Google has published two new help documents around translation. The first is on how Google can automatically translate your search result snippets to a different language. The second is after the searcher clicks from that result, how to ensure that when Google translates, that page that your ads work on that translated page.
The thing is, over the past couple of months, I've seen a few folks share with me screenshots of Google automatically translating the search results. I can't find those examples anymore and I just assumed it was a Google Translate Chrome feature and didn't think it as built into Google Search. I was wrong and I am sorry, it looks like a relatively new Google Search feature - where Google can take your English snippet and translate it into a different language.
Google said when it comes to the translated search results, "sometimes Google may translate the title link and snippet of a search result for results that aren't in the language of the search query. A translated result is a Google Search feature that enables users to view results from other languages in their language, and can help publishers reach a larger audience." The translated currently is in these languages: Indonesian, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and is available on mobile devices with any browser that supports Google Search.
Then when a searcher clicks the translated title link from Google Search, Google said "all further user interaction with the page is through Google Translate, which will automatically translate any links followed." That is when you need to make sure your ads, if they are on the page, work with Google Translate. This help document helps you follow the steps to make sure it does.
Oh, if you don't want Google to translate your snippets, you can opt out and then opt in.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
Update: Google announced it a day later over here and shared some screenshots of this in action:
