It is true on so many levels that having your website translated into multiple languages brings one too many benefits. It all comes down to expanding your business and gaining many new customers. Which is all every website owner wants, isn’t it?
The numerous benefits of translating your website in another language are exquisite at the right time for your site. If you have already tried and tested all the other marketing solutions to promote yourself, then try to do the same in another language.
You could also feel like it is a good time for your business to be going global, and you could be looking to create an international brand. You probably know that quite many users follow the good old “I don’t understand it, so I won’t be buying it.” Not only will it work wonders with sales which you will see using sales tracking software, but it will also help you gain a lot of credibility. So, if that is the case, then, by all means, go ahead and translate your website in as many languages as possible. You may visit Languex translation if you require fast and accurate korean translation or in other languages.
So why shouldn’t I translate my website?
However, if you are starting with your business, spending a lot of time translating your website might not be a good idea. Especially if your site already is in English. Considering that over 55% of internet users explore the web in English, the percentage of other speakers visiting your website is rather small.
If you agree that it would be a waste of your time, you might think that hiring a translator to get it over with is a better idea. While this sounds good, hiring a translator could end up being more work than handling it yourself. Finding the right translator to deliver an impeccable translation within the agreed deadline and budget could be even more stressful.
The only reasonable option would be to use a translating plugin. That is – if your website is WordPress based. If you decide to go ahead and translate your site, then clicking a couple of buttons to get your website in another language is the least painful thing to do.
But, if you feel like machine translation is not good enough, maybe the best idea is to put a pin on it and get back to it sometime in the future when you reach it on your action plan chart. On the other hand, you can hire a company that provides website translation services and let a professional translator do the job for you. If your website is in English already, but you are not receiving enough visitors in the first place, then targeting another language might not be the thing to do.
What should I do instead of translating my website?
There are numerous other options for you to gain new visitors and make more sales. Here are a couple of ideas on what you could focus on instead:
Improve your SEO Score
Can you honestly say that you have already exhausted all the marketing tactics available to you? With all the tips and tricks you can use, both online and offline, each of them is bound to bring you more visitors.
First of all, what you should be focusing on is improving your SEO. When you search for the solution your business offers to its visitors, are you on the first page of its search results? If you are not, then what you should be focusing on is getting there. If people can’t find you in your original language, why should you try to do the same in another?
There are several different ways in which you could improve your SEO. Getting a better plan, or another hosting provider could be the place to spend your money on, instead of hiring a translator.
If your site speed is fast enough, both your users and Google will notice it and reward your website with plenty of new visitors.
Optimize your website’s content for better results
The other thing you could do is to optimize everything on your website, for both Google and your visitors. You want to make sure that they feel safe and appreciated on your website, so you might want to check your bounce rate. If it is high, then there is something on your site that is driving people away.
People can quickly notice if your copy is outdated, for example. Check if the content of your articles is still relevant and if it is not, update it. Spend some money on a professional photographer to enrich your website with some fresh photographs.
Ultimately, if you are receiving a tiny amount of traffic which does not leave enough money on your website, going multi-lingual might not be the best choice. Instead, you should consider rebranding yourself. Maybe that overly complicated logo of yours is not the best thing. The theme could be inappropriate and eye-poking. Having the same thing in another language might not bring the desired results.
Add a couple of additional Security levels
Could it be that your website looks untrustworthy? Does your URL start with HTTP instead of HTTPS? Securing your website is another thing you could spend your time doing. People are wary of all the scams available on the internet, and they demand the website they leave their money on to be secure.
There are several steps you can do to improve the security of your website. From utilizing SSL certificates, regularly updating your website, to creating stronger passwords, each of these steps can bring a layer of security everyone will highly appreciate.
Grow your audience
Newsletters are an effective way of growing your audience, keeping them interested and engaged. Give your subscription list another look. Is it long enough?
This is another front you should focus your forces on. Research and experience show that a good newsletter could lead to many new conversions and has a massive impact on sales. Try your best to get as many new emails as possible.
You can and should offer something for free in return, for maximum impact. It could be a giveaway of your product or a free e-book containing valuable information for your visitors. Once you have their email, a good newsletter is all it takes.
Utilize social media, as well. Everybody and their aunt are using them now. Market yourself in the right groups, create the buzz with pictures of your product, and make sure to keep your visitors interested with the regular updates. Or, in the end, use it to gain valuable insight on what your users think of your business in the comments!
Check your copy for appropriateness
Give your copy a second look. Are you targeting the right audience? Is your content easy-to-understand?
What many people fail to understand is that “I don’t understand it, so I won’t be buying it” can apply to your native language as well. If you are running a niche business, your copy might be containing a lot of words, regular users would not understand.
To make sure that everyone gets it, ask a friend or a family member, that aren’t that into your business, to check your website out for you. If they find the copy hard to understand, chances are, your visitors do too.
You could also make sure that your copy is oriented toward your visitors. No one wants to know who you are and what you do outside of your “About Us” page. Try to focus the copy on what you can do for your visitors, and which of their problems you can solve. You can use testimonials, or other sources of credibility such as notable clients, on your landing page to achieve the desired results.
Improve User Experience
Take notes on any other feedback your friends or family members provide as well. Your website could be hard to navigate. Your call to action spots could be in all the wrong places.
If you are sitting next to them while they are giving you feedback, do pay attention to the questions they ask you. It could be that your website needs a “Frequently Asked Questions” section. Or, you should make your “Contact us” more prominent if you feel that the questions they ask you could not be summed in a sentence or two. Help your users trust you by reducing all the troubling places that are standing in their way of making a purchase.
This is where other people’s feedback could come very handy, once it points to the right places that need improvement. People tend to get too attached to their websites and fail to see that the spots they are proud of actually turn other people away. The more feedback you get, the better!
Putting a pin on it
All in all, if you are planning on spending your time, nerves, and money on translating your website, make sure to know why you are doing it. It could be that the other course of actions will bring you better results instead.
If this article opened your eyes to other potential pain points of your website, it is much better to focus on them instead. Still, there is no harm in giving it a go – providing that you are using free software or an excellent plugin that will provide you with a translated website within a short timeframe and without costing you an arm and a leg.
Keep in mind, though, that both the translation and each of these suggestions, take time and knowledge to be done correctly. Prioritize them, and put a pin on several of them. Once everything is set up, and you can bask in new visitors, a lot of traffic and new sales, it might be the time to focus on translating your site and offering your product or services in another language!