10 reasons why you should translate your website
Thanks in no small part to the Internet, most businesses can easily gain access to foreign markets. Yet many of the websites of these businesses are written only in English. Consider that while about 1.5 billion people speak English, only some 375 million are native speakers likely to prefer reading in English. Moreover, English ranks third behind Spanish and Chinese of the most spoken languages worldwide. Even in the United States, the second most common language is Spanish. Buyers tend to search and buy products in their own language. If your website is in English only, your business could be missing out. If that isn’t reason enough, here are 10 more reasons why translating your website is a good idea.
1. It’s a Global Buying Market
Consumers are looking for products that either aren’t available in their domestic markets or are less expensive elsewhere, even accounting for shipping costs and longer delivery times. If your product mix is cost-competitive with international sellers and can be shipped at a reasonable price, consider the potential to reach outside your domestic market.
2. It’s a Global Selling Market
If you offer unique products domestically, consider testing whether they have any international appeal. List the products on popular international marketplaces such as eBay or Amazon. Significant sales results in certain countries or languages would warrant translating your website and opening an online store in the appropriate currency.
3. Keyword Search Results
Do a keyword search to determine if your website is receiving organic traffic from other countries. If, for example, you are getting a considerable percentage of hits from Spain or Latin America, it would warrant translating your website into Spanish.
4. Spur and Diversify Growth
If sales are stagnant in local markets, consider new marketing channels to kick-start company growth. Look to foreign markets where your products or services might be most appropriate and diversify where there may be less competition.
5. Reduce Competition
Competitor websites are all in English. You could be the leader and gain a competitive advantage by differentiating your website as the only one that is multilingual. Even if your competitors play catch up, your business still lays claim to being the first to recognize the languages of valuable customer segments.
6. International Marketing is a Growing Trend
On the other hand, it could be the case your competitors are already tapping into international markets and your business is behind. BigCommerce reports that cross-border internet business revenues are expected to increase by 25 percent annually through to 2020, twice the pace of domestic sales. If you’re not engaged in foreign marketing, you’re not only losing potential revenues, but you’re behind a trend your competitors are already capitalizing on.
7. You May Be Legally Required To
Certain industries must comply with regional regulations to provide product information in a local language that is not English, such as French for Canada. These industries include medical and pharmaceutical as well as general manufacturing. Legal requirements warrant highly accurate translations to avoid any misconstrued product use.
8. Win Customers Through Convenience
Buying decisions are driven not just by price, or quality, but sometimes just by convenience. One way to provide greater convenience is to speak to potential customers in their own language.
9. Multiply Your Customer Base
According to marketing blog, The Next Scoop, 70 percent of world internet users are not native English speakers; 75 percent of internet users say they don’t purchase from websites that aren’t available in their language. Translating your website can multiply your potential customer base and expose your products and services to a much wider audience.
10. Improve Your English Language Website Google Ranking
A multilingual website improves your search results, which improves your Google rankings and overall Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts. The higher your ranking, the greater number of potential customers directed to your website. Search engines place a premium on relevant content no matter what the language is, so you need to invest in a high-quality translation service to provide that content. Contact BURG Translations to discuss your translation needs. We speak the languages you need to grow your business.
