Companies who want to cater to multiple languages and benefit from today’s globalized environment may find website internationalization beneficial. We’ll give you advice on localization and internationalization in this article, as well as how to boost your internationalized website’s SEO.
Globalization, internationalization, localization, and translation, or GILT, is the process that companies go through to expand outside their national borders and serve foreign markets.
Business owners seek advice on how to increase website traffic while they are going through the internationalization process. They select strategic keywords, adhere to SEO best practices, and track their outcomes. However, there is a little-known method of internationalization that you may have overlooked: translating your website.
Since there were 1.35 billion English speakers on the globe in 2021, English has been the most widely spoken language. But just about 25% of internet users worldwide use English.
A foreign location or language can be supported by the user interface of a website thanks to technology. As a result, businesses who want to expand internationally should think about updating their website, especially if they offer international delivery. Their company or businesses will be able to grow significantly with this method.
And here’s what you have to consider if you’re seeking advice on the localization and internationalization process.
What Do Internationalization and Localization of Website Mean?
Internationalization and localization entail more than simply translating your content into numerous languages. You’ll need a strategy and code to determine which localization to transmit. You must be able to sustain not only multiple languages, but also different regions that speak the same language. Your user interface must be responsive not only to screen size but also to varied languages and writing styles. To be accessible to any language, your information must be formatted down to a microcopy within your UI and indeed the format for your dates. Performing all this with a static site generator, such as Eleventy, might make it more difficult since you may not have had a database, but you do have a server,It is possible to accomplish all of this, but forethought is required.
When it comes to internationalization, there are three things to consider: how to determine what language and/or area the user prefers, how to ensure they get material in your preferred localization, and to change your site to accommodate those variances. While the implementation details for dynamic sites (which render every page whenever a client asks that as well) and static sites (which build pages before deploying them) may differ, the basic concepts should remain the same.
The process of internationalization includes making sure your website has the proper website architecture and can support many languages.
Internationalization may need to tend to have larger character encodings to support international scripts throughout the web design & development process. The user interface must also have enough room to support the number of letters needed for characters like Chinese, Korean, or Russian. It should be able to support languages where reading is done from the right to the left rather than the more common left to right.
For instance, the internationalized instruction booklet from IKEA includes straightforward and understandable images that make it simple for customers of any nationality to comprehend the setup procedure.
The method of manufacturing an item or message that resonates with your particular target market is known as localization. It guarantees that the website and your marketing materials adhere to local cultural norms and customs.
For instance, a localized product page needs to adhere to regulatory standards, utilize local currencies, use local number forms, and so forth.
Materials’ internationalization and localization processes are frequently referred to by the acronyms i18n and L10n.
Your ability to communicate with customers around the world can be enhanced by localization and internationalization. In marketplaces where consumers speak different languages, such as those in European or Asian nations, this procedure is unquestionably advantageous.
The Advantages of Localization and Internationalization for Websites
There are many millions of non-native speakers living on the planet. Therefore, eCommerce businesses who wish to increase their appeal and reach in a foreign country should think about creating a bilingual website.
Let’s look at some benefits of localization and internationalization.
1. Internationalization enables you to take on local businesses
A website that is multilingual enables retailers to compete with regional companies around the globe when English has never been the primary language.
Customers favor websites that address them in their own language, which should come as no surprise. According to an intriguing study, 73% of customers prefer to make purchases from websites that are in their native tongue.
2. Localization and internationalization can enhance the searchability
Imagine you wanted to increase the reach of your online store in France and Spain.
When searching in search results, customers in these markets utilize their own language. Therefore, people won’t be able to locate your pages on Google if your website isn’t translated.
Your searchability is improved in this case through localization and internationalization. Your chances of adjusting to global markets without i18n & L10n are quite limited.
3. Internationalization has the potential to improve sales.
Localization can aid in increasing conversion rates.
46 percent of website visitors believe that localized content is more trustworthy, which boosts their likelihood of purchasing from the company.
Indeed, businesses that have gone through the localization process have already had excellent success.
Through the internationalization of their website in three languages, lifestyle wear firm La Machine Cycle Club raised conversion rates by 25%.
Similarly, the localization of Swedish eCommerce business Ron Dorff required the conversion of over 150 shopping sites into 3 languages. As a consequence, they raised international sales by over 70% while increasing traffic by 400%.
These success stories demonstrate how translation and internationalization can boost your revenue significantly.
4. Internationalization and localization are low-cost consumer acquisition strategies.
Internationalization and localization of websites do not have to be costly efforts. Weglot software & WordPress plugins help translate your website at a low cost – and they’re quite affordable.
9 Tips for Successful Web Localization and Internationalization
What are the procedures involved in the process of adjusting to international consumers? Here are the best practices for a successful internationalization process.
1. Analyze the exact target market
When looking for a deal, bargains, and cool products, international shoppers use a variety of search queries, slang, or phrases. Similarly, they may have different habits or practices while purchasing products or services.
That entails researching your target market and analyzing your competitors. We strongly advise you to contact local marketers, SEO experts, or companies to help with decision-making.
2. Translate Search Engine Optimization element
People look at specific keywords and SEO titles before they visit your landing page. You’re less likely to appear in the top search results if these pages aren’t translated into their original language.
When you type ” or kimchi into Google, the popular search results contain pages with Korean titles and descriptions. That is, if certain parts are not translated, you may unintentionally turn people away.
