
Marketing across international borders is quite challenging and can be costly when a business fails to cover every aspect and prepare a detailed plan. One aspect to consider is to translate your website into the native language of your target market.
The majority of customers want to purchase products from websites written in their native language. Although you can use free online translation programs, you must keep in mind that translation is not only about changing the world but also about using local words, cultural references, and idioms based on cultural and socio-economic factors. Effective website translation is only possible when done by professional linguists who specialise in translating marketing content and speak your target audience’s native language. Click here for more information. When translating your website for your visitors, here are important considerations to keep in mind:
The Intricacy of the Language
Translating from a language to another includes more than just plugging the text into a free online tool. Usually, translations include emotions and an understanding of a certain culture and target audience. Indeed, machine translation tools are still behind human capabilities in terms of comprehending languages despite improvements. Regardless of how your original content looks like, you must adjust your language instead of only translate it word for word. That is why you must hire the services of a professional website translator who has experience in marketing.
Search Engine Optimisation
When creating content for your website in your original language, you may keep an eye on keywords to help improve your website’s ranking on search engine results pages. This is also something you need to do when targeting an overseas audience. The majority of people do their searches in their own language. Thus, you cannot ignore the importance of search engine optimisation (SEO) when translating your website. If you want your website to rank highly and gain better visibility in a different region, you must do effective keyword research. Unless you have experience in your target language, you need to depend on the expertise of professional translators from Lionbridge because they have knowledge of both the language and SEO. Keep in mind also that there are other search engines out there other than Google. Some countries use other search engines or have even made their own to suit their complex language.
How your Site Look and User Experience
In any language, the appearance of your website and the ease of using it are also important considerations when translating your website to a target language. This may relate to the look of the page’s content. When translating your original content into a language that ends up using more words, this could result in design problems. The same problem happens when you have to deal with space issues during the translation process as a result of longer phrases in one language than another.
Therefore, when creating your original content, you need to consider future translations. If you already know that you will be translating your content into a different language, consider using a simple design that will not be affected no matter the length of the copy.