If your website uses a dedicated translation service such as Weglot, you may want to prevent Google from also offering its own automatic translation functionality.
This can be done by adding the following meta tag to your website:
<meta name="google" content="notranslate">
What does the notranslate tag do?
The notranslate tag tells Google that you don't want it to offer its own translation of the page.
Google can detect when a webpage is written in a different language to the language being used by a visitor. In some circumstances, the visitor may then be offered the option of viewing an automatically translated version of the content.
Where your website already uses a translation solution such as Weglot, this can create an unnecessary or confusing experience, as both your chosen translation service and Google's translation functionality may attempt to handle the language of the website.
Adding the notranslate instruction tells Google that you don't want it to provide its own translation.
Does this affect SEO or Google indexing?
Adding the notranslate instruction does not prevent Google from crawling or indexing your website.
It is different from a noindex tag. Your pages can continue to appear within Google's search results as normal.
The instruction specifically relates to Google's translation functionality. It may prevent Google from offering automatically translated versions of your pages or search results to users searching in another language.
When should I use it?
You may want to consider adding the tag if:
- Your website uses a translation service such as Weglot.
- Google or Chrome is offering its own translation functionality when this isn't required.
- Google's translation functionality is conflicting with your existing translated website experience.
- Your translation provider has specifically recommended adding the tag.
If you don't use a separate translation solution and are happy for Google to offer translated versions of your content, you generally don't need to add it.
How to add the notranslate tag in ShowOff
The tag needs to be placed within the HTML <head> of your website. You can do this using ShowOff's Third-party Code functionality.
Step 1: Log into ShowOff
Log into your site's ShowOff back office.
Step 2: Open Third-party Code
From the main navigation, go to:
Settings > Site Settings > Third-party code
Step 3: Add new third-party code
Click Add third-party code.
Give the code a relevant title, such as:
Google Notranslate
Step 4: Add the code
Copy and paste the following into the large Third-party code field:
<meta name="google" content="notranslate">
Step 5: Configure the code
Set the following options:
- Category: Marketing
- Code location: Before-head-end
- Page restrictions: Leave unrestricted to apply to all pages
Selecting Before-head-end ensures the meta tag is added within the website's HTML <head>, where Google expects to find this instruction.
Leaving the code unrestricted means it will be applied across all pages of the website.
Step 6: Save your changes
Save the Third-party Code record.
The meta tag will now be included within the <head> of your website.
Checking the tag has been added
Once you've saved your changes, open the live website and check that everything is working as expected.
You can confirm the tag is present by viewing the source code of the page and searching for:
notranslate
You should see:
<meta name="google" content="notranslate">
If Google or Chrome was previously offering an unwanted automatic translation option, we'd also recommend retesting the website in the relevant browser.
Using Weglot or another translation service
It's important to remember that the notranslate tag does not translate your website.
If you're using a service such as Weglot, the tag simply helps prevent Google's own translation functionality from interfering with the translated experience you're providing.
Your translation service still needs to be correctly configured to handle areas such as translated URLs, available languages and retaining a visitor's selected language as they navigate around the website.
If you're experiencing issues with your translation provider, such as the selected language reverting when navigating between pages, this is separate from the notranslate tag and the translation provider's configuration should be reviewed.
Need help?
If a third-party provider has supplied you with a meta tag or script and you're unsure where or how it should be added to your ShowOff website, please raise a support ticket with the ASP Support team and include the code supplied by the provider.
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