Chinese internet audience. |
| Keep | en, zh, ja, es, hi, fr, de, ar |
Covers the vast majority of the global internet population and key economic regions. |
Would you like me to find out the estimated number of internet users for any of these languages so you can make a data-driven decision?