Greek or English? Which language you should be measuring
Updated: 2 September 2026
The answer depends on who decides in your market, not on where you're based. If your customers think in Greek, measure Greek. If the people buying from you search in English — tourists, foreign clients, companies abroad — then the English result is just as real a revenue stream.
The decision is commercial, not linguistic
The question isn't “what language is my site in” but “what language does the person paying think in”. A hotel in Santorini may have a Greek site and a foreign audience. An accountant in Larissa may have English pages and exclusively Greek clients.
Start from the till: where did your last ten customers come from, and what language did they speak to you in. That determines what's worth measuring.
Three typical cases
- Greek only: local services, professionals, hospitality — anything requiring physical presence or a Greek framework.
- Both: tourism, e-shops shipping abroad, remote services, anything also aimed at foreign residents.
- Mainly English: B2B exporting, technology, shipping — where the market is international anyway.
Why measuring only one isn't enough
If you're in the second group and measure only Greek, you're seeing half the picture — usually the less competitive half. English questions in your industry have far stronger players.
The reverse is equally misleading: a good English result can reassure you while you're invisible in the Greek market, which is where you actually sell.
What changes in practice per language
It isn't a translation problem. The questions people ask differ: a Greek asks “where can I find”, a foreigner asks “best in”. The sources a model trusts differ too — Greek media and directories for one, international platforms for the other.
If you need both, you need two sets of signals: Greek mentions for the Greek question, international ones for the English. One doesn't bring the other.
What to do first
- Write down what language your last ten customers spoke to you in.
- If it's mixed, measure both languages separately — not one blended average.
- Don't just translate your Greek queries; write how a foreigner would actually ask.
- If you must pick one, pick the one paying the bills today.
Frequently asked questions
Should I make my site bilingual?
Only if you genuinely have a foreign audience. A badly translated bilingual site is worse than a good monolingual one — for people and for models alike.
If I improve in Greek, will I improve in English?
Barely. The two questions draw on different sources. They need separate signals, which is exactly why they're measured separately.
What about Greeklish?
Very few people ask an AI that way, unlike old-style search. Don't invest there — invest in your name being spelled correctly everywhere.
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