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How to Set Up SEO for a Bilingual WordPress Blog (English + Spanish)

How to Set Up SEO for a Bilingual WordPress Blog (English + Spanish)

Running a bilingual blog doesn’t just double your audience — it also doubles your SEO opportunities.
But if you don’t structure it correctly, you risk confusing Google and your readers.

This guide shows you step by step how to build a WordPress site that ranks clearly in both English and Spanish,
perfect for authors and creators who publish in two languages.

Step 1 — Define Language Containers (EN & ES)

Start by creating two main categories in WordPress:

  • EN (Slug: en)
  • ES (Slug: es)

These act as language containers. Under each, create your topic-specific subcategories; for example:
“Self-Publishing Foundations” under EN and “Fundamentos de Autoedición” under ES.

URL Example:
/category/en/self-publishing-foundations/
and
/category/es/fundamentos-autoedicion/

Step 2 — Use Consistent Slugs and Metadata

Keep your slugs short, lowercase, and equivalent between languages. For example:

English Spanish
/self-publishing-foundations/ /fundamentos-autoedicion/
/ai-visibility-optimization/ /ia-optimizacion-visibilidad/

In RankMath or Yoast, assign titles and descriptions in the corresponding language.
Avoid mixing languages in metadata — Google detects it and reduces visibility.

Step 3 — Add hreflang Tags for Each Version

The hreflang tags tell Google which page to display for each language or market.
You can add them manually or let RankMath / WPML generate them automatically. 

<link rel="alternate" href="https://selfpubpath.com/bilingual-wordpress-seo-setup/" hreflang="en" />
<link rel="alternate" href="https://selfpubpath.com/es/configuracion-seo-wordpress-bilingue/" hreflang="es-MX" />
<link rel="alternate" href="https://selfpubpath.com/es/configuracion-seo-wordpress-bilingue/" hreflang="es" />
<link rel="alternate" href="https://selfpubpath.com/bilingual-wordpress-seo-setup/" hreflang="x-default" />

Step 4 — Optimize Permalinks and Category Base

Go to Settings → Permalinks → Optional and clear the “Category base” field for cleaner URLs:

/en/self-publishing-foundations/post-name/
/es/fundamentos-autoedicion/post-name/

Keeping URLs consistent between languages helps Google understand relationships and improves indexing.

Step 5 — Enable Breadcrumbs for Clear Navigation

Enable breadcrumbs in RankMath or Yoast. You’ll get hierarchical paths like:

EN › Self-Publishing Foundations › Is Amazon KDP Worth It in 2026?
ES › Fundamentos de Autoedición › ¿Vale la pena KDP en 2026?

This improves navigation and sends strong internal structure signals to Google.

Step 6 — Interlink English and Spanish Versions

At the end of each article, include a small bilingual switch or a “Read in Español” link: 

<p><a href="https://selfpubpath.com/es/configuracion-seo-wordpress-bilingue/">Read this article in Español</a></p>

This link reinforces cross-language SEO signals and improves user experience.

Step 7 — Verify in Google Search Console

Add both https://selfpubpath.com/ and https://selfpubpath.com/es/ as properties in Google Search Console.
Check “Coverage → Detected Language” to confirm each page is indexed correctly.

Step 8 — Use AI for Metadata Translation

Use ChatGPT or DeepL to generate natural meta titles and descriptions for Spanish audiences.
Example prompt:

“Translate this meta description into SEO-optimized Spanish for Mexican readers.”

Summary Checklist

  • Create EN + ES parent categories
  • Build subcategories for each language
  • Add hreflang tags between versions
  • Use consistent slugs and metadata
  • Enable breadcrumbs in RankMath
  • Verify indexing in Search Console

Your Next Step

Download our free “WordPress SEO Setup Checklist for Authors (EN + ES)” with templates, hreflang examples, and structure maps to optimize your bilingual blog professionally.

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