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Google revealed its new “algorithmic improvement” for how it chooses titles for search results snippets that use multi-language or transliterated titles. It will also work when the title element is written in a different language than the primary content – Search Engine Land reports.
“We introduced an algorithmic improvement that identifies documents where the title element is written in a different language or script from its content and chooses a title that is similar to the language and script of the document. This is based on the general principle that a document’s title should be written in the language or script of its primary contents. It’s one of the reasons where we might go beyond title elements for web result titles.” – stands in the announcement.
Basically, when a title is written in a different language or script than the content on the page, Google will try to find the best title link for the search result snippet.
Google updates its title algorithm for multi-language or transliterated titles https://t.co/82B1Gghguf via @sengineland — Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) June 3, 2022
Multilingual Titles
Multilingual titles repeat the same phrase in two languages or scripts. Most often, it’s when an English version is appended to the original title text. Usually, the title consists of two parts divided by a hyphen, but the meaning is the same, just in two languages.
In those cases, Google will choose the original language for the title instead of the English one, since the rest of the content on the website is not in English. Google gave an example of a title:
गीतांजलि की जीवनी – Geetanjali Biography in Hindi
Both titles have the same meaning and the same content in two languages – Hindi and English. Since the document itself is written in Hindi, Google will choose the Hindi title as well, and remove the English one. So, the title will be changed to just: “गीतांजलि की जीवनी”.
Latin Scripted Titles & Transliteration
Transliteration is the process of writing content from one language to another that uses a different script or alphabet. Google gave an example of a page title for a song written in Hindi, but transliterated to a Latin alphabet, rather than using Hindi native Devanagari script and characters:
jis desh me holi kheli jati hai
In this case, Google will try and find an alternative title using the page’s dominant script. In this case, the title could end up being “जिस देश में होली खेली जाती है”.
Why Is This Important?
Your title should not use a language or a script that is different from the content on your page. If it does, you might notice a change in your click-through rates.
