Going multilingual can multiply organic reach, yet a shaky HubSpot setup can quietly sink rankings. You do not need a new CMS. You need the right URL architecture, clean hreflang and canonicals, a crawlable language switcher, and a workflow that keeps every locale in sync.
This guide is practical and technical without the fluff. We will configure Settings > Website > Languages, create blog variants, localize slugs and metadata, validate sitemaps and redirect maps, use HubDB and CMS GraphQL for data-driven pages, and measure performance by language in GSC, GA, and HubSpot.
Score before you build. Create a one-page model and kill low-ROI locales early.
Demand and intent
Build a per-locale keyword set with search volume and intent tags.
Map pages to intent buckets: informational, commercial, transactional.
Identify local competitors already ranking and the content depth they use.
Back-of-the-envelope forecast
Traffic = monthly volume × expected CTR by rank
Leads = traffic × localized conversion rate
Revenue = leads × win rate × average revenue per account
CAC per locale = content cost + translation or transcreation + QA + link building, all divided by new customers
Greenlight when payback fits one to three quarters
Operational readiness
Decide translation vs transcreation and create a glossary and style guide.
Define SLAs for updating all locales when the source changes.
Align legal and privacy for forms, emails, and data storage.
Duplicates
Symptom: English and local pages compete for the same query.
Causes: reused English slug, no alternates, cross-locale internal links.
Fix: create proper language variants, localize slugs, link alternates, keep internal links within the same locale first.
Wrong canonicals
Symptom: Google indexes only the English URL.
Cause: translated page canonical points to English.
Fix: each variant uses a self-referencing canonical.
Missing hreflang
Symptom: wrong language appears in SERP.
Cause: variants not paired or codes are wrong.
Fix: create multi-language variations so HubSpot outputs alternates, use correct codes such as pt-br, es-mx, en-gb, and add x-default for the homepage family when applicable.
Subdirectories
Pattern: example.com/pt-br/, example.com/es/, example.com/en/
Pros: consolidates authority, simple governance, clean reporting.
Cons: requires disciplined folder structure.
Default choice for most blogs on HubSpot.
Subdomains
Pattern: pt-br.example.com
Pros: isolation when stacks differ.
Cons: more overhead, dilution risk, more properties to manage.
ccTLDs
Pattern: example.com.br
Pros: strongest country signal.
Cons: highest cost and fragmentation. Use only with legal or brand requirements.
Conventions
Lowercase locale folders with hyphen for region: /pt-br/ and /es-mx/.
Decide on trailing slash and keep it consistent.
Steps you actually perform:
Settings > Website > Languages.
Set the primary language for each domain or subdomain.
Add each target language and select the locale, for example pt-br or es-mx.
Confirm date and number formats.
Align the URL prefix to your folder plan.
Keep one primary blog and create language variants of that blog.
Translate posts as multi-language variations so HubSpot emits hreflang and keeps sitemaps clean.
Localize title, slug, meta description, image alt text, internal links.
Create a subscription email per language when needed.
Use global content for header and footer with a menu per language.
All nav links should include the locale path.
Add a link-based language switcher in header or footer. Preserve the current path and UTM parameters.
When you create multi-language variations, HubSpot links alternates automatically. Still validate in source.
Example snippet
Add x-default on the canonical homepage or language gateway page if you have several starts.
Do not canonical a local page to the English page unless you are consolidating on purpose.
Crawl a sample per locale and check for alternates and self canonical.
Use Search Console to confirm coverage and the selected canonical.
Fix any missing pairs or incorrect codes.
Use readable keywords in the local language.
Keep slugs short and consistent with the title.
Avoid copying the English slug to other locales.
Match local intent and SERP patterns.
Include the locale’s primary keyword near the start of the title.
Write unique metas that promise the specific value of the local page.
Localize OG title and description for better previews and CTR.
Do not auto-redirect by browser language.
Provide anchor links to each variant and keep UTM intact.
Place in header and footer for users and crawlers.
Example HTML
Mirror pillar and cluster structure in each language.
Link within the same locale first to avoid cross-language cannibalization.
Localize breadcrumbs and related posts.
Article schema, and Core Web Vitals
Confirm localized posts appear in the auto sitemap for each host or path.
Add inLanguage in Article structured data when applicable.
Track Core Web Vitals by locale. Optimize images, fonts, caching and third parties for each market.
Inventory current URLs per language.
Map one-to-one 301s. Avoid chains. Enforce HTTPS and a single host.
Return 410 for content retired without replacement.
Bulk CSV example
Verify properties for each domain or subdirectory you use.
Submit sitemaps per host or path.
Monitor Index Coverage and the International report for two to four weeks.
Fix missing alternates, wrong canonicals, 404s and unexpected 302s.
From Search Console: impressions, clicks, CTR, position per locale.
From GA or HubSpot: sessions, conversion rate, revenue or pipeline by locale.
From CRM: lead quality and win rate by language.
Update the forecast monthly and shift content budget to the winners.
Pre-launch
Languages added in Settings with correct locales and URL prefixes
Subdirectory strategy documented and applied
Primary blog with language variants created
Slugs, titles, metas, alt text localized
Self canonical present on every variant
Hreflang pairs correct and complete
Language switcher is link based and preserves path and UTM
Localized pages present in the sitemap
Redirect CSV prepared and tested in staging
Go-live
Upload 301s and spot-check for chains
Submit sitemaps and verify properties
Crawl samples to confirm alternates and canonicals
Monitor logs and catch 404s quickly
Post-launch
Review Index Coverage and International Targeting for 2 to 4 weeks
Patch missing pairs or wrong codes
Compare KPIs by language and iterate titles, metas and internal links
Go multilingual on HubSpot the right way: unify authority with subdirectories, ship true language variants with clean hreflang and self-canonicals, use a crawlable language switcher and tight governance, then measure by locale and scale what works—so you grow internationally without sacrificing the rankings you already own.