We’re combining our 3 lead web services to help your website launch in international markets with a bang.

All good things come in threes - that’s certainly true when it comes to launching your website in a new language and country. Follow these 3 key steps to start seeing results from your website:

Step 1: Brand Research - find out how suitable your brand or product name is for international markets

Step 2: Keyword Research - investigate what people actually search for to find your product, and use this information to your advantage

Step 3: International Blast - put the results of the research into practice, localise your homepage & contact form, and start generating enquiries, with a method that is usually cheaper and more effective than pay-per-click advertising

However, during February we’re offering these 3 services as a package for £590 - so you get one free when you buy them together.

To kickstart your website in a new language, or test a market you’re intending to target, simply email us, or call +44 (0) 113 8150460.

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.

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.

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. (more…)

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.

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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.

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As of the 6th December, AFNIC - (manager of the registry of .fr domain names) will lift restrictions on the availability of the .fr domain (among others) to European businesses.

If you don’t already have a French website for putting this domain to use, there has never been a better time…

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Diageo announced a 5% growth in annual profits today, an increase that Chief Executive Paul Walsh largely attributes to its activities in emerging markets.

While sales fell in Greece, Spanish and Ireland (all economies that have struggled in the last few years), Diageo’s acquisition of the leading Turkish spirits company Mey Icki, and its performance in North America and Asia-Pacific have offset the downturn in European trade.

This makes them the latest in a line of successful global companies who are spreading the risk of underperformance in developed markets such as Western Europe by expanding into countries further afield, or the path less trodden by competitors. (more…)

Yes, it’s a bit early to mention Christmas, I know, but savvy online retailers are already in the midst of preparing for the festive period.

Success stories such as Amazon and ASOS have shown that international sales can have a huge impact on an ecommerce business, so it’s hardly surprising that more retailers are jumping on this bandwagon and localising their websites to open up shop to international customers.

Before jumping in with both feet, however, there are a few things you can do to ensure your international online sales go smoothly ahead of the festive season: (more…)

There is a lot more to translation than meets the eye. Yes, the essence of the process is translating a piece of text from one language into another, but there is a lot more to consider than many people are aware.

There are lots of factors that need to be taken into account both before starting work, and during the translation process itself. Clarifying these points, and identifying any issues at the start helps to ensure a smooth translation process, and avoids delays while any difficulties are overcome.

Depending on the size and complexity of the project, clients should be asked several key questions, including (but not limited to):

What is the purpose/end use of the translation?

File formats - what format do they need the translation back in?

Processing text post-translation - will it be added to a Content Management System, or typeset into a design ready for print? If so, are those responsible experienced in doing so?

Reference material - could include previous translations and any background information to guide the translators. Clients who take the time to provide such information reap the benefits by getting an accurate translation that reflects their company style and is immediately fit for purpose. Without background information, the translators are often working in the dark, and it can take longer to produce text that is ready to use or publish.

Is there an  in-country manager who will be reviewing the text, or who can help with any terminology queries?

Is the author of the document available to answer any queries about its contents?

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