Is your business reaching your target audience across the world?
In a globalized economy, businesses are no longer limited by borders and time zones to reach their customers. Internet access means your customers can come from anywhere in the world – as long as you communicate with them in their own language.
If your digital content is only available in English, you could be missing out on a large section of your target audience without even realizing it. Translation services are not a necessity for every business, but if you have a target audience that speaks another language, are you paying attention?
English is the most used language on the internet, but it is far from the only language needed for digital content to reach your customers or potential customers. Most consumers prefer consuming content and websites in their native language and will not make important purchasing decisions unless the product or service description is available in the language they understand, usually their native language.
As globalization of business increases, using translation services to create localized versions of your content presents a huge opportunity for businesses to increase their bottom line and reach without a large, ongoing investment.
A series of market research studies conducted by Common Sense Advisory found that consumers vastly prefer products with descriptions available in their native language. If they can’t read a description in the language they prefer, they won’t buy it. These studies are important because they cover areas such as the Return on Investment of customer engagement, non-English opportunities in the United States, and the Return on Investment of localization.
As a translation services company, we often tell our clients that the cost of translating their content is the cost of an opportunity to make their content travel to other language wallets.
What is Language Localization within the Translation Industry?
Language localization is defined as the process of adapting a product’s translation to a specific country or region. Localization differs from translation because it goes beyond language to include cultural context and helps eliminate ambiguities or content that may not be clear or practical for a particular region. When you need to localize or transcreate digital content, machine translation is not a good option, since even post-edited, it will not deliver the same final product as a professional translation completed by human translators.
For example, a product translation may be in French, but localization prepares versions of the product for people in France or Europe, clients in Quebec, Canada, or in Africa.
A website with digital content written for the US needs website localization by a specialized linguist for English UK to adapt spelling, clarify unclear words, or remove paragraphs that do not apply to the UK. For example, regulations that apply to the US need to be eliminated or replaced with those that apply to the UK. Another example, many words have different spellings, like localization for the US and localization for the UK.
Why are Localization Services Important?
Localization is more than just language translation. All language is subject to a cultural context, and something funny in one culture may be offensive in another. Without localizing your content, whether digital or not, you could be alienating a segment of your audience without realizing it. Having a professional translation company localize your content ensures your meaning and message remain consistent while resonating with your audience.
Secondly, providing localized versions of your content, from websites to eLearning, shows respect for your customers and your employees who speak other languages. While English is the prevalent language on the web, it is far from the only one.
Localizing your content also impacts your bottom line. As the ongoing study from Common Sense Advisory shows, if customers cannot read your product or service descriptions, they will find another product where they can and purchase that one instead.
Types of Localization Services
The kind of localization you need depends heavily on your existing audiences or whether you are looking to target a particular audience.
A company with a French-speaking audience worldwide would need to decide whether to use a general French approach or localize for each French market, such as France, Quebec, Haiti, and so on.
A company serving Spanish-speaking audiences worldwide would need Spanish translation services localized for Spain and Mexico, as well as versions for Latin American countries. But everything depends on the market; that is more important for the company and the available budget. Often, translation localization is performed only for one region or country.
Here are 7 types of digital content you should consider localizing.
1. Website Localization
Website translations are an easy first step to see an immediate increase in your site traffic and bottom line.
Website localization is more than just translating the content. It’s the full process of adapting an existing site to a local language and culture, including the linguistic and cultural context, so it makes sense and resonates with the target audience.
Localized translation for e-commerce sites can be particularly lucrative for businesses that ship internationally but were not previously providing language options. Even for companies based solely in the US, providing a Spanish translation of your website increases your reach with the 45+ million US residents who speak Spanish at home.
Localizing your website is a 4-step process.
- Planning phase. Identifying the content and the localization type needed for the translation project. Is the website ready, or are some adaptations required for the language versions? Are the website fonts compatible with the new languages? Are all the languages left-to-right or right-to-left like Arabic? If you need Arabic translations, you will need to consider new approaches to displaying forms, navigation, and other elements in the Arabic version.
- Translation and adaptation phase. First, the copy is extracted, carefully translated, and localized from the source language to the language or languages. The message is reviewed, and the formatting is adjusted when the localized text is returned to the website.
