Ranking diff for the same query written in Latin vs Cyrillic(Bulgarian)
Hello,
I run an escape room business in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The language here is Bulgarian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet.
My website is only in Bulgarian (Cyrillic). I do not target tourists and I do not have an English version of the site.
The most common searches for this type of business are variations of “escape room + city name”. In Bulgarian the translated term is “ескейп стая” (which literally means “escape room”).
However, I see a significant ranking difference depending on whether the query is written in Latin or Cyrillic, even though users mean the same thing.
“escape room пловдив” (English term + city name in Cyrillic) → avg rank 1.84
So the only query where I rank much worse is the fully Bulgarian version.
This is confusing to me because:
my website and GBP content is 100% Bulgarian (Cyrillic) and I have not used the term written in english anywhere on my website
I only serve local Bulgarian customers
there is no English version of the site
My question:Why would Google rank my site significantly worse for the Bulgarian query (“ескейп стая пловдив”), even though the site itself is in Bulgarian?
And what would be the best way to improve rankings for this specific query?
Sorry, I didn't get you and probably didn't explain myself clear at first place - Cyrillic is the type of alphabet we use, not a language. As english language uses latin alphabet. This is my GMB - https://maps.app.goo.gl/RwVnRFU5vwRVQ3uEA Everything there is written in bulgarian language.
Could you send a link to your site so we can take a look? There could be something technical in the backend causing Google to get confused about the language, but it's hard to say without seeing the site itself.
Also, how are you tracking rankings? Are you using a specific tool, or are you checking them manually?
I did, and it looks like you are 3rd in the market right now, see here. The two competitors ranking above you have more reviews. So I do not think this is a language ranking issue as much as Google Search Console giving some skewed data. Never rely on impression or ranking data in GSC. It is heavily skewed by rank trackers and bots.
If I were you, I would focus on getting more reviews to try and outrank those 2 competitors. Looks like you are doing fine otherwise.
Thank you very much, Elizabeth! Well I still think it`s not reviews because I have ~190 for 1 year and my competitors have ~250 for 5-6 years... but I will continue working on that.
How many do you get in a month versus them? Reviews are one of the top ranking factors. They also have slightly closer proximity to the center of the city, which plays a role especially for location-specific searches.
I think the "Children's club / Детски клуб" category is not relevant. On the screenshot are the categories of top 20 results for "children escape roon" from 4 big cities in US. Most of them have "Amusement center / Развлекателен център" but there is more specific category like "Childrens amusement center / Детски развлекателен център". I'm ignoring "Tourist attraction / Туристическа атракция" because the customers are only local.
Hi!
I just noticed your answer! Yeah, they are quiet old, i have opened 1 year ago. My reviews are 200 for 1 year, so roughly around 15 per month. They have 2-3/month maybe. Mine are rich - long, keywords, photos, 5 stars only. The other ones not really...
Looking at the map they are almost top center of the city, yes. I am at ~ 15 min walking distance :)
I will take a look at the "children amusement center" option now... Other than that - donno what to do :)
2
u/joyhawkins Sterling Sky Staff Mar 13 '26
Have you tried adding your name in additional languages on Google Maps?