Website translation services

Are you a digital marketing agency who’s looking to take your client’s global? Or are you a company who’s looking to increase your online presence abroad? No matter your company background, going global in today’s digital world has its own set of challenges. Luckily, though, with a bit of insider help, managing your online content translation really isn’t that bad! So…in no particular order, here are our top tips for helping you manage your digital translations and website translation services.

Let’s start with a few important statistics

Especially if you’re from the B2B sector, you might be wondering why website translation services are so important. Everyone speaks English, right? Well, even though most people do have a good grasp of English, did you know that you need 12 languages to reach just 80% of consumers around the world? And that’s not even taking into account statistics like 72% of people prefer to buy from a website in their own native language. It’s crazy, isn’t it, just how much difference languages really do make, which is why if you want to sell, you need to speak your buyer’s language.

How to choose your next big market

While most companies plan years in advance where they’re going to expand to, there are certainly times when you might get a little stuck – especially when it comes to online content. If you’re not sure where to expand to, it’s time to get into the mindset of a marketing manager.

You can use tools like Google Analytics to see where people are coming from when they visit your website. You can also check which countries have the biggest bounce rate or basket abandonment rates – maybe it’s because they can’t understand the website or the payment options aren’t localized. You can also check what languages their browser is set to.

Another good way of checking is by speaking to your existing customers. Have a chat with them and see if there’s anything that they think would be putting people off buying from you. Is there anything you can do to localize your offering to make their lives easier? And would it make a big difference if you offered services in their language?

And once you’ve decided where you’re going, here’s how to do it!

Website translation

When most companies go global, the first place most start is with their website. Starting off with website translation services is a great place to begin, as it’s the first place potential clients are going to check out what you do.

There’s no point in investing in translating your marketing materials without a website – as the chances are you’ll get them all interested, they’ll want to go and buy online, and then they’ll find out they can’t understand the website. So all that effort would have been wasted, and you’ll be left with a very disappointed customer.

So, when you start with website translation services, it’s really important to keep in mind the following best practices:

- Always use a native speaker who’s a qualified localization professional. Not everyone can write, which is why you can’t use a technical person to come up with your marketing texts. Plus, using a native speaker doesn’t always cut it. They need to be a localization professional because they’ll have been trained in the nuances of website translation services – and trust us, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye! If you use Mary from accounting to translate your site just because she speaks the language, the result won’t be good. Also, don’t use someone who lived in that country for a few years as no matter how good someone is at speaking, they’ll never fully be able to replicate what a native would. (Hint: this is where agencies like us can come in very useful!).
- Be prepared to put in the effort. Your English content wasn’t written overnight, and we’re sure that you put lots of effort into getting every single sentence sounding perfect. When you work on a multilingual version of your site, remember that this site is going to represent your brand so you need to put in just as much TLC. If you don’t speak the language, it’s OK – this is where your website translation services partner can help you.
- Create a brand manual and style guide. Even though they might not be in-house, it’s important to remember that your website translation services team is writing as if they were you. To help them get your brand message across in a way that’ll resonate with the new, local audience, give them as many reference materials as possible, and create a brand manual and style guide for them.
- Think about SEO. Nowadays, having a website in a different language isn’t enough. If you want to be found, think about SEO when you’re investing in website translation services. Ask your translation agency to help you identify keywords so that they can use them in the translation.
- Make the most of technology. Our final bit of advice for websites is to make the most of technology. There are tools like CMS connectors out there that can help you save an awful lot of time when it comes to managing your website, and they can help you upload too so that you don’t have to worry about all that awful manual work implementing the translation!

Online content translation

Once you’ve got your website translated, it’s also really important that you deal with the rest of your online content translation, too, in order to keep everything consistent. Having your social media, marketing materials and blog posts translated will make a world of difference when it comes to building trust and blending in your new market. A professional translation agency will be able to help you put workflows in place to manage everything simply so that you don’t have to worry about the extra work it might bring.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our tips on increasing your online presence abroad. If you have any questions or would like to make the most of our website translation services, please get in touch and we will be happy to help.