Translation Best Practices to Boost your Business Growth in 2022

Which language is your content in? Do you intend to translate your website into multiple languages? Or perhaps you’re thinking about a new language for the mobile applications you’ve created?

Interesting, Right?!

But first, let us emphasize how grateful we are to have clients like you. You’re friendly and easy to work with. We wish you a bright and cheery New Year.

‘In the years that we’ve been working with all kinds of companies around the world, we’ve noticed how the most common questions (apart from those about the price of translation, of course) are about making the process of translation as smooth and as fast as possible.

On the basis of this, as well as on our experience with a variety of translation projects, we’ve compiled a handy list of translation projects that will help you accelerate your worldwide expansion.

We can summarize the best practices into these points, and invite you to read further…

Put together a localization strategy that meets your needs

It all starts with a localization plan. Before you begin translating any of your information, you should ask yourself a few key questions.

To get you started, here are a few:

What are your business objectives in localizing your content?

How much money do you have set aside for translation?

What is the estimated completion date for this project?

‘Into which languages are you looking to translate

Is one language sufficient, or do you require simultaneous translation of several local languages?

Do you have the requisite internal resources to extract the information that might be needed?

For the greatest business impact, which content should be translated first?

Do you know where to look for translators, proofreaders, and testers?

Do you have a decision-maker on your team who will be able to make contact with language experts in other countries?

Is it necessary to hire a localization firm?

Do you need to rebuild an existing website, product, film, or software to incorporate the translations, or do you need to start from scratch with localized versions for each language?

Are you ready to provide local language help to customers in various areas via channels that are commonly used in these regions?

Are you prepared to accept local currencies and payment methods?

Is there anything more you need to know about the law before venturing into new markets?

Why are these inquiries so crucial?

Answering these questions will help you gain a better understanding of why you want to translate content or a website into multiple languages, and it will give you a fuller perspective. Insight into your expectations will come, and this can then be applied in your business. With this knowledge, you can choose the best languages, budget, and strategy for your project.

Localization is not simply translation alone. It is therefore helpful to engage the services of a professional localization service provider.

Select the Correct Translation Languages

It’s easy to make a mistake and embark on a costly and time-consuming project.

When it comes to selecting languages for translation, there are several approaches to consider. What are some real-life examples?

Increasing the number of questions from prospects or increasing the amount of traffic

If your analytics tools begin to reveal an increase in visitors from specific markets, it’s time to consider whether you need to localize your content. A growing number of international clients are looking into the same issue.

Analyze which webpages and keywords are attracting international traffic.

Discuss with your customer service or social media team about the most common queries originating from abroad.

After weighing your alternatives, you may decide to localize either all or some of the content to meet the most pressing demands.

After all, the cost of translating your product’s website into multiple languages or of developing localized FAQ pdf files could very well quickly pay for itself. When potential customers see information in their native language, they are more likely to make a purchase.

Glimpsing a Market through Several Native Languages

A thorough market analysis, as well as an in-depth risk assessment, have been completed. You’ve decided to enter a market like the UAE, where Arabic is the only native language.

Does this imply that you need to have your website delivered into only one language in order to succeed in this country? Certainly not.

When you look at the language structure of the United Arab Emirates, it’s clear that there are more foreign-speaking expats than there are Arabic-speaking natives. You might only want to include the three most common native languages, namely English, Arabic, and Spanish.

Consider Whether or Not You Require Language Versions

When translating content into multiple languages, this is something that many people overlook. This trap must be avoided at all costs: languages have versions.

It’s easy to fall into this trap if you’re not familiar with how the localization process works.

Let’s imagine you plan to make an English version of your software or mobile application. Simple, isn’t it?

But, which English version? This is when the procedure becomes more intriguing. There’s American English, British English, Australian English, and South African English, and if you dig further, you’ll find even more variations.

The question about versions is now clearer. When it comes to grammar, spelling, sentence building, vocabulary, and so on, each of these translations has slightly different rules.

Allocate the Appropriate Time to Translate Your Content

Localization is all about following a process. It’s not a sprint, but rather a well-balanced long-distance run, in which the runner relies on his or her strengths to cross the finish line.

What are some of the activities that take a long time?

It begins with formulating a sound plan based on the issues raised in the first point (or even additional issues). Then there are the time-consuming tasks:

• Examining the company’s existing infrastructure and resources; identifying the best individual to coordinate the work;
• Locating and employing translators and proofreaders;
• Negotiating costs and schedules
• Organizing files and communicating with translators;
• Proofreading the text once it has been translated into one or more languages;
• Uploading all content, ensuring it looks as expected, and addressing any errors that may arise.

This is why all major enterprises hire a big localization company.

It’s time to translate your content. It is the perfect decision for any organization, regardless of the type of content that needs to be translated into multiple languages. Localizing marketing materials, a website, a user interface, or documentation has numerous advantages.

Use these suggestions to speed up the localization process and meet your time-to-market with your multilingual website, your translated marketing content, your localized software, or your multilingual training materials, whether you’ve done it before or are just getting started with learning about translation.