Should you Translate your Webpage?

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The Internet has changed the way that the world does business. The internet allows for anyone from any country to access your webpage, order your services, or buy your products. Due to this overwhelming demand for diversifying your business, it becomes imperative to make sure that your business’ web page is in multiple languages. You may be thinking about cost effectiveness, which languages to translate into and how to have it done. According to one web counter service, there are more non-Americans that access American web pages daily than our own citizens. This statistic is mind-boggling if you consider the amount of business that a company can reach by having their web pages translated into other languages.

American Businesses are Popular:

American businesses, especially electronics, apparel, and music are very popular outside of the United States. Many foreigners are drawn to certain types of American manufacturers and artists. Having a website that is in a foreign language makes it easier to communicate with someone who speaks a different language. Language is a barrier but it is also brings us together depending on how it is approached.

If a perspective customer is on your webpage but does not feel comfortable speaking or reading English, then they are less likely to have a positive experience. In this instance, the language difference is a barrier. However, if a perspective client comes to your webpage and sees something that they want and the web page is in their native language, they are going to be much more comfortable navigating your website and be more likely to purchase something. This is where the language is a uniting force instead of a barrier.

How to get your Webpage Translated:

Once a company decides they are going to have their web page translated into different languages, inplementation can be achieved in several different ways. Whoever is in charge of the internet portion of the business will need to decide which languages that the business is interested in having. Some of the most popular languages would be: Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and Hindi. Just with these languages, over 50% of the population of the world is represented.

Once you have decided on your languages, you will want to look into your options for having your webpage translated. There are many translation services that will translate your page into your chosen languages for a fee. These services employ translators that speak the languages you choose fluently. This is the effective means of translation.

Another option is to hire a translator either locally or over the internet and make the changes yourself. This can save you a little bit of money but will prove to be time consuming. If you are attempting to create a tranlated version of your site in a language you can’t read, you may find it frustrating to get the page looking right. Not to mention each language would have to be uploaded separately on your host.

The final and most effective way is to add a translator into the pages you want to allow translation. Google, Alta Vista Babelfish, and Wordlingo offer a code to be placed on your page. This will place small flag icons for your visitors to click and will translate your page. This is a free and easy method that allows you to pick and choose just the pages you want translated.

SEO Benefits of Translating Your Website:

With every change made to your site, SEO is affected. With website translation this affect is positive. By adding more keywords, options, backlinks, and search relevence in different countries, your traffic will increase, as well as your page rank. If you are utilizing the code to translate your page, this creates a backlink to either Google, Alta Vista, or Wordlingo. This also allows your page to show up in search results of other countries in other languages.

So whether you are attempting to narrow the language gap between your site and prospective visitors, or you just want to make your site more enjoyable to those who speak another language, translating your site can be beneficial. In a world so diverse in culture and languages, small steps to bringing us all together can increase relations and your website’s traffic.
Author Tanya Peterson writes for Absolute Translations, a company providing translation services for a worldwide audience. From proofreading company brochures to transcription and legal translation services, absolutetranslations.com does it all.

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