Official statement
Google recommends aligning the language of URLs with that of the main content: if your site is in Hindi, your URLs should ideally be in Hindi as well. This linguistic consistency enhances the user experience for your target audience. However, integrating English keywords is acceptable if it genuinely benefits your users, offering welcome flexibility for multilingual sites or technical niches.
What you need to understand
Why does Google emphasize linguistic consistency in URLs?
Google's reasoning is based on a simple principle: user experience comes first. An Indian internet user looking at content in Hindi naturally expects to see that language throughout, including in URLs. This consistency builds trust and readability.
Specifically, a URL like example.com/उत्पाद/सामग्री immediately signals to the user that they are navigating a site designed for them. Google values this approach because it reduces the bounce rate and improves time spent on the page, two behavioral signals it monitors closely.
When are English keywords still relevant?
Google tempers its recommendation by allowing the use of English terms when it benefits users. Typically, technical words, names of international products, or universally recognized acronyms can remain in English without causing harm.
For example, a tech site in Hindi could legitimately keep /seo-tips/ or /smartphone-review/ if its audience searches for these terms in English. The key is to avoid incoherent mixing that would confuse the user: a URL that is half Hindi and half English without strategic reasoning sends a muddled signal.
Does this rule apply uniformly to all non-Latin languages?
The principle applies to all languages using non-Latin scripts: Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc. Google has improved its support for internationalized URLs (IDN) over the years, making the use of Unicode characters in paths technically feasible.
However, technical practicality remains a factor. Some legacy systems, analytics tools, or third-party platforms may poorly handle non-ASCII URLs. Google does not openly admit this, but many practitioners find that URLs in Latin characters remain more reliable for tracking and cross-platform compatibility.
- Linguistic consistency: align the content language with the URL language to maximize user relevance
- English flexibility: allowed for technical or universal terms if it serves the audience
- IDN support: technically functional for several years, but caution is required regarding third-party tool compatibility
- UX signal: Google values consistency as it improves behavioral metrics (time spent, bounce)
- Avoid incoherence: a random mix of languages in URLs harms clarity and crawlability
SEO Expert opinion
Is this statement consistent with observed practices in the field?
Yes and no. In principle, Google is right: URLs in the local language improve UX and click-through rates in SERPs for a monolingual audience. Chinese or Arabic sites that use their native script in URLs enjoy an immediate visual recognition advantage in results.
However, in practice, many high-performing sites in non-Latin languages keep URLs in pure ASCII. Why? Because SEO tools, affiliate platforms, social networks, and even some CMSs poorly handle Unicode characters. An experienced practitioner knows that a URL in non-Latin characters can present issues with canonicalization, encoded duplication (%E2%80%A6), or sharing on certain platforms. [To be verified]: Google claims that IDN works perfectly, but complex crawl reports on Search Console sometimes tell a different story.
What nuances should be added to this recommendation?
Google does not specify a crucial detail: the relative priority of this optimization. A URL in Hindi will never impact your ranking as much as content quality, loading speed, or backlinks. It is a marginal signal, a secondary UX factor that can make the difference between two strictly equivalent pages.
Another point: Google speaks of users as 'predominantly Hindi.' What about bilingual audiences? An educated urban Indian typically searches in English even if consuming Hindi content. In this case, an English URL can facilitate sharing, copying and pasting into an email or WhatsApp message, and improve compatibility with third-party tools. Google does not openly admit it, but this flexibility explains why its recommendation remains vague: 'acceptable as long as it benefits users.'
When does this rule not really apply?
If your site targets an international or technical audience, ignoring this recommendation may be strategically wise. A Hindi SaaS site aimed at professionals will likely use English terms in its URLs (/dashboard/, /analytics/) because its audience searches for them this way.
Similarly, if you plan for multilingual expansion, starting with an English URL structure simplifies management: /en/product/ and /hi/product/ rather than /product/ and /उत्पाद/. Google does not say it, but many sites adopt a neutral URL in English with localized content, and it works very well if the rest of the on-page optimization is flawless.
Practical impact and recommendations
What should I do concretely if my site is in Hindi?
Start with a consistency audit: are your URLs in English while 100% of your content is in Hindi? If so, assess the potential benefits of migration. For a new site, configure your CMS from the start to accept Unicode characters in slugs and test compatibility with your analytics tools (GA4, Search Console, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog).
If you opt for URLs in Hindi, ensure your sitemap.xml file correctly encodes the characters and that your canonical tags point to properly encoded URLs. Google Search Console sometimes displays URLs in percent-encoded format (%E0%A4%89…), which can complicate tracking: document your URLs to avoid confusion.
What mistakes should you absolutely avoid?
Do not mix languages in an incoherent manner: a URL like /उत्पाद/review/सामग्री/ creates confusion. If you include English, do it for universally recognized terms by your audience, not for technical ease.
Avoid also abruptly migrating all your URLs without a comprehensive redirect plan. A poorly redirected non-Latin URL can create redirect loops or invisible 404 errors if encoding changes between the server and the browser. Test each redirect manually before deploying.
How can I check that my implementation is correct?
Use Google Search Console to verify that your URLs in non-Latin characters are properly indexed and that no encoding errors appear. Inspect some pages using the 'URL Inspection' tool and ensure that Google correctly displays the properly encoded version.
Test social sharing: copy a URL in Hindi and paste it into WhatsApp, Twitter, or LinkedIn. If it displays correctly and remains clickable, you are on the right track. Also, check that your third-party tools (affiliate platforms, analytics, heatmaps) support these URLs without breaking them.
- Audit the current linguistic consistency of your URLs versus your content
- Configure your CMS to support Unicode characters in slugs
- Test the compatibility of your analytics tools with non-ASCII URLs
- Deploy impeccable 301 redirects if you are migrating existing URLs
- Check the correct encoding in your sitemap.xml and canonical tags
- Inspect some URLs in Search Console to detect encoding errors
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