It’s a statistic we often repeat on this blog, but the fact is that online customers are four times more likely to buy from a website in their own language, so companies who have multilingual websites soon reap the rewards of the time and resource investment they make in website localisation.

Here’s how localisation of even just a few pages can power your export sales to new heights.

While the internet is a boon to international trade, many companies in English-speaking countries are failing to be forward-thinking by communicating internationally.

Localising websites entails adapting products and materials for a particular market and includes - but is not limited to - translating text into the markets’ relevant languages.

A fully localised website shows shows appreciation and respect towards a foreign culture and conveys that you are interested in your potential customers and their respective cultures. It likewise takes into account conventions and preferences specific to each country such as currencies, measurements and cultural differences.

The benefits of localisation are enormous and include penetrating overseas markets you most want to succeed in, increasing market share - and muscling out the competition. It also ensures you can be found in the most popular search engines in each specified market, country or language.

With English accounting for less than 30% of website content, closely followed by Chinese with 22.6% with ‘other languages’ making up 17.8% - the opportunities for growing your business via localisation are unprecedented.

Reaching out to customers in multiple languages brings both short and long term ‘wins’.  In addition to the immediate boost to sales, a multilingual website is excellent for testing new markets and opening new doors to international trade.

Summary of key tactics to achieve success

Localise your website - just a few pages will demonstrate serious intentions and improve your search engine ranking in the country you are targeting.

Always use a professional translation service - avoid being tempted to use a free machine translation which is not geared for translating marketing copy which has been carefully crafted to stimulate interest and sell to readers.

Focus on core products and services - launching a selection of your bestselling products or services increases your chances of success in a new market.

Conduct multilingual keyword research - pinning down what customers are actually searching for and adapting your website and online advertising accordingly is critical to ensure your site is the one they browse and then buy from.

Measure results - As you would with your UK site. Visitor statistics are invaluable in evaluating your return on investment and deciding where to concentrate further resources.

Are you planning to take advantage of international opportunities by localising your website? Then let’s talk - email sales[at]web-translations[dot]co[dot]uk or call +44 (0) 113 8150460.

Translators and Project Managers (PMs) are just like fish and chips: one won’t go without the other. Here’s a short guide on how to enjoy this recipe without giving yourself indigestion!

Rather than writing about what freelancers love or hate (or a similar rant from the Project Manager’s perspective), it’s possibly more useful for everybody to know what elements link translators and agencies together so tightly, and how they can work better together. Read the rest of this entry »

Within Europe, 70% of online sales are generated by “the big online three”; €48 billion from the UK; Germany €39.2 billion and France €25 billion.

The French online market has grown rapidly in the last couple of years. In 2010, eCommerce alone accounted for €31 billion of the €36.2 billion France sold abroad. In the first half of 2011, turnover for all French ecommerce websites combined reached €17.5 billion (£14.9 billion, $23.6 billion; that’s a 20% year-on-year increase, according to a study by the Invest in France agency.

France now has 90,000 retail websites, including 20,000 created during 2010. In the first quarter of 2011, the iCE 40 index (which is made up of the top 40 ecommerce sites in France) showed a year-on-year growth of 11 % and according to FEVAD, France’s ecommerce and remote sales federation, in 2012 ecommerce is set to accumulate sales of €45 billion (£$61 billion, £38.4 billion), putting it on a par with telecommunications and aerospace sales. Ecommerce currently employs nearly 60,000 people in France.

According to the research conducted by Invest in France, the most popular ecommerce sites in France during the first quarter of 2011 were: eBay (9.1 million visitors per month), Amazon (9.1 million visitors), PriceMinister (7.8 million visitors) and la Fnac (6.9 million visitors).

Many French online shops intend to expand internationally in 2012, so this is a booming market, as is mobile commerce. SEO, Email Marketing and Logistics are all important considerations for French eCommerce companies. The recent availability of .fr domains across the EU also opens up opportunities in the French market.

If you’re interested in launching your company website in France, get in touch: sales[at]web-translations[dot]co[dot]uk/ +44 (0) 113 8150460.

Web-Translations has been commissioned to implement the Leeds City College online rebrand and help engage new audiences as part of the college’s commitment to Entrepreneurs.

In a move that will see the college opening up a whole host of creative services to entrepreneurs in and around the area, from screen printing and laser cutting, to retail and office units, Leeds City College is to streamline its web presence to help illustrate more clearly what they have to offer and engage with young businesses from around the region.

Bringing together the current offerings of Factory4, The Unit and The Workshop, the new website will see all 3 current offerings sit under a new brand called ‘Inc’, with a strapline of ‘Inspiring Enterprise’. The sub-brands will then be Inc Enterprise (formerly The Unit), Inc Creative (formerly The Workshop) and Inc Workshop (formerly Factory4).

