Website Translation – Go Beyond the Language for Best Results

Website translation – or, in the language of our industry, “website localization”, is the first logical step when reaching new audiences and expanding to new markets. Offering services or products in your customer’s native language wildly increases likelihood that they will become buyers. Research shows that in order to reach most of the active buyers around the world you would need to translate your website into 8-10 languages. Understandably, most companies just start with one.

 So how to go about website translation?

 1. Avoid simply adding a button for Google or any other free online translation tool or widget. While these tools are getting better every day, they will never replace the quality of human translation. Using free, automated tools for translation of any material that truly matters and can affect your image, revenue or legal exposure, would be risky to say the least. You also risk that your potential customers will be appalled by how little concern you had for their reading comfort.

2. Find a good translation partner: one who has not only the linguistic expertise but also the technical skills and technology to translate files in the format needed for your website. You should be able to simply take the translated files and load them into your site. Nowadays, translation companies are equipped with excellent tools that play right into your webmaster’s hand.

3. Discus the following issues with your translation partner:

  • Your brand and how it will be preserved in the target language.
  • Handling of cultural and linguistic nuances.
  • Target audience – determine exactly who they are and here they are
  • Localization details – format of numbers, dates, telephone numbers, information on national holidays, selection of colors, website language codes, currencies, etc. All these are details that need to be addressed, as well as legal requirements that may differ country to country. These include handling of privacy statements, returns of any products purchased, tax laws, complaint procedures, data protection, etc.

4. Following translation, focus on multilingual Search Engine Optimization – your translation partner should be able to come up with a strategy for search engine optimization in the target language(s). What good would it be to publish a website without optimizing it to be found? Researching keywords in the target language should be done in cooperation with your translation partner.

5. Consider testing your website on target audiences abroad. Again, your translation provider should be able to help you with that.

6. Once your website is up and running, ask your customers for feedback. Give them a voice and listen to the information you receive.

In conclusion, website translation is very useful. But it might also be your only chance at a good first impression – so do your very best making sure you are working with the right partner who can not only help you with translation but also with SEO and testing.

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