is Google penalizing the site because pages are not (yet) translated ?

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client is concerned that the 'fallback to default language' setting in WPML for untranslated pages and posts might cause Google to penalize their site for duplicate content.

Solution:
We reassured the client that using the 'fallback to default language' option does not negatively affect SEO. WPML communicates with Google to ensure that the default content is recognized, and Google will ignore the same content on secondary language pages. Once a post or page is translated, Google will index it as new content, not a duplicate. For more details, the client can refer to our documentation on Displaying Untranslated Content on Pages in Secondary Languages.

If this solution does not apply or is outdated, or if the client is facing a different issue, we recommend opening a new support ticket. It's also advisable to check the related known issues, verify the version of the permanent fix, and confirm that the latest versions of themes and plugins are installed.

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Tagged: Exception

This topic contains 1 reply, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Lucas Vidal de Andrade 1 year, 1 month ago.

Assisted by: Lucas Vidal de Andrade.

Author	Posts
February 28, 2024 at 3:38 pm #15354750
stevenH-12	Our pages and posts translation is configured as 'Translatable - use translation if available or fallback to default language' We notice that the non translated pages, that fall bac to original content are marked as "alternate page with correct canonical tag" in Search Console. Now there is a question in the marketing team, whether the setting of the 'fallback to default language' is causing Google to penalize the site's rankings, because the page is considered as duplicate content? I would say it is not, because Google explicitly says "Alternate language pages are not detected by Search Console." and thus not indexed, but I can't tell for shure. Can you tell me how the WPML setting has effect on the content and it's indexation? I'm not providing debug information, as there is no error, but I need a clarification on the settings
February 28, 2024 at 4:47 pm #15355124
Lucas Vidal de Andrade Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Portuguese (Brazil) (Português ) Timezone: America/Sao_Paulo (GMT-03:00)	Hello, Thank you for sharing the information. Using this option has no negative effect on SEO. As per our documentation: “WPML tells Google about the default content, so Google can ignore all the same content on secondary language pages. If you eventually translate a post or a page, Google will see that as new content and not a duplicate.” You can check more details here: https://wpml.org/documentation/translating-your-contents/displaying-untranslated-content-on-pages-in-secondary-languages/ Please let me know if that answers your question.