Romania is one of the fastest-growing digital markets in the EU, and many international companies launch a Romanian website expecting organic traffic to follow. Most are disappointed. Here are the mistakes we see most often — and how to avoid them.
Mistake 1: Translating instead of localising
The most common mistake is running the English site through a translation tool and publishing the result. Machine-translated Romanian is usually understandable, but it reads as foreign — and it rarely uses the words Romanians actually search for. Search behaviour is local. A literal translation of your English keyword can have zero search volume, while the term people really use sits right next to it. Keyword research has to be done in Romanian, from Romanian data, before any content is written.
Mistake 2: Ignoring diacritics — or relying on them
Romanian uses diacritics (ă, â, î, ș, ț), but many people search without them. Google generally understands both forms, yet the way your titles and URLs handle diacritics still matters for readability and click-through. Our approach: correct diacritics in visible content, clean ASCII in URLs, and keyword research that checks both spellings.
Mistake 3: Getting multilingual structure wrong
We regularly audit sites where the Romanian version is technically invisible. Typical causes:
- All languages on one URL, switched with JavaScript or cookies, so Google indexes only one version.
- The Romanian page's canonical tag pointing to the English page, which tells Google to ignore it.
- Missing or one-way hreflang tags.
- Romanian pages with English title tags and meta descriptions.
The fix is straightforward: separate URLs per language (for example /ro/), fully translated content and metadata, a self-referencing canonical on every page and reciprocal hreflang tags between all versions, including an x-default.
Mistake 4: Forgetting Hungarian
Around a million people in Romania speak Hungarian as their first language, concentrated in Transylvania. For businesses selling in cities like Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Târgu Mureș or the Székely Land, a Hungarian version can be a real competitive edge: competition for Hungarian-language searches in Romania is usually much lower than for Romanian ones. It requires the same care — native writing, its own keyword research and correct hreflang.
Mistake 5: Thin service pages
A 100-word "Our services" page won't rank in Romania any more than it would in the UK. Romanian SERPs for commercial terms like "servicii SEO" or "agenție marketing online" are competitive, and the pages that win explain the offer in depth: what's included, for whom, the process, pricing factors and FAQs.
Mistake 6: No local trust signals
Romanian buyers — especially in B2B — look for signs that you're reachable and legitimate locally: a Romanian phone number, a local address or registered company, prices in lei, local reviews and case studies. These signals affect conversion rates directly and, through engagement and links, rankings indirectly. A Google Business Profile for your Romanian office is essential if you want to appear for local searches.
Mistake 7: Buying cheap links
The Romanian market has no shortage of sites selling sponsored articles. Some are genuine publications with real readers; many are networks built only to sell links. The second kind carries risk and little value. Focus on relevant Romanian publications, industry associations, partners and local press.
Mistake 8: Ignoring how Google looks in Romania
Romanian search results increasingly show AI Overviews, local packs and video results for commercial queries. That means the classic "10 blue links" strategy is not enough. Structure content so it can be quoted (clear definitions, direct answers, lists), keep your Google Business Profile complete, and consider short video content for key topics.
A practical checklist for your Romanian launch
- Research keywords in Romanian (and Hungarian, if relevant) from local data.
- Create separate language URLs with self-referencing canonicals and reciprocal hreflang.
- Write — don't machine-translate — titles, meta descriptions and page copy.
- Build in-depth service pages with FAQs for your core commercial terms.
- Add local trust signals: Romanian phone number, lei pricing, local address, reviews.
- Set up Google Search Console with the Romanian section as its own property or filter.
- Earn links from relevant Romanian publications, not link networks.
- Run Google Ads in Romanian in parallel to learn which keywords convert.
How long does it take?
With a correct technical setup, localised pages can be indexed within days and start ranking for long-tail terms within weeks. Competitive commercial keywords typically take 3–6 months of consistent content and authority building.
Need help?
We're a trilingual agency based in Oradea, working natively in Romanian, Hungarian and English. Our SEO services cover the full process — from keyword research and multilingual technical setup to localised content and link building. If you're still deciding who to work with, read how to choose a digital marketing agency in Romania.