What are the greatest challenges to growing an ecommerce these days? There are many stumbling blocks on that way – and you probably know many already – so we’ll list only three:
- Getting relevant leads: you must tailor your content to your target audience, so as to attract the right people to your channels and have high conversion rates.
- Converting clients into customers: you must create a flawless user experience, so that your clients come back to you next time they need your product.
- Keeping customers happy: you have to keep up with evolving customer demands, while competing with huge retailers like Amazon, AliBaba, Ebay and the like.
So, how can ecommerce translation, of all things, help you turn these stumbling blocks into stepping stones?
Here are four tips:
1. Translate your entire sales platform. When you started selling abroad, you’ve probably had your website product descriptions translated into the language spoken by your target audience.
But have you considered you can translate a lot more than just product descriptions? In fact, you should translate all other kinds of text found on your ecommerce platform. These include:
- website elements: page titles, menus, buttons, check-out pages, ads
- blog articles and newsletters
- social media posts
If you have your entire website translated into your prospects’ language, you will attract more people likely to buy your product – and offer buyers a better user experience.
2. Don’t just translate, localize. Translating your online platforms means taking the original words and writing them in another language. Localizing means taking every single element in your platforms and adapting them to another language, country and culture.
For instance these are some of the elements than you can localize:
- measurements
- currency
- payment mode
- images
- holidays and seasonal sales
Localization is of course added work, but it pays back. By localizing your sales channels, you create a familiar and intuitive experience for your clients – the kind of experience that will make them connect with you, and come back for more.
And if you need help finding the right localization team – that’s what Upwords Translation is here for.
Besides translation services, we offer you a one-stop-shop for website localization. We work with native translators, copywriters and designers who will recreate your website on purpose for your foreign audience.
3. Make the most of SEO. Optimizing your content for search engines is crucial – otherwise a great number of your foreign prospects may never even hear about your product in the first place.
So, remember to translate and localize all website elements that can make your page rank higher in search results, including:
- page titles
- metadescriptions
- URL slugs
- image titles, subtitles and alt text
And most important, remember to use the right keywords. It’s no use having a translated meta description that is so general it tells people next to nothing about your product.
For instance, something like: “Gardening tools for people who love gardening” won’t help you. Instead, go for: “High-quality rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows and dozens of other gardening tools. Made in England. Free shipping to the UK and Europe.”
Also, make sure you use all the keywords your foreign prospects are actually searching.
Let’s say you are selling your gardening rakes to Brazil. If you describe them only as “rastelos”, that’s a perfectly correct word – but you are missing out on all the prospects that look for the synonymous word “ancinhos”.
And here’s where a good translation company will make a difference – a company like us, who works with native localizers. Our professionals know the local variations and usages of words, and will help you optimize your content with all the relevant keywords.
4. Prioritize the right content. Depending on the number and size of your platforms, translating and localizing them can take a while. And if your budget is limited, it might take even longer. