70% of global searches are non-English, highlighting that in 2026, companies need to avoid focusing on single-market strategies. As 75% of consumers state that they prefer to buy products in their native language, there’s never been a more important time for brands to focus more on deeply localized content.
Translating Standard Keywords Should Be Avoided
Directly translating a keyword often fails, because the search intent behind it is completely different. If a UK-based platform is optimized for the word “sneakers,” then it could miss out on the more dominant local term, “trainers”. Even though Google understands, local search patterns are prioritized. Interestingly, across the UK, fragmentation is a big issue. Within the UK, a bakery may target “bread rolls,” but in Sheffield, users could be searching for “breadcake,” and in Manchester, they may search for “barms”. In Nottinghamshire, they’re referred to as “cobs”.
The meaning behind a word is also important. Someone in the UK searching for chips is seeking something very different from someone in the US, searching for the same term. Dialect completely changes the search content, algorithmic context, and overall user engagement.
Sometimes, using a dialect that goes against the target country can be a good strategy if the terminology is part of a product name, brand identity, or an already established search trend. An example of this would be a UK sports site that covers the NFL. “Football” would be used when referring to American football, as localizing it should not change the terminology.
An album with the name “Colors” should not become “Colours” in the UK, even though it’s the wrong spelling, and people will likely be searching for “Colours” over “Colors”. This trend can also be seen in the iGaming sector. UK slots, for example, cover various dialects, with games like Big Bass Football Bonanza and Bigger Piggy Bank Soccer. Even though the site might be UK-based, dialects are kept as they reflect a brand name to avoid confusion.
Localization Goes Beyond Translation
Localization has to go beyond translating or replacing an individual word. It’s important for brands to know why terminology is fixed, how it can be adapted, and if people will be able to understand what they are searching for.
A term that is technically correct might not always be the term that generates the strongest search visibility, or even engagement. To try to capture regional variations, such as cobs, barns, breadcakes, and bread rolls, brands can easily build a site using the hub-and-spoke architecture. Having a localized page for each product can help a site rank for local intent, which means the right keywords are being optimized for the right market.
Even though Google does penalize doorway pages, one way to work around this is to weave in contextual data that relates to the specific location. This could include using local delivery times, local prices, and local language for each page, as well as using regional tags in the HTML header. This helps to tell the algorithm that the page is targeting something different and isn’t just a copy of the original page.
