Website localization is becoming a popular way for businesses to enter new markets online. With so many companies shifting to online operations, you’ll probably want to localize your website to widen your target audience and to expand your business too.
Ready to learn more about website localization and how to get started? Keep reading!
What is Website Localization?
Website localization is the process of adapting an existing website to a different local language and culture in your target market.
There are many factors to consider when performing website localization like cultural differences, currency changes, website spacing, and more.
Essentially, you’ll need to effectively tailor your website and business to a new and different audience. Nonetheless, it’s not as difficult as you may think!
So you might ask, “What’s in it for me?”
Let’s keep reading.
Why Website Localization Is Important
To be brief, website localization can open many doors for your business and widen your market, which could boost your product sales and give your business a global outreach.
Your business could…
- Expand to markets you didn’t know you could tap into
- Gain a global outreach
- Improve SEO rankings for your webpage
- Boost product sales with a wider market
…and much more! These are just a couple examples of how website localization can benefit your business.
Sounds pretty, right? But you’re probably wondering, “So where do I start?”
Thanks for asking us. We are here to teach you how to start your website localization and the many tips and tricks to doing this effectively.
Let’s begin.
Step 1: Do Research on Your Target Market
First, identify your target market, the group of consumers that you believe will benefit and most likely buy your products.
In this case, you would be identifying the new market outside of your current one that you would like to expand to.
You can analyze your target market by looking at your new target market’s demographics, psychographics, consumer behavior, and geographics. Once you have a good idea of these characteristics, you can start catering your website to meet those consumers’ needs.
Step 2: Cater Your Website to the Target Market
Next, you’ll want to ensure that your website is catered to their culture and language.
Read below on what you’ll want to have on your website.
Accurately Translated Language
Have you ever used an online translator and the translated sentences just didn’t make sense?
Although online translators are very useful, you’ll probably have better success consulting an expert and hearing their input on the translations.
Idioms, mission statements, and jargon can easily be lost in translation and translated too literally. Make sure to check your translations and to not solely rely on an online translator for your website localization.
Check out this article on language localization to help know which content to translate, how you could cater the language to your target audience, and when to make original content for your website here.
You’ll want your target market to understand your website with accurate translations.
Adapted Cultural Content
Make sure your website content reflects your target market’s culture, beliefs, and traditions.
Take this for instance: you most likely wouldn’t want to have promotional content on your website like a Labor Day sale if your new target market does not celebrate Labor Day. Keep your content in line with what your business will offer to that certain market.
Your products offered in the US might even differ in a different country. In that case, you’ll want to adapt your content accordingly.
Take Nestlé, the largest food and beverage company in the world, for example. Let’s compare their market in the US and Vietnam.
As you can see below, Nestlé USA provides multiple breakfast beverage options. Some images even have family shown in them and how the drinks would look like in a cup at home.
As for Nestlé Vietnam, a smaller variety of options are sold: Milo, Nestea, and NESVITA. Nestle Vietnam advertises its drink through its health benefits and nutrition facts like the barley Milo drink shown below.
Not only can you spot the differences between the US and Vietnam websites, but you can also see the effective website localization between the different cultural aspects.
For the US, you can identify core American values like family and variety just through Nestle’s offered products and marketing. Meanwhile, you can identify a popular Vietnamese value like health in the emphasis on their ingredients’ benefits, as well as its marketing.
Adjusted Currency of Your Target Market
Not every country will use USD so you might want to adjust your website’s payment options to match your target market’s currency.
This makes it easier for transactions to go through and for less confusion when customers are checking out or ordering online.
Step 3: Hire an International Marketing Strategist
International strategists can improve your website localization and give you accurate cultural and linguistic insights to jumpstarting your website localization measures.
With an international strategist, your business can enter foreign markets effectively and successfully localize your website.
Ready to Localize Your Website?
Now that you’ve learned about the importance and the steps to localize your website, you can effectively map out your plan to get started.
Start your plan by contacting one of our international marketing strategists at hola@colibricontent.com for help on localizing your website.
0 Comments