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Website translation services
Did you know that 55% of consumers only buy on websites written in their own language? However, if you “just” translate your website, it won’t be enough to gain global success! To really do well, your site needs to be adapted to the cultural differences of your target market. We call this website localisation!
But what is “website localisation”? What are the differences between “website translation” and “website localisation”?
5x
Customers online are 5 times more likely to buy on a website available in their mother tongue. (Source: Common Sense Advisory)
78%
of consumers will not make important buying decisions if the product/service description is not available in their mother tongue. (Source: Common Sense Advisory)
92%
of consumers – even those who speak multiple languages – prefer to visit a site written in their mother tongue. (Source: European Commission)
56%
of consumers consider price to be a less important factor than having access to a site in their mother tongue. (Source: European Commission)
80%
of consumers worldwide have ordered from abroad, mostly on sites translated into their language and adapted for their market. (Source: Forrester Consulting)
55%
of consumers only buy on sites written in their mother tongue. (Source: Common Sense Advisory)
Semantic analysis or keyword research will help you find out the main terms entered into local search engines. This is a vital step in website translation or website localisation, because it will allow you to considerably boost your site’s visibility abroad.
However, many companies translate their keywords literally. This mistake will damage their website’s visibility on the target market, so their sales will suffer!
We don’t just translate website content. We adapt it for SEO success. Remember: website translation alone is not enough: you need to adapt your site to boost its search engine ranking!
Click here for more information on international content marketing!
“Languages” and “markets” are not the same thing. Countries that share the same language may use different vocabulary, grammar, spelling, style (formal or informal), etc.
Portuguese in Portugal is hugely different from in Brazil. For example, the word for “train” is “rem” in Brazil, but “comboio” in Portugal. Spanish differs between Spain and Latin America! In fact, it even varies within Latin America itself. So the Spanish spoken in Argentina isn’t like Mexican Spanish! American English differs from British English; Dutch is not the same in Holland as in Flanders; there are differences between French in France and in Quebec, etc.
If you translate website text without taking into account these variations, it can lead to confusion, or your target audience may find it harder to have confidence in you.
Website translation should also extend to the visual elements of your website, which need to be adapted to the socio-cultural sensibilities of your target audience.
- Certain colours have negative connotations in some countries
- Certain images can shock or offend in some cultures
- The translation of your image tags can have a massive impact on your search engine ranking on your target market search engines.
Don’t forget to adapt the currencies on your website. This will inspire trust and therefore improve your conversion rate!
Payment methods vary greatly between markets. For example, Belgians prefer to pay by Maestro or Bancontact, whereas the Dutch like to use the IDEAL service, and Americans prefer credit card payment!
This means it is extremely important to adapt your payment methods for your target market, or your conversion rate might plummet!
To avoid any confusion, your delivery dates and times should be given in the format used by your target market.
The difference between date format in the United Kingdom and the United States is an excellent example of this. If your site states the delivery date as 11/12/17, Brits will expect to receive their order on 11 December 2017, but your American customers will read the delivery date as 12 November 2017.
Dates are written differently again in Japan: year / month / day. A Japanese person might be rather confused by the delivery date above, reading it as… 17 December 2011!
Laws are another element that can vary between countries. The legal notices on your website need to respect the laws that apply in your target markets.
It is therefore essential to ADAPT your legal notices for your target market, rather than just translating them.
About
Beelingwa is an Internet platform connecting professional translators with clients. Order your translation with just a few clicks!
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1350 Jauche - Phone: +32 (0)495/24.38.05
- Email: info@beelingwa.com
- V.A.T. number: BE 0639.775.574