Thanks to advances in technology, people from all corners of the world can connect and reach global audiences more easily than ever. As businesses expand their ventures beyond borders, one crucial strategy stands out for enhancing online visibility and driving organic traffic: website translation and localisation.
According to a report by Common Sense Advisory, 72.4% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase if the information is presented in their native language. The same report highlights that 56.2% of consumers say the ability to obtain information in their own language is more important than price.
So, how can you go one step further than website localisation? You can further expand your brand’s reach and increase ROI through international SEO. Search Engine Optimisation helps your target market find you, so make sure your non-English speaking customers are not left out.
Learn about the website localisation process, the best tools and services, and how you can develop an international SEO strategy.
Understanding Website Translation and Localisation
Understanding website translation and website localisation is crucial in today’s global digital landscape. Website translation involves the conversion of website content from one language to another.
Its primary purpose is to break language barriers, making information accessible to diverse language-speaking audiences. This process ensures that people worldwide can understand and engage with the site’s content, expanding the website’s reach and potential audience.
Website localisation goes beyond mere translation. It involves adapting content to adhere to specific cultural nuances, preferences, and sensitivities of the target audience. This includes not only language but also graphics, design, and even currency.
The role of localisation is to ensure that a website feels familiar and culturally suitable to the local audience. This is essential for building trust and credibility among local users, which can lead to increased engagement and conversions.
Both website translation and localisation are integral components for establishing a strong international online presence. While translation bridges language gaps, localization ensures that the website resonates with the values and expectations of the local audience.
SEO Localisation
Website localization and SEO play pivotal roles in boosting website traffic and expanding your online presence. Translating your website into multiple languages can yield remarkable results.
According to a study, translating a website into two or more languages can lead to a significant increase in website visitors within just 60 days. However, it’s crucial to understand that mere translation isn’t sufficient. SEO localization is equally vital.
Merely translating the source SEO content won’t optimize your website for local search engines. Proper SEO localization strategies should be employed to ensure your content aligns with local search engine algorithms and user search behaviours.
International SEO, including localisation, involves conducting localised keyword research to identify search interests in specific regions. This research is an essential step in SEO localisation and helps in tailoring your content to meet local demands and preferences.
Search engines reward locally adapted content by considering factors like geolocation signals, local keywords, backlinks from local sources, GMB optimisation, user reviews, mobile-friendliness, content localisation, and schema markup. By addressing these, your content becomes more relevant to local users, leading to higher rankings in local search results.
Benefits of Website Localisation
Aside from just increased brand reach, greater ROI, and SEO benefits, website localisation offers several advantages that can significantly impact a business’s online presence and success:
- Enhanced User Experience: Website localisation ensures that users from different regions can navigate and engage with your site in their native language. This leads to a more enjoyable and seamless user experience. According to a study, 73% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase if a website is in their language.
- Improved Brand Reputation: When your website speaks the language and reflects the culture of your target audience, it enhances your brand’s image. This alignment fosters a positive perception of your brand, making it more relatable and trustworthy.
- Increased Trust and Credibility: Localising your website demonstrates a commitment to serving local customers. This commitment builds trust and credibility among local audiences. In fact, 60% of consumers feel more positive about a brand when its content is available in their language.
- Customer Engagement and Loyalty: By delivering content that resonates with local preferences and interests, you can engage customers on a deeper level. This engagement often leads to increased customer loyalty and repeat business. Studies show that localised content can boost customer loyalty by up to 47%.
As of 2023, statistics about customer loyalty show that as many as 97% of consumers are loyal to at least one brand. By engaging in website localisation, you can show your customers that you care about their ability to access the information they want in the languages they prefer. Satisfaction with your brand can go a long way in growing your business.
Localise SEO in 5 Steps
If you’ve never engaged in localised SEO, you need to start with a strong plan. In five easy steps, you can get your website ready for international markets. Target your content, conduct research, and implement the right changes to get started. Here’s a fool-proof way to begin localising your SEO:
Step 1: What Content Are You Localising?
Begin by determining which parts of your content you wish to localise and the reasons behind it. Consider your ultimate objectives and how content localisation will help you achieve them. This decision goes beyond translating your homepage, contact page, and service or product-oriented pages.
A customer’s journey commences when they first engage with your product or service, and this is reflected in the content presented, including:
- Top of the Funnel (TOFU) Content: This focuses on creating awareness about a product and attracting leads that convert to customers. It includes introductory content like blogs, social media posts, and infographics.
- Middle of the Funnel (MOFU) Marketing: This represents a deeper stage in the buyer’s journey, including materials such as FAQs or ebooks.
- Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU) Content: This encompasses “ready to buy” content, such as product feature information or case studies.
Step 2: Multilingual Keyword Research
Selecting the languages you want to target is crucial and helps you decide your overall goals. To initiate international SEO efforts, start with targeted keyword research. Regardless of the country or region, the most effective way to rank on search engines is to tailor your content to a specific audience. Research should concentrate on search intent – the keywords your target audience is actively searching for.