- Review and testing. At this stage, all the text, graphics, images, and headings are reviewed and adapted through the lens of the cultural and linguistic context to ensure it’s appropriate for the target market. Also reviewing the display of the translated content, reviewing for expansion or contraction of text. The review format for the date, time, measurements, pricing, and acronyms used during the translation is complete.
- Functionalities and navigation. At this stage, the website is tested for proper functionality and delivered to the final client for review and approval.
- Lessons learned. Important to register for the maintenance phase and consider whether future languages will be deployed.
2. Video Localization
Video localization involves translating and adapting video content for specific audiences. This can range from new audio in other languages to simply providing YouTube translations of subtitles or captions.
For example, an application of video localization is for companies with international offices to localize translations of all HR videos, including training and safety videos. Providing localized video translations is important because it will increase your employees’ understanding and compliance with all policies, with an emphasis on updating local differences. Moreover, providing localized translations of all HR content is the best way to ensure your office remains compliant with labor laws in any language. To provide the best experience for all employees and ensure content quality, seek out video translation services from an experienced translation company that will guide you and help you prepare for the process.
Another type of video localization is dubbing translation, where a movie or TV series is adapted for another audience in a different region or culture. Providing localization of digital content can increase its popularity in other countries.
3. eLearning Content Translation and Localization
To ensure the most cohesive experience across all students, eLearning content should be localized. This can be especially relevant for universities and higher learning facilities that have students who attend remotely and access from remote locations. Even if courses are taught in English, providing localized versions of the content will increase retention and enhance the student experience for the non-english speakers.
Additionally, if your company provides eLearning materials to employees, having localized translations of eLearning content ready will increase employee engagement and understanding.
4. Marketing materials
As a consumer, you expect to see marketing targeted at you presented in your native language. Your audience expects the same from your company.
Having marketing materials well translated and localized opens your advertising to a new audience you weren’t reaching before. In a digital world, your ideal customer can be anywhere, so you need to speak your customers’ language. With localized and translated marketing materials, you’re able to increase sales in countries and regions you may not have previously reached.
5. PPC Campaigns Localization
Would you click on an ad that wasn’t in your native language? Neither will your audience. Providing localized options for your PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns will automatically boost results and conversions by reaching an audience that wouldn’t have seen your ad before. An example of a headache medicine that uses PPC in Spanish will need to use different words: migraña, dolor de cabeza, jaqueca, depending on the region. It is important to use the different synonyms or not, depending on the region.
6. International SEO
Part of using international SEO when translating for a country is identifying the right keywords for each market, the same way it was done for the English copy.
International SEO is important to consider when translating digital copy. Preparation and research are required to incorporate SEO into translation services and the localization of your digital content. It is not only about using your customers’ language, but also about using the exact sentences and keywords they use to search for information online. How do they look for your services and products? What words or group of words do they use? You need a translation agency experienced in international SEO and knowledgeable about how to apply it to your translated digital content.
When you speak your customers’ language, your conversion rates go up. Localization of web and digital content has long-term marketing benefits. Localizing your web content gives you the added benefit of international search engine optimization through international SEO. It’s a major driver of traffic to have localized content because it provides the value your audience is searching for and communicates respect from your company to your customers.
7. Apps Localization
If you want to increase your international app downloads, make sure the app is available in other languages. Creating localized versions of your app can increase its availability in different countries, leading to greater visibility on the app store and ultimately more downloads and purchases. App Localization is an easy way to use your design in other languages.
8. Software Localization
By localizing your software, you will give your programs a new life, making them look native and intuitive in another language and culture. It goes beyond simple translation to encompass technical adjustments, linguistics, and user interfaces to appear as if the software was created in that language. Software localization boosts retention in software usage and is of critical importance to any business that wants to adapt its products for new markets and users.
Localization and translation services are an art and a science.
As a professional writer knows how to write, a professional translator needs to know how to translate and translate well, have the creativity and skills to translate, and the knowledge to localize. Translation is a creative task that takes time, and having the right team to translate and localize your digital content is only possible by selecting a professional, experienced translation services company to guide and partner with you throughout the journey.
It takes a village to localize the broad spectrum of digital content. Only a company like JR Language Translation Services has the resources to offer options and solve the intricacies to achieve a successful localization project.
Please give us a call today to see how we can help you achieve your goals in the international, multilingual, global digital market.