Although Web Translations are primarily specialists in helping organisations do business internationally online, and do not specialise in web design projects, Leeds City College felt the experience of the company’s M.D, Daniel Rajkumar, aligned the company with the college’s target audience. Daniel’s previous experience as Commercial Director for web design company Clever Clover will stand him in good stead for this project.

Rifat Bashir, Business Incubation Manager at Leeds City College (shown above on the right) said: “It was important for us to choose an agency who really understood our core values. The fact that Daniel set up Web-Translations straight from Leeds University Business School, is a member of many entrepreneurship organisations, and has won several awards for entrepreneurship over the last 9 years convinced us that he and his team would understand our audience”.

The website will provide information for those who are interested in renting office space, or in undertaking creative workshops, as well as information about mentoring services available. It will also have full social media integration to enable entrepreneurs from around the region to share knowledge, advice and experiences through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Daniel Rajkumar said: “We are delighted to be working with Leeds City College on this project as I think the services they are offering are fantastic resources for people starting out in business. I’ve always found Leeds to be a great place for business people being supportive of each other and I hope our work on this project provides a further resource to bring entrepreneurs together”.

To speak to Web-Translations about your website or international brand strategy, call +44 (0) 113 8150460 or email sales[at]web-translations[dot]co[dot]uk.

This Chinese New Year, beginning on 23rd January, marks the beginning of the year of the Dragon.

The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals: Dragon, Horse, Monkey, Rat, Boar, Rabbit, Dog, Rooster, Ox, Tiger, Snake, and Ram; last year’s Rabbit, representing calm and tranquility makes way for the Dragon, bringing with it excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity.

The year of the Dragon is all about drama, and if the last few weeks in the build up to the Chinese New Year transition are anything to go by, then we are set for a lot of upheaval this year!

Dragon years are believed to be lucky for those starting a business or beginning a new project of any sort, because money is easier to come by for everyone, whether it’s earned, borrowed, or comes in the form of a windfall. Consequently Chinese astrology predicts that we can expect the economic downturn to improve slightly in the coming year.

Here’s hoping!

With the recent changes in Spain comes new opportunities and a new office for Web-Translations in Madrid. Spain may be going through some economic pain, but the fact remains it is the best placed European country for helping businesses to make the most of the fast emerging markets of Latin America, or any of the 27 countries for which Spanish is an official language.

Ignacio de Pablo, an experienced localisation consultant, will head up the Madrid office and spreading the word about Web-Translations among local contacts and partners who recognised the need to export as a strategy to grow. Read the rest of this entry »

Hi Everyone!

I’m Fiona Henderson and I have just joined the Web-Translations team as a Project Coordinator.

I was born in Edinburgh and grew up in the nearby seaside town of North Berwick. After studying Russian and Slavonic Studies at the University of Glasgow, I moved to Leeds to study towards an MA in Applied Translation Studies at the University of Leeds.

I’m delighted to have found a position which allows me to engage with my knowledge of languages on a daily basis, whilst learning new skills and building on my experience in this exciting and constantly evolving industry.

Other facts about me: I am extremely musical and love going to the theatre to watch an opera or ballet, or to listen to some classical music. I am not very sporty but I do enjoy horse riding, ice skating and dancing. My dream is to take the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok!

Once you make the important decision to localise your website for a foreign market, and select a provider to deliver the project, your work is not quite yet done. It’s equally important to identify which sections of the website should be included in the localisation project, not least from a budgetary perspective.

We usually advise clients who are embarking on their first localisation to omit the following sections:

- News

- Meet the team, or equivalent

- All blog posts

The reason being that this type of contact can quickly become out of date, unless a strategy is in place to manage multilingual updates.

Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s competitive business environment, it pays to be the first company to market with a new product or service. Here are our tips on how to beat your competitors and take full advantage of global opportunities in your sector.

1. Be the early bird - get there first!
Localise your homepage for multiple markets - then you have the pick of where to focus your attention & resource rather than being forced out of the markets your competitors already operate in.

2. Forge your own path
China, Russia, and other fast-growing economies will compete with you in markets you hadn’t even begun to consider. Don’t follow the herd, but blaze your own trail. This takes confidence and a strong business plan but it is the only way to keep competitive advantage.

Read the rest of this entry »

Selling online has enormous advantages over a traditional business model.The main one is the ability to be instantly global, in the sense that your website can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, anytime. However, very few e-businesses take a global approach from the outset or even seriously consider harnessing this potential once they have reached scale in their home market. Read the rest of this entry »