A language isn’t a separate component of a society: it comes attached to an entire culture with its own complexities and challenges. Understanding another language is only one step in reaching out to a new demographic. As the business world continues to go global, the need for translation and localisation services is greater than ever. I know that you have probably heard this a million times, but it is crucial to create relationships with your customers, especially with the expansion of the global economy, your customers are becoming more and more international. With this, comes the need to communicate with them in their language, whether it’s through email, phone, social media… But most importantly, through your website, this is the online image of your company. So, give your customers the chance to communicate with you in their own language!
5 Reasons to Translate your Website:
1. Your company sells abroad
Provide information about your products and services in the relevant language of your potential customers.
2. Your company wants to strengthen their brand
If your competition doesn’t have multinational website, translating yours can be your competitive advantage that will differentiate you from other businesses.
3. Your company wants to strengthen their brand
Tailor your message, as well as the look and feel of your website in order o communicate effectively with foreign cultures. This will help build trust and credibility, enhancing your global reputation.
4. Your company wants to improve conversion rates
If your website is receiving traffic from users who don’t speak your language, translation will help improve conversion rates.
5. Your company wants to improve user experience and SEO on a global scale
Effective multilingual SEO can help improve your websites’ ranking and visibility. Don’t forget to ensure you have implemented a full multilingual SEO strategy too.
What are the habits of the global online population?
The internet has become a global market place with a population of more than 3.2 billion users. This is almost half of the worlds’ population! 85% of these users speak one of 10 languages: English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Russian or French. English speakers represent 26% of the online population and 55% of the content available online is also in English. This probably gives you the impression that an English website is the way to success. However…
English is not enough!
Being that English clearly dominates online content, it is easy to assume that Shakespeare’s language is the unofficial lingua franca of the Internet. This is partially right; however, it is risky for businesses to work based on assumptions. Studies indicate that consumers are more likely to be interested in a company if information available is in their own language.
· 72% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company in which the website is in their own language,
· 90% of Europeans visit websites in their own language and 42% of these don’t end up buying products or services if the information isn’t available in their own language.
References:
http://www.aranchodoc.com/website-translation-service/
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_313_en.pdf
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6066-business-translation-trends.html