Translated websites: How to avoid cow dung

Consider the following consumer trends:

• 93% of world internet users are outside North America¹
• 76% of world consumers want information in their own language²
• 68% of consumers would switch to a different brand that offers support in their native language³
• 57% of consumers consider it a bias when brands don’t offer end-to-end multilingual experiences to their customers.³

And according to Appia Research, translated marketing campaigns had a 42% click through rate and a 22% conversion rate over English-only marketing campaigns.

Whether your firm is B2C or B2B, the trends are the same: companies that localize their websites and marketing increase their business. How much revenue are you losing by NOT translating your website?

Attracting US multicultural or overseas markets should be a no-brainer if your potential prospects have limited English. What stops people are mostly two issues:

1) Website updating

“Our website has to be updated.” Understood. Is your website ever truly “done?” It need not be.

Contrary to popular perception, website translations are not an all-or-nothing proposition. You can translate your website in three ways:

1. The full site: All pages and links
2. An abridged site: Home page, contact page, key product pages. Those are less likely to change.
3. A summary of your services as a one- or two-page PDF file (as we have done for ours).

2) Fear

Q: “We don’t speak other languages. What if someone writes to us?”

A: Send us your foreign emails or text and we’ll translate them for you, usually within 24 hours. Then write your answer, and we will translate that into the sender’s language.

Q: “What if a prospect calls us in a language we don’t understand?” or “How do we speak to prospects if we don’t know their language?”

1. Our Over-the-Phone Interpreting service empowers you to speak 24/7 in over 100 languages through a vetted, confidential telephone interpreter.

Something now is better than nothing later.

G**gle Translate

And finally, never rely solely on free, online translation sites for accuracy from or into any language. They are very prone to comical mistakes as in:

English: “You asked us to call you back after Friday.”

German: Wir hoffen jedoch, dass sie bei ihrer Reiseplanug weiterhilft.

[which means, “However, we hope to help you with your travel plans.”] Huh?

Or this English translation of a Japanese food website:

• Stir-fried shabby shark with beef.
• Carrot, cow dung and lotus root.

How very appetizing.

TO GET A QUOTE

1. Decide which pages you want to translate
2. Decide the language(s) to translate into
3. Tell us your URL. We will contact you about any next steps.

To recap, some website translation gets you some business. Doing something, such as a partial website, is better than doing nothing. How much more business do you want to lose?

To get your translations done with A+ accuracy and cultural adaptation and for any of our other services in 120+ languages, please contact us at Auerbach International.

Thank you.

Philip Auerbach
Founder, President & CEO
Auerbach International
Headquarters – 415-592-0042 x107
philip@auerbach-intl.com
www.auerbach-intl.com
translations@auerbach-intl.com

“3 Decades. 2 Billion Words. A+ Accuracy. Superior Translation Services.”