Localization has become a vital tool for those who wish to expand their business to foreign markets. In this article, I take a look at 5 aspects you must pay close attention to when localizing your website and marketing content.
As today’s businesses expand to new territories, very much thanks to the internet and digital technologies, selling your product means that you must look beyond your local market. Whether you are selling a product or a service, if you want to place your brand in foreign markets, you’ll need to localize your website and social media content – rather than “just” translate it.
1. Go global
Globalization doesn’t need an introduction. Everything is global nowadays, and commerce isn’t the exception. If you miss this process, you are missing out on hundreds, if not thousands, of clients and opportunities to expand your business. Localizing your website will seamlessly place you in the global market.
2. Translation isn’t localization
Translation is the process of converting words, sentences or texts to their equivalents in other languages. It’s a pretty straightforward process for those with a knowledge of the source and target cultures.
Localization goes a bit further and expands the translation process to adapt the content and the visuals to suit a certain locale and all the other technical aspects of the process, taking into consideration cultural, linguistic, and non-textual components.
3. SEO is key
SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization”. If you want your brand to be recognized and your website easily found by your clients, you need to boost your online presence by making your website relevant for those who search for the products or services you provide.
You’ll need to understand what your audience looks for when they search the internet and use those words or phrases as keywords on your website. This way, search engines will pick it up whenever there is a relevant search.
Obviously, you’ll need to adapt your SEO for as many languages as you are translating your website into (i. e., your target markets).
4. Happy users, happy clients
CSA study “Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” shows that costumer experience (CX) goes hand in hand with user experience (UX) -, whenever potential clients don’t get a positive user experience, they are more likely to abandon the purchase, even when they really need that product or service. Also, 72.1% of consumers spend most or all of their time on websites in their language.
5. Hire a professional
This one goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: If you want professional results, get a professional to do it. Getting a professional to do the job – whether it’s a marketing translator, a transcreator or a cultural consultant – will ensure you are targeting your intended audience in every country you make your product or service available.
About the author:
Ana Catarina is an English to Portuguese translator specialized in Healthcare and Marketing. She helps foreign companies to launch their brand and products in the Portuguese market by translating, localizing and transcreating their client-targeted contents to make them appealing to the Portuguese public.
