Guides · · 5 min read
A website in Basque and Spanish (and English): how to do it right for Google and for your customers
In Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa a website in two languages is not an extra: it is what many customers expect. But it is easy to get wrong, and Google notices. This guide explains how to set up the languages so that each version ranks, reads well and can be maintained.
One language per URL
The most common mistake is a single page that switches language with a button without changing its address. For Google that is one page with mixed content, and for the customer who shares the link it is a surprise: whoever opens it sees the language they were not expecting.
Each language needs its own address: one for the Spanish version, one for Basque, one for English. It can be a folder inside your domain or a subdomain. What matters is that each URL carries a single language from header to footer, menus, buttons and notices included.
With separate URLs, Google indexes each version on its own and can show the Basque one to someone searching in Basque and the Spanish one to someone searching in Spanish. Without that, you compete against yourself.
Telling Google which version is which: hreflang
Having three versions is not enough; you have to tell Google they are the same page in three languages. That is done with hreflang, a tag in the code of each page that lists its equivalents in the other languages.
It sounds technical, and it is, but the effect is simple: Google stops seeing duplicate content and shows each person the version that applies to them. The sitemap should also include all three versions, and each one should declare its language in the code.
If your website is generated by a tool that does not handle this properly, you will not see it with the naked eye, but you will notice it in the search results. It is one of the things we review in SEO and performance work.
Real translations
Machine translation has improved, but without review it still produces texts that sound odd, especially in Basque. A customer reading forced Basque understands that this version is second-rate and that the company did not bother. Google, moreover, detects unreviewed generated content and rates it lower.
The good option is to translate with someone who knows the language and your sector, or at least to review thoroughly what the machine produces. There is no need to translate literally: each version should sound natural in its own language, even if it says the same thing in other words.
Translate the things that get forgotten too: button labels, form error messages, automatic emails, the titles and descriptions that appear on Google and the alternative text on images. They are small, but they get read.
Which language comes first
Someone has to decide which version people see when they simply type your domain. The answer depends on your customers: in Gernika, Durango or Eibar it makes complete sense for Basque to be the main version; in Bilbao or Irun, perhaps Spanish. There is no universal rule, there is your customer base.
What you should avoid is switching the language purely by location or browser settings without letting people choose. Show the language switcher clearly in the header, remember the visitor's choice and always link to the same page in the other language, not to the home page.
If you add English, decide who it is for. A hotel in Donostia needs it in full; a local advisory firm may only need one page in English explaining what it does and how to get in touch. Translating what nobody will read costs time and maintenance.
Menus, forms and legal pages
A half-translated menu is the most visible sign of a badly built website. Each version needs its own menu, footer, form labels and confirmation messages. If the form is in Basque, the email the customer receives should be in Basque too.
Legal pages, the cookie notice and the terms are texts that must also exist in each language, with the same content. A Basque version linking to a legal notice in Spanish is inconsistent and looks careless.
All of this is easier if the site is built for several languages from the start, with the texts kept separate from the design. In the configurator demo on the corporate website page you can switch language and see everything translate, not just the headline. If you want us to check how your website handles languages, tell us through the form.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google rank the Basque version just as well?
Yes, as long as each language has its own URL, its hreflang and its own texts. The Basque version is shown to people searching in Basque, and it usually faces less competition than the Spanish one.
Can I start in Spanish and add Basque later?
Yes, provided the website is prepared for several languages from the start. Adding a language is then a matter of translating and publishing, not rebuilding the site.
Is machine translation good enough to start with?
As a draft, yes. As a published version, no: someone should review it before your customers and Google read it.
Does this sound like your case?
Tell us about it through the form or at web@golkosystems.com and we will tell you where to start.