In today’s world, you can connect with people from across the globe within seconds. Interacting with people further afield, or providing services to them, has never been easier. But how is your website providing those services? Are they dependent on new audiences speaking English?
That’s where website translation comes in. And it can offer huge benefits for your business.
But it’s not as simple as Google translating text in bulk and pasting it back into your site. You need to take advantage of human, professional translation services to get it right. No matter how smart Google may seem, machines cannot understand cultural references, idioms, jokes, and the context behind the text. For that, you’ll need a personal touch by someone who understands the purpose of your business and the message you want to get across.
Can’t read, won’t buy
When it comes to online shopping, the CSA (Common Sense Advisory) found that 60% of the world won’t buy from an English-only site or one that is not available in their mother tongue. This concept of ‘can’t read, won’t buy’ leaves you with a limited opportunity for business growth unless you can offer website translation alternatives to other markets.
At just over 3 billion people on the internet, 60% is a massive chunk of your potential audience. Using professional website translation services to offer your site in multiple languages is simply smart business and good manners.
Better SEO
When targeting audiences in different world markets, using localised SEO will help you build traction. Being able to use online analytics and target keywords in other languages will help you create a strong reputation and relevancy for new audiences across the world.
You’ll often find that website translation services employ translators with good knowledge of multilingual SEO – meaning you get two services for the price of one. They can do the research to understand what keywords are popular in the chosen language and country and reword meta titles, descriptions, and headings to target them.
Global lead generation
While sales teams and new business developers across the world can usually speak more than one language, it is much easier to get your message across correctly when speaking their native tongue. As such, using website translation services can provide you a whole world of opportunities for lead generation outside of your current market.
It’s not just getting the lead that translation helps with either; it’s keeping the customer. Existing and prospective customers will feel more valued if you are able to provide the contracts, marketing materials, and order confirmations in their own language.
By using an email management tool or a translation proxy server, you will be able to create website content once and have it translated over and over again, without having to build several websites and emails for each language.
Website localisation
As well as website translation for text, localization goes one step further to appeal to your new audiences.
Jokes may not be as funny for other cultures, catchy slogans may not have the same ring to them, and imagery may not speak the same message. That’s why all content on your site needs to be considered for localisation.
When working on website localisation, you should consider the following:
- Changing imagery to include local people and messaging
- Adapting the website layout to suit a more global audience
- Understand cultural norms for each country you’re aiming to target
How to implement website translation
Start small
As any business person will know, world domination doesn’t happen overnight. You need to start small so as not to get overwhelmed.
First, take a look at your website’s current traffic. Who is looking at your site? What countries do they reside in? What language is their web browser? Start translating the site for the main traffic streams and work on building your audiences from set countries first.
From here, you will be able to see what tactics work well, which don’t, and what you can improve when you work on new languages.
Find a translation service to suit your needs
What is it you need translating? Is it just current website copy, or will you need an ongoing relationship? Do you also need advice on SEO and imagery? Understanding what you need from your translation team will make comparing easier so you can find the right company for you.
Get started
Website translation is exciting. It can open a huge number of doors for your business to grow exponentially. With local language SEO, lead generation, and website formatting, you can serve more audiences than you ever dreamed of. Get started today and reap the benefits tomorrow.