Korea Kimchi Google Search
That is why it is suggested that the key SEO elements be translated:
- URL
- Meta Title
- Meta description
- Image alt tags
3. Ensure that translated pages are Indexable.
Each translation page should have a web address, often known as a URL. Google will index & rank international versions from your website this way.
Google provides three URL variations to help with website geo-targeting:
- Domains for certain countries. For instance, websitename.com/blog-post (in English) and websitename.jp/blog-post (in Japanese)
- gTLD-based subdomains. For instance, websitename.com/features (English) and jp.websitename.com/features (Japanese)
- gTLD-encoded subdirectories. For instance, websitename.com/features (English) and websitename.com/jp/features (Japanese)
Although there is no perfect solution, Google summarises the advantages and disadvantages of each URL syntax.
4. Use hreflang attributes
Hreflang attributes allow search engines to determine the page’s language.
Google can then route users to the right website based on location or language.
Assume https://websitename.com is still the English version & https://websitename.com/jp is now the Japanese version. Google will lead Japanese visitors toward the Japanese website using the hreflang attribute.
Typically, the hreflang attribute as located in the header:
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”lang_code” href=”url_of_page” />
When you put it in the page’s <head> section, the source code appears like this:
<head>
<title>Coffee Brews </title>
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en-us” href=”https://en-us.websitename.com/page.html” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”https://en.example.com/page.html” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”jp” href=”https://jp.websitename.com/page.html” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-default” href=”https://www.example.com/” />
</head>
5. Make a sitemap that is multilingual
A multilingual sitemap collects website data in one location.
This comprises photographs, videos, and resource files, among other things. You can find it at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml.
You can generate a sitemap in two ways: one global sitemap or numerous sitemaps dependent here on the language of the translated website.
Whenever the translated webpages contain variations of the main website, an international sitemap is advised. In contrast, you can have different numerous sitemaps dependent on the site’s language or country code.
This could look like this:
- Main version: https://www.mysite.com/en/index.html
- Japanese version: https://www.mysite.com/jp/jp/index.html
- Korean version: https://www.mysite.com/kr/kr/index.html
Sitemaps can be created by developers using the Plugin XML protocol. However, you will use a Website Optimization plugin or a dedicated software tool to automatically generate a sitemap that adheres to Google’s guidelines.
6. Run keyword research
Different languages will have different top-performing keywords.
While you can identify the highest keywords in your area, you can’t simply translate them and presume the outcome is indeed the top-performing keyword within this area. To improve the rating of your localised website, you’ll need to undertake different keyword research for each country or region.
The good news would be that the Google Keyword Planner may assist you in determining the most appropriate keywords for your localized website. You may also use KWFinder to do keyword research in multiple countries.
Contact a localization provider that can find the best search phrases in the region for the best results.
7. Make use of internationalization tools and plugins for your website
Localization can be an expensive process. You’ll need to hire many translators from different nations and wait weeks or months for your website to be entirely translated into the language of your choice.
Fortunately, there are a plethora of translation plugins & tools available to provide a quick localization & development process.
Here are some of the best tools we recommend:
Weglot
Weglot is just a WordPress plugin which allows you to quickly translate your website.
Key features:
- Allows you to localize your website in one of 100+ languages.
- Detects and translates online content, media files, & information via third-party programs automatically.
- Google’s recommended SEO methods for localization are used, including such translating metadata and adding hreflang properties to the source code.
Prices start at $9.90 each monthly.
Bablic
Bablic is a website localization tool that allows users to choose between machine and human translation.
Key features:
- Automatically detects new material and performs translation on the fly.
- Can make your site search engine-friendly and increase SEO ranks in several languages by translating meta tags and customizing multilingual URLs.
- Can link translated websites to their correct domains or URL structure (example site.kr, site. sg, site.jp)
Price: The basic plan starts at $24 per month.
Memsource
Memsource is just a translation management solution that performs with over 500 languages and over 30 machine translation engines.
Key features:
- AI technology is used to identify information that is easily translated for localization.
- Allows project managers & linguists working for website localization to collaborate.
- CAT Editor for online, PC, and mobile is included.
Price: Every project manager account costs $27 and includes two complimentary linguist accounts.
8. Hire human translators to help with content localization.
Advanced tools and plugins help instantly translate your landing pages. Even still, localization requires a culturally relevant copy. As one and the same, you’ll could use a human translator for verify the material, along with checking the numerical formats, date, and currencies.
Machine translation is undoubtedly rapid, but it does not take into account the context of company products and services. Because different languages use different sentence structures, direct translations with incorrect grammar could undermine a company’s credibility.
Hire a local specialist to analyze your content to prevent these dangers.
Create links on local websites
Building links with relevant websites might help you improve your search ranking & brand exposure. If you would like to localize the website & rank in foreign areas, you’ll require links from other regionally localized websites.
Create a list of prominent websites inside the part of the world where you wish to rank and start writing guest posts for them. Many of these sites will most likely employ the consumer’s native language, therefore contact native writers. This is a time-consuming procedure, but it will increase brand awareness and put you on an equal playing field with local competition.
Wrapping Up:
There are numerous methods for ensuring a successful website internationalisation and localization.
You can ensure quick and easy localization using contemporary plugins and tools. You may also index your website automatically and translate SEO webpages. When these i18n & L10n tools are trustworthy, you’ll still need a professional translator for proofread and double-check the translated pages.
Let’s hope these pointers help you with website localization.
