experiment: single-language meta descriptions for de/fr/nl

[Hugo0]

Summary

A/B test the multilingual-first vs single-language-first homepage meta description hypothesis. Tests whether the multilingual framing PR #187 shipped is actually right for non-English homepages.

Background

PR #187 shipped multilingual-first descriptions for the top 10 non-English homepages, e.g.:

```
/es: "Juega a Wordle en más de 80 idiomas — del árabe al yoruba…"
```

The reasoning was that Google had rewritten our brand query (`wordle global`) meta to use multilingual framing. I extrapolated from one data point (Google likes multilingual for the brand query) to a recommendation for all homepages. That extrapolation was unjustified — the brand query and language-specific queries have different intents.

A user typing `wordle español` has signaled they want Spanish wordle, not a polyglot tool. Every successful single-language wordle competitor I curl-checked leads with single-language framing; none lead with multilingual:

• Spanish SERP: La Palabra del Día, wordleespanol.org, santiagodebus.com — all single-language
• German SERP: SZ.de, Spiegel — all "Wordle auf Deutsch", no multilingual
• French SERP: SUTOM, others — all single-language

Strong qualitative signal that single-language framing wins for language-specific queries, but I have zero quantitative evidence. Hence the experiment.

Experiment design

Group	Languages	Style	Sample baseline
Control (multilingual, no change)	`es`, `it`, `pt`	Keep current	ES 1.34% CTR @ pos 6.57
Treatment (this PR)	`de`, `fr`, `nl`	Switch to single-language	DE 3.76% CTR @ pos 7.81
Untouched (no signal expected)	`ar`, `hr`, `fi`, `tr`	n/a — saturated	FI 84% CTR @ pos 1.12

3 vs 3, similar combined impression volume, both groups span Romance + Germanic for fair comparison. Saturated markets excluded because their CTRs are pinned at the ceiling.

Treatment descriptions (LLM, native review pending)

```
de: Wordle auf Deutsch — täglich ein neues 5-Buchstaben-Wort, kostenlos, ohne
Anmeldung. Unbegrenzter Modus, 8 Spielmodi, Wortdefinitionen nach jedem
Spiel. (152 chars)

fr: Wordle en français — un nouveau mot de 5 lettres chaque jour, gratuit, sans
inscription. Mode illimité, 8 modes de jeu, définitions après chaque
partie. (152 chars)

nl: Wordle in het Nederlands — elke dag een nieuw woord van 5 letters, gratis,
geen account. Onbeperkte modus, 8 spelmodi, woorddefinities na elke
ronde. (149 chars)
```

All under Google's ~160-char display cap. Each leads with the language name, mentions daily/free/no-account upfront, then closes with the differentiators (unlimited mode, 8 modes, definitions).

Measurement schedule

Date	Action
Apr 9	Ship this PR
Apr 16	First GSC check — verify Google reindexed
Apr 23	Early CTR signal (2 weeks)
May 7	Primary measurement — compare control vs treatment delta
May 21	Final assessment, roll out winner or revert

Decision rule

• Treatment lifts ≥0.5pp more than control on average → roll out single-language framing to all non-English homepages
• Treatment lifts ≤0pp more than control → revert treatment to multilingual
• Mixed signal → investigate per-language

Test plan

• `uv run pytest tests/test_language_config.py` — 1,417 pass
• All 3 descriptions validated as JSON, under 160 chars
• Post-deploy: curl prod to confirm new descriptions live
• May 7: GSC export and CTR delta comparison

Full design + measurement notes in `docs/seo-ctr-tracking-2026-04-08.md` (gitignored, local only).

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Updated descriptions for German, French, and Dutch versions to better reflect local features and enhance user experience. Each description now highlights a daily word game in the respective language, free play without account creation, unlimited play mode, 8 available game modes, and word definitions displayed after completing each game.

[coderabbitai]

Caution

Review failed

The pull request is closed.

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 25dd9fb5-ebbb-481e-a410-6397bf588c97

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 17f6a09 and a0a150d.

📒 Files selected for processing (3)

• data/languages/de/language_config.json
• data/languages/fr/language_config.json
• data/languages/nl/language_config.json

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Three language configuration files were updated with region-specific meta.description values. The German, French, and Dutch configs now contain localized descriptions emphasizing daily gameplay, free access, multiple modes, and word definitions, replacing generic multi-language marketing statements.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Language Config Metadata data/languages/de/language_config.json, data/languages/fr/language_config.json, data/languages/nl/language_config.json	Updated meta.description field in each language config from generic multi-language pitch to region-specific descriptions highlighting daily 5-letter words, free play without signup, unlimited mode, 8 game modes, and post-game definitions.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~2 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• SEO: keyword-rich meta descriptions for all 65 languages #128: Updates per-language meta.description strings that serve as locale-specific inputs for SEO meta-description generation/templates.

Poem

🐰 In German, French, and Dutch so fine,
Descriptions now in each locale shine,
No more generic global call—
Each language has its local hall! 🌍✨

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch experiment/seo-single-language-meta

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}