blog-locale-audit

# Blog Locale Audit, Multilingual Quality Control

Audits a directory of multilingual blog content to ensure every language
version is complete, consistent, correctly tagged, and SEO-optimized.
Catches international content issues before they hurt rankings.

> Adapted from `claude-blog-multilingual` by Chris Mueller (Pro Hub Challenge,
> March 2026). Original: https://github.com/Chriss54/multilingual-int

## Workflow

### Phase 1: Discovery

1. Scan the target directory. Group blog posts by language using:
   - Subdirectory names (`en/`, `de/`, `fr/`).
   - Frontmatter `lang` and `translatedFrom` fields.
   - `hreflang-map.json` if present.
2. Build a content matrix mapping which post exists in which languages.
3. Detect the source language (most common `translatedFrom` target, or the
   `sourceLanguage` field in `hreflang-map.json` if present).

### Phase 2: Completeness Audit

Show which translations are missing:

```
### Translation coverage matrix

| Post (EN) | DE | FR | ES | JA |
|-----------|----|----|----|----|
| how-to-avoid-ai-slop | ok | ok | missing | missing |
| content-marketing-2026 | ok | missing | ok | missing |

Coverage: 60% (6 of 10 expected translations present)
Missing: 4 translations needed
```

### Phase 3: Content Parity Audit

For every post that exists in multiple languages:

| Check | What | Severity |
|-------|------|----------|
| Section count | Same number of H2 and H3 sections | Critical |
| FAQ count | Same number of FAQ items | High |
| Image count | Same number of images | High |
| Chart count | Same number of charts (SVG figures) | High |
| Word count ratio | Within expected band for language pair (DE +20% to +30%, JA -20%, ES +10%) | Medium |
| Link count | Similar internal and external link counts | Medium |
| Citation capsule count | Same number per H2 across versions | Medium |
| Frontmatter parity | All required fields present per version | High |

Flag every significant deviation as an issue.

### Phase 4: SEO Parity Audit

For every language version verify:

| Element | Check | Severity |
|---------|-------|----------|
| Title tag | Present, correct length for the language | Critical |
| Meta description | Present, correct length, contains a stat | Critical |
| `lang` attribute or frontmatter `lang` | Present, valid ISO 639-1 | Critical |
| Schema `inLanguage` | Matches `lang` | High |
| Schema `translationOfWork` | Points to the source URL | High |
| Alt text | Translated (no English alt in non-EN posts) | High |
| Slug | Localized (no English slug in non-EN posts) | Medium |
| Tags | Localized | Medium |
| Keywords | Localized | Medium |

### Phase 5: Hreflang Audit

If `hreflang-tags.html`, `hreflang-sitemap.xml`, or `hreflang-map.json`
exists in the directory:

| Check | What | Severity |
|-------|------|----------|
| Self-referencing | Each page references itself | Critical |
| Return tags | Every relationship is bidirectional | Critical |
| `x-default` | Present, points to source language | Critical |
| Language codes | Valid ISO 639-1 (with optional region) | High |
| URL consistency | Same protocol, same trailing-slash convention | Medium |
| Completeness | Every language version represented | High |

If no hreflang files exist, report it as a critical gap and offer:
"Run `/blog multilingual <topic> --languages ...` to regenerate, or create
hreflang-tags.html manually."

If `seo-hreflang` from claude-seo is installed, suggest running it for
deeper validation.

### Phase 6: Freshness Audit

For posts with `translatedDate` in frontmatter:

| Check | What | Severity |
|-------|------|----------|
| Source updated after translation | Source modified after `translatedDate` | Critical |
| Translation older than 90 days | May need refresh | Medium |
| `lastUpdated` mismatch across versions | Versions out of sync | Medium |
| File mtime newer than `translatedDate` | Content changed without frontmatter update | Warning |

Emit actionable commands per stale file:

```
3 translations are stale:
- de/ki-trends-2026.md (source updated 2 days ago)
  -> Run: /blog translate en/ai-trends-2026.md --to de
- fr/ki-trends-2026.md (source updated 2 days ago)
  -> Run: /blog translate en/ai-trends-2026.md --to fr
- es/tendencias-ia-2026.md (translation > 90 days old)
  -> Run: /blog translate en/ai-trends-2026.md --to es
```

### Phase 7: Report

Output as markdown by default. If the user passes `--html`, also write the
report to `locale-audit-report.html` with the same content.

```
## Multilingual content audit report

### Summary
- Posts audited: [N] across [N] languages
- Overall health: [score] / 100
- Critical issues: [N]
- Warnings: [N]

### Translation coverage
[Matrix from Phase 2]

### Issues found
#### Critical
- [Issue with file references]

#### Warnings
- [Issue with file references]

#### Passed
- [Checks that passed]

### Prioritized fixes
1. [Highest-impact action]
2. [...]

### Stale-translation alerts
[Runnable commands from Phase 6]

### Quick fixes
- Run `/blog translate <file> --to <missing-langs>` for [N] missing translations.
- Run `/blog multilingual` to regenerate hreflang assets.
- Run `/blog localize <file> --locale <code>` for weak cultural adaptations.
```

## Error Handling

| Scenario | Action |
|----------|--------|
| Empty directory | "No blog posts found in [path]" |
| Only one language present | Report coverage, suggest target languages |
| No hreflang files | Flag as critical gap, offer regeneration |
| Unrecognized file format | Skip with a warning |

## Cross-References

- Fill missing translations: `/blog translate <file> --to <missing-codes>`
- Deepen weak adaptations: `/blog localize <file> --locale <code>`
- Regenerate hreflang assets: `/blog multilingual <topic> --languages <codes>`