To assess search intent, enter your target keyword into Google. If blogs and resources appear, the keyword is more informational. If service pages appear, it’s an indication that the keyword suits your service page. Avoid applying a keyword that predominantly appears in blogs to your service page, as Google has already identified that the audience seeks informational resources.
Consider expanding your keyword list with new keywords for which you haven’t created content. Conduct competitor analysis to identify content gaps, focusing on keywords your competitors have created content for and are ranking well.
Successful international SEO hinges on using localised keywords or search terms in your content tailored to specific countries or regions. Collaborating with an SEO-proficient linguist can help you conduct keyword research and develop a comprehensive keyword list.
Step 3: Create a Keyword Map
Once you have your targeted keywords, construct a keyword map to efficiently organise and document your keyword targets for each page. Keyword mapping entails assigning relevant keywords to different website pages based on comprehensive keyword research. This is a vital aspect of SEO that allows search engines to gauge a page’s relevance to a user’s search.
A keyword map is a spreadsheet where each row corresponds to a specific website page, and each column is assigned a specific on-page SEO element. This ensures that each component aligns with your ranking objectives. Having this information in one centralised location is crucial for reference and making necessary changes.
Step 4: Use Keywords to Improve On-Page SEO
Now that you have your keywords and keyword map, it’s essential to know where to use them. Incorporate keywords into your content to achieve a keyword density of around 1-2%. Crafting SEO-friendly content that converts users to your site can be challenging and requires practice.
Content should be easily readable, allowing users to quickly find the information they seek. Keep sentences and paragraphs concise and utilise bullet points to break down information for easy presentation. Subheaders can be employed to introduce keywords in larger fonts before delving into more detailed content. Additionally, ensure that your meta title, meta description, headers, and alt text incorporate target keywords.
Step 5: Customise Your Site Structure
If your website is not easily accessible, your research will not benefit your customers or your business. Translating content alone does not address the essential technical adjustments required on the backend of your web pages.
For a multilingual website to enhance organic search engine visibility, consider localising SEO through technical adjustments, including:
- Hreflang Tags: These are HTML attributes used by Google to specify a web page’s language and geographical targeting. They enable web admins to assist search engines in displaying the correct version of a page in different languages.
- Sitemaps: These are page layouts designed to help search engines easily locate web content, displaying the newest pages on a website or all the web pages together.
- URLs: Optimising your URLs can also boost website traffic. A multilingual URL signifies that the website targets a specific country, users, and search engines.
- Canonical Tags: These assist Google and other search engines in distinguishing between pages with original content and duplicate pages, using free tools like Attrock Canonical Tag Checker to ensure that search engines index the correct version of your pages.
Website Localisation Technology
Website localisation technology plays a crucial role in adapting your online presence for global audiences. In this section, we will delve into three key technology options for website localisation.
Proxy translation is a favoured choice for website localisation. It entails using a proxy server to intercept web requests and responses, translating content in real time. This ensures that users encounter a localised version of your website without the need for separate language-specific web pages.
Website localisation plugins are tools that can be integrated into content management systems (CMS) like WordPress. They simplify the localisation process by enabling you to manage translations within your CMS. These plugins often support multiple languages and streamline the translation workflow. Studies indicate that websites utilising localisation plugins witness a 25% increase in user engagement.
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and connectors offer a more integrated approach to website localisation. They facilitate seamless communication between your website and translation management systems. This automation can significantly reduce the time and effort required for localisation. Data suggests that businesses employing APIs for website localisation achieve a 30%
reduction in localisation costs.
Lastly, you have the option of human translation, which is more labour-intensive. While some machine translation options provide machine translation with post-editing, some individuals opt to manually translate pages and upload them to subdomains. This is the most expensive and time-consuming option, but it can ensure the highest quality outcome.
The best website localisation tools and services will offer you any of these as an option, being sure to find the solution that fits your business needs and goals. Not sure which is right for you? Let a concierge-level language services provider help you decide.
Website Localisation Services
Multilingual websites are crucial for international success in 2023, reflecting the ongoing importance of localisation for businesses expanding to new markets. In fact, localising content can increase search traffic by up to 47%.
It’s clear that your brand has the ability to thrive in multilingual or international markets through translation and localisation. By incorporating a strong international SEO strategy, transcending borders becomes much easier.
However, it can be very hard to implement a localised SEO strategy without complete expertise in the target language and culture. If you plan to hire linguists, you also have to consider the costs of website design, project management, quality assurance, and more. Luckily, a professional website localisation service would have all the technology and linguistic expertise to help.
Connect with new markets and improve your website traffic. Make sure your website is optimised for as many languages as possible. By localising URLs, tags, and meta information, your website will appear in front of more potential consumers.
