Adding Chinese and Vietnamese to your website
Do it with a separate page for each language (for example /zh/ and /vi/), translated by a person rather than a pop-up translator alone, and linked with hreflang tags so Google shows each customer the right version. Use Simplified Chinese for most customers born in mainland China, Traditional Chinese for Hong Kong and Taiwan, and add the contact apps each group uses: WeChat, WhatsApp or Zalo. This site is built that way in four languages.
Separate pages or a translate plugin?
| Separate language pages | Auto-translate widget | |
|---|---|---|
| Shows in Google in that language | Yes, each page can rank | Usually not; the page is still English to Google |
| Quality | Written by a person, local wording | Machine translation, often stiff or wrong |
| Titles and descriptions | Translated, with the words people search | Usually left in English |
| Cost | Higher up front | Monthly fee (e.g. Weglot) or free widget |
Getting the details right
- Simplified (简体) for mainland Chinese customers; Traditional (繁體) for Hong Kong and Taiwan
- Vietnamese with full accents and local terms, not a literal word-for-word version
- WeChat QR code for Chinese customers, WhatsApp or Zalo for Vietnamese customers
- Prices in AUD, Australian phone format, and suburb names left in English
- hreflang links between versions and a language switch at the top of every page
- Search terms in each language, e.g. “墨尔本 装修”, not just a translation of the English keyword
Who it suits
Businesses in suburbs with large Chinese- or Vietnamese-speaking communities (Box Hill, Glen Waverley, Footscray, Springvale, Cabramatta, Hurstville, Sunnybank), and overseas factories selling to Australian buyers. See our overseas landing pages.