How to Use Content Localisation Services to Increase Your Traffic
No matter when you read this, you want to increase your website’s traffic, since it’s a highly effective lead generation strategy. The good news is that content localisation services can help you do exactly that: Increase visibility, attract more potential customers, and drive more ROI. In other words, you need to implement a multilingual content strategy, fully tailored for your target market—and it doesn’t matter when you read this either. This is no joke, the whole world is outside your website’s borders and not everybody speaks your language.
Before starting, bear in mind that this task requires diligent work, as localisation will have a strong impact on SEO. And you wouldn’t want to neglect SEO, trust us. Otherwise, remember what you see every day when searching online: You always click on the first results, right? Relax, we all do it. And now you probably want your site to be one of those first lucky ones. However, search results are regionally constrained… so, to make your website relevant in other places, you need to make your content “local” to your prospects as well.
Enough introduction; now let’s see how a language service provider can help you in this quest.
Localise for Your Customers and for Google
Your website’s localisation must achieve more than just delivering intelligible content: It must be delightful. But for whom? Your target prospects, of course. But beyond that, the content must also please search engines like Google, which has its own guidelines for ranking the search results.
In short, the ultimate goal when hiring content localisation services is to satisfy both targets.
Here’s a closer look at what to do for each of them and why.
Make Your Website Indexable—Increase Visibility
As we’ve already published some posts related to search optimisation, we don’t want to be repetitive. Learn more about multilingual SEO and make a quick recap, if you wish.
The basics and essentials to localise your SEO are:
- Tailor the keywords according to the new audience.
- Adapt elements such as tags, images, URLs, etc.
- Check your link-building strategy.
- Create relevant content.
As for why you should localise your website… well, simply because Google will only help you boost your organic traffic if you meet its conditions. Therefore, remember that no matter how wonderful your content is, how hard you’ve worked, or how much budget you’ve invested, you need a robust strategy to make your site indexable for search engines and gain visibility.
#OptimationalTip: Translating your content is the first step in internationalising your website. But for the strategy to be complete, what you need is SEO localisation.
Make Content Translation Relevant—Enhance Conversion Rate
In this segment, we’ll dwell a bit more. Once your site ranks well for Google, you should move on to the next level: Generating more leads. To do so, you need to offer a real value proposition for your prospects, one that is so compelling that it makes them want to know more or make the desired decision.
However, creating nice content alone isn’t enough if you want to increase international traffic. And this is where content localisation services re-enter the stage.
Let us try to put ourselves in the customer’s shoes and imagine the following:
You found a foreign e-Commerce with tempting offers, but the specifications and purchasing conditions are only in the site’s native language. To test the experience, you buy a small, inexpensive item. It arrives on time, but the package is somewhat damaged. You decide to let it go since it seems complicated to make a complaint anyway. A few days later, a very tempting offer shows up on a usually rare item you were looking for. But, the price isn’t low, and you’re afraid of the shipping and packaging conditions… due to previous experience. Besides, it’s unclear whether you could get a refund for any possible damage. Would you buy it?
If your answer is no or not sure, you’ve understood what your prospects are looking for. People are demanding satisfying experiences, relevant and clear content, and above all… (drum roll) solutions. Nobody wants to access a website site looking for an answer and end up with more questions.
It doesn’t matter what services or products you offer. This statement doesn’t distinguish target market, industry, or content type. Do you know why? Because what you sell, someone else sells it too. And your prospects know it.
#OptimationalTip: The services of a translation company can allow you to put user experience first, as professionals will handle all the elements prone to adaptation; from figures, currency type, in-text authority quotes to the usage of local linguistic conventions. All this without losing sight of your brand’s style.
4 Tips on How to Get the Most Out of Content Localisation Services
#1 Start Slowly
Once you’ve taken the plunge, you may want to have everything ready to see the results as soon as possible. However, remember that content translation takes time, especially if you want to adopt a multilingual approach.
You can start by enlisting professional localisation services to tackle the most essential elements of your site first, such as the main page, About Us, and gradually the available value-added resources, such as blogs, templates, videos, etc.
In addition, you can use Google Analytics’s “Behaviour Flow Report” tool to understand the user’s journey on your website. It shows you which are the most visited pages—i.e. the most relevant ones to start translating.
In case you’re wondering about how to create a customer (or user) journey map, read this article. You’re welcome.
#2 Consider Customer Support
If you cannot offer multilingual live customer service, don’t panic. Still, you should find other alternatives so that your customers don’t feel abandoned when they need help the most. For example, you can get content localisation services to come up with a rich and comprehensive FAQ section.
Likewise, you can count on an email helpdesk service, in which a language professional team can assist you in replying.
Another available alternative is to feature multilingual chatbot support, which can deliver a more dynamic and humanised experience than reading a FAQ—if set up correctly. With this option, you can have ready-made and localised answers for regular enquiries.
Finally, we recommend you to check periodically what customers and prospects are asking, as this will facilitate content updates.
#OptimationalTip: It’s better to localise a few pages of your website thoroughly than to have them all prepared in haste. Take the time to find a reliable language partner and follow your strategy step by step.
#3 Be Aware of Social Media
Social media can be the gateway to much more international organic traffic if you take it into account in your localisation strategy.
Prepare attractive posts and make the translations of your content speak the language of your followers. Here more than ever, it’s critical to approach them in a way that feels familiar, whilst remaining professional.
As a good practice, you can create multiple (official) accounts to publish content in different languages and according to each region’s peak traffic times.
#4 Get True Content Localisation Services
Sounds silly, doesn’t it? But we highlight this fact because it’s common to find recommendations on the use of machine translation plugins. We aren’t against such tools; on the contrary, we know they can be useful in certain contexts. However, there’s sensitive content that only an expert should handle.
If we talk about localisation, well… the machine renders a more literal result, so it misses out on the intricacies of each local language. As a result, far from approaching your customers, it can give them vague, ambiguous, or unfriendly messages.
Moreover, think about the cost of a mistake. If it turns out that the purchasing conditions or a product description are incorrect, you would be accountable for that error.
A professional provider of language services is key for a genuine local experience and a safeguard for the quality of your brand.
#OptimationalTip: Say goodbye to the idea of national languages. Remember that some countries have more than one official tongue while others have a large immigrant population. Be kind and smart, and address them all.
Wrapping Up: Localise for Authentic Experiences
Communication is a kind of magic, which can transform the way each individual perceives reality and copes with everyday life. However, to be effective, messages must first be intelligible. And to create connections, communication must flow seamlessly.
Language can be a barrier only if you let it be so. Nowadays, with so many options to overcome it, we could hardly consider it a limitation for creating content with global appeal.
We hope these tips help you to unlock the full potential of your website, the projects you have in the pipeline, and what is still kicking around, somewhere in the back of your mind. Last reminder: To localise the experience, you first need to localise the content. That’s why, content localisation services can help you exactly with that.
How about if we start planning your international take-off? Contact us today to discuss your business needs.
