Why Should You Translate Your Website and Application?

The worldwide web has made it possible for you to access a marketplace that is virtually unlimited. Now, which business owner would actually say no to the possibility to capturing more customers for his brand or product? Not smart ones, obviously and this is exactly why you should welcome localization with open arms as well. What’s the connection? Well, to explain that, first you need to understand what localization means.

Localization defined

Simply put, when you localize your website or your app you are making sure that it adapts to the region where it will be sold or marketed or used. So, something as minor as presenting the currency in Pounds or Euros for your European customers and in Dollars for your American ones shows that you are localizing. The purpose of localization is to make the product easy for your users in each region to use, understand and associate with and to make the product itself seem natural to that market. Now, with a global marketplace at your disposal, it has become far more important to localize efficiently and accurately because only then can you leverage the advantage that the internet has yielded by putting the world within your reach.

Localization: What’s in it for you?

Get this, over 70% of web customers browse sites that are in languages known to them. 90% of consumers give clear preference to local language sites over others while less than 30% of the virtual community speaks English fluently. Now, these are good enough reasons for you to localize any product of yours, including your website, that needs to have a global reach. Here is what you get when you invest in localization.

• The first and most evident benefit is that you can communicate with an immense global audience, market your products to them without geographical constraints. It is no longer necessary for you to remain limited to just your own countrymen when you are looking for new markets to expand into and this freedom enhances your profit potential quite remarkably.
• When you are expanding into new markets, your biggest challenge is to make your brand visible amongst all the existing vendors there. These existing competitors may have an edge over you if they are locals because they are aware of the cultural beliefs there, they can communicate in the local language and thus form a closer, deeper, more personal relationship with the customers. When you localize you bridge this gap and make the playing field more even so that you are able to compete with the existing brands more effectively.
• Localizing your brand pages or your apps makes business sense simply because you make it so much more customer friendly. By making it easy for your customer to understand and use your product or pages, you earn his trust and build his confidence in you. As a business that is not based in the region, one of the biggest sales obstacles that you may face is that the locals do not have enough confidence in you. By communicating with them in a way that is familiar to them, you instantly create a rapport that goes far in overcoming this sales obstacle.
• Of course, search engine optimization based on terms that are used in the specific region works only when your site or apps are adapted to the language and terms used there. This is a key area where localization can visibly translate into better viewer- to- customer conversions and boost your sales turnovers dramatically. And don’t forget that customer retention is easier too because you are communicating in the local language, allowing the locals to engage more deeply with your brand, thus building a long lasting relationship!  

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