Field Notes #3: We Deleted 16 Languages. The Traffic Barely Noticed.

Description and use

Removing 16 of 21 locales from the site reduced multilingual coverage but had minimal impact on overall traffic. The pipeline now enforces stricter translation quality checks.

Problem

The site’s translation pipeline dropped 16 of 21 locales, raising trust concerns and affecting traffic distribution.

Outcome

The deletion of 16 locales reduced the site’s multilingual footprint but did not significantly harm overall traffic; the dropped locales still generated more impressions than the retained ones, though clicks were minimal.

Workflow

• Owner decided to cut languages on September 24 based on quality concerns.
• Pipeline removed translation files for the 16 dropped locales.
• Redirects were set up so deleted URLs point to English pages.
• Search Console data was reviewed to assess traffic impact.
• Pipeline was updated to enforce stricter translation quality checks for the remaining locales.
• Future releases require each locale to pass glossary registration, UI catalog typing, and de‑tell/leak passes.
• The site’s public ledger records the decision and the pipeline’s execution.

Evidence

The cut landed on September 24, and it was an owner verdict, not a traffic calculation.

Source

The five kept locales drew 493 impressions and 6 clicks. The deleted set — counting the twelve the report shows — drew roughly 850 impressions and 7 clicks.

Source

A translation is a promise published in a language the site's owner cannot check by reading it.

Source