The internet boasts around 3 billion users worldwide (around 40% of the world’s population). Statistics show that approximately 37% of online users spend more time on sites in their own language than on just English language sites, while 19% completely avoid sites in English language.
There are many customers on the internet who need to communicate in their own language, which is why your website needs to be more than merely an online shop. It needs to be able to communicate with the world in order to expand your client list. Many companies have realized this and have adjusted their websites according to this.
Nowadays, there is a goal to make a website which has been designed for a particular target audience, and that is where website localization comes in, changing as many features of the website as it is required.
Translation, Localization and Development of Internet Presentations
Steps to a successful target localization:
1. Analyze your target market
Before starting your localization, you need to prepare for it by paying attention to the following factors:
– Geographic markets
– Target customers
– Their languages
– Consumer habits in the targeted region
– Market opportunities for which your company has a product or a solution.
Only if you understand the characteristics of your market will you be able to connect with your potential clients.
2. Keyword and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) planning
It may come as a surprise that Google is not the number one search engine in all countries.
A list of relevant keywords should be created for each market. A native speaker with knowledge of SEO should perform this, one who understands the target market and their search habits, because often the direct translation of a keyword in the target language may not be the best solution. An appropriate keyword can help you to successfully interact with your target audience.
3. Select the site structure
It is important to decide what type of domain you will use on your website – level domains (e.g. site.fr), sub-domains (e.g. fr.site.com), or sub-folders (e.g.site.com/fr). Each option has its advantages and disadvantages, and the factors that affect your business will help you make the final decision.
Usually the most visited pages on a website are target pages. It is important to ensure that all content on these pages is relevant to your target in the local language.
4. Choose the content
Planning, market analysis and keyword research should influence the content you publish for your international audience. It is important to make sure that all content selected for translation is culturally correct, because you will achieve maximum success in target markets if you include the local cultural values.
5. Let the professionals translate the content
Even thought free translation services might be quick, they often result in text which does not seem natural to a native reader, which is why professional translators should localize your web content if you plan to reach an international audience. If you create the right translation the first time, it will make a good impression when people visit your multilingual site for the first time, and it will also save you money, time and resources.
6. Localize the content and design simultaneously
In the Russian language, for example, content is typically 60% longer than in the English language. Nowadays, websites are not only accessed by desktop computers, but also by mobile phones and tablets. This should be taken into account when adding new languages to your website. Website content and templates should allow text to be expanded for different languages. This is something which should be done at the beginning, in order to avoid technical difficulties later on.
However, text is not the only thing to be considered regarding your website. Colors, designs and writing styles should be different for different countries. For example, colors have different meanings in different countries, so one should pay attention to them as well, in order not to offend anyone.
Visitors should also be able to quickly select the language in which they wish to view the pages.
Picture and video files on your website should also be taken into consideration in order to determine if they also require localization. Would it be enough to subtitle a video or should a different video be made for every language? You should also consider different payment methods in different countries.
7. Consider getting social
It is recommended that you make good use of the social media for appropriate target markets. Your website should contain share buttons for social media, which will increase your traffic. Not all countries use the same social media, so one should pay attention to this as well.
8. Staff response
Make sure to have enough people who can speak the target language and be able to respond to all your foreign language inquiries! Otherwise, contact your translation provider.