Marketing is not easy, and it becomes far harder when your target market is remote. A well-maintained multi-lingual website is an opportunity you do not want to miss. When your website is translated into the native language of the people you want to address, it is vital to translate it in a way that leaves a good first impression of your business.
In this article, we will discuss a few things that you need to pay attention to when translating your website.
Language Complexity
Translating a language effectively is not an easy task. For some people, translating involves importing all the text into a free tool available online and Voilà! But believe us, that is not what your public needs to see. These online free tools do not capture the emotion and nuance of the original.
While machines do a great job in translating content literally, the output does not approach a human’s ability to understand emotion or the full context in which a particular thing is spoken.
If your website contains a pun or your slogan contains a double meaning, or there is a cultural reference in it, the machine will translate it word for word, which will provide an altered meaning for the native audience. A joke will not be funny, and a sarcasm might not be spotted as sarcasm, resulting in a total misunderstanding.
Minor Details
Consider a minor detail like how to express a date. In different languages, the format of the date will be different. And not only in different languages, but even geographically for the same language. For instance, the USA and UK use a different date format. When translating content in another language and market, it is important to focus on such minor details to match the expectations of the reader.
Search Engine Optimization
When we are writing website content and referring to it, we use key words that will tag our content to make it visible to search engines, so they can identify us when our target audience is reaching out for information. These keywords are used to improve SEO in English.
Similarly, when translating into another language, the translator must be alert to the keywords and SEO in the native language. A literal translation of the keyword may completely miss the target audience.
Pictures and Videos
When translating a website, it is important not only to translate the text, but also to review the videos and images. Make sure that the images are suitable for those you are targeting. Should it be a typical Americanized Santa image, or a Father Christmas image as represented in the target locale?
In the 21st century almost 80% of the people prefer buying products online, and out of that 80%, more than 60% believe in buying products directly from websites due to authenticity. So, it is important that you translate your website in a way that your products or services and their descriptions are easily readable and understandable in the target market by the prospective buyers.
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