3 ways website localization and multilingual SEO helps your business reach new customers

Is your business ready to expand to the global market? Or maybe you just want to reach customers in your local area who speak a second language? Then localizing your website and making sure that it is search optimized in multiple languages will help to get you off to a good start.

First of all, what is website localization?

According to Wikipedia:

Website localization is the process of adapting an existing website to local language and culture in the target market. It is the process of adapting a website into a different linguistic and cultural context— involving much more than the simple translation of text.

Website localization means offering your website in another language, but it also means making sure that the text is adapted appropriately for the culture you are marketing to. You want the translated website to impact your new target audience just as it did in the original language.

This is why it is especially important to work with an SEO service provider who is an expert in the fields of multilingual SEO and website localization. A simple machine translation, or a translation by a non-native speaker, will never be able to give customers the same experience as the original website did.

But why is all of this important?

1) If you want to reach customers who speak a different language, they need to be able to find you

This is where multilingual SEO comes in. Search engine optimization means writing the text on your website in such a way that you rank higher in a search engine’s unpaid results when people search for certain keywords. For example, you might have arrived at this page after searching for the phrase “multilingual SEO” or “website localization”.

Customers who speak another language will most likely be searching in that language. So if you want them to find you, you need to choose SEO keywords in their language and make sure that your website is optimized to rank high for those keywords in search engines.

2) Customers would rather spend money on websites in their native language

Even if your potential customers can speak English, they would rather use their native language.  A survey titled “Can’t Read, Won’t Buy: 2014,” by the independent research firm Common Sense Advisory (CSA Research) found that out of more than 3,000 global consumers in 10 non-English-speaking countries around the world, 75% prefer to do online shopping in their native language. And 60% rarely or never buy from English-only websites. If your website is not localized and SEO-optimized for multiple languages, you are missing out on this potential revenue.

3) Multilingual websites increase brand credibility

Offering your website in multiple languages lets your potential customers see that you have taken the time and effort to meet them on their own turf. And if they see that your website is localized into multiple languages, you will stand out among your competitors. Seeing that you have invested the resources to optimize your website for an international audience will make visitors from any target group view your brand as a truly global player.

In the end, localizing your company's website and adapting SEO efforts to new markets is an effective means for promoting products and services, whether you're exploring a new market or tailoring the best experience for customers to engage with an established brand.

PoliLingua's team of skilled professional translators is always here to provide the best solution for expanding your reach with high-quality translation and localization services.