Building a French and English website that search engines understand

In Morocco many customers search in French and many in English, and tourists often start in a third language. A bilingual website can reach all of them, but only if it is built so that search engines understand which page is for whom. Done carelessly, two languages can confuse search engines and split your visibility. Done well, they double your reach.

Give each language its own address

The most reliable structure is one URL per language, for example /en/services and /fr/services. Avoid showing different languages on the same address based on the visitor's location. Search engines see one page and users sometimes get the wrong language. Separate URLs can each be indexed, shared and linked to.

Tell search engines how the pages relate

An hreflang annotation tells search engines that two pages are translations of each other and which language each one serves. Every page lists all its language versions, including itself. An x-default entry says which version to show when no language matches. Each page should also have a canonical address pointing to itself, so the French page is not treated as a duplicate of the English one.

• Set the lang attribute on the page so browsers and screen readers use the right language.
• List both languages in your XML sitemap with their alternates.
• Add a visible language switcher on every page that links to the same page in the other language.

Translate, do not just convert

Automatic translation pasted onto a page reads badly and rarely matches what people really type into a search box. The French phrase people search for is often not a literal copy of the English one. Write each version for its readers, keep titles and descriptions unique in each language and check names, units and currency.

Local basics for Marrakech and Ouarzazate

• Create and complete a Google Business Profile for each location you really operate from.
• Keep your business name, address and phone number identical everywhere they appear.
• Mention the cities naturally in your content where it is true and useful to the reader.
• Add structured data (schema.org) describing your organization, services and locations so machines can read the facts directly.

Speed and clarity still win

Many visitors will arrive on a phone with an average connection. Light pages, compressed images, clear headings and a simple layout help both people and search engines. A page that answers a real question in plain words will usually do better than one stuffed with keywords.

Make it readable for AI assistants too

More people now ask AI assistants instead of searching. The same habits help here: clear structure, honest facts and pages that answer questions directly. A plain-text summary such as an llms.txt file is an emerging way to give assistants a clean overview of your site, although support varies.

If you are planning a bilingual site and want it to be found in both languages, we are happy to look at your situation and suggest a structure that fits.