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In the world of SEO and marketing, it’s important to remember that your native language does not reach all demographics. It may be that you are a large corporation operating on a global scale or a small business in a local area fluent in a foreign language.
Either way, taking advantage of marketing and advertising translation services when localizing your website content can expand your business opportunities.
Languages and Countries Beyond English Speakers
The U.S. ranks third in the world for the greatest number of internet users. In fact, India has almost 50% more users, and China more than double that of the U.S. Meanwhile, in the United States, Spanish is the first language for 40 million people.
Not only that, but even more people speak Asian- and Pacific-based languages, including Chinese, Hindi, or Tagalog, than European-based languages.These markets are significant opportunities for savvy businesses looking to outpace their competitors. If English is the only language on your website, you are missing out on a vast world of potential customers.
Personalization is the Key to Reaching Customers
Marketing statistics show that personalization has a significant impact on web traffic to your site, maintaining your customer base, and driving new sales. Personalization on websites and advertising targets people with content that is tailored to their needs and expectations. That includes speaking to them in the first language.
Speaking to potential visitors in their first language inspires trust and confidence. Taking the effort to translate content sends a signal that your business is in tune with its customers. Local language translation removes an unnecessary stumbling block.
How to Plan Your Translation Needs
Website analytics programs like Google Analytics provide you with a wealth of data about website visitors. You can dig in to the provided categories to understand where your visitors are and to look at bounce rates, or the percentage of users that leave a site immediately.
Compare these numbers for insights on where to begin your translation efforts.You can also look at “organic search” data to help you. The actual search terms that people use to reach your site should be incorporated into your website content.
You can find these exact search queries and organic search behavior in Google Search Console. If your foreign language visitors are coming to you primarily through organic search, that can be a good indicator for a language translation opportunity.
Deciding What To Translate
Large businesses often have more financial resources for translation services. As a result, they seek to leverage all their marketing content for translation. Translation cost factors may come into play for smaller businesses and entrepreneurs. They can build translations over time, however, focusing on key elements as priorities.
At a minimum, you should translate your landing page and contact information. These two pieces of information tell visitors who you are, what you do, and provide them with a way to reach you for more information. Using your website analytics program, you can track which areas of your site receive the most traffic and interest. This data can indicate that prime candidates for translation might be a popular blog post, a frequently downloaded ebook or white paper, or your services page.
How To Translate Your Content
Language translation can be accomplished through human translators or automated computer programs. Many people choose to use the website plug-in for Google Translate. With step-by-step instructions, you can quickly have a tool for your website visitors to select their preferred language.
However, tone and nuance are not always translated properly. You can get your primary messages out in a readable format, but they will lack the marketing style of your original source language versions.
A human language translation typically provides the best quality translation. In addition to translations, language service providers (LSPs) provide a suite of services like marketing and business consultancy. For smaller, incremental translations, you can often find individuals on freelancer websites who can provide you with material as your budget allows.
Regardless of your selection, seeking out translators with expertise in your field will improve the overall quality of translation as well.
Translating with SEO Best Practices
When translating web content, it's important to keep in mind the effect it can have on your website's performance on search engines. In order to avoid duplicate content or redirecting errors, it's critical to follow technical SEO guidelines throughout the translation process.
To learn more about multi-lingual SEO best practices, contact Codedesign!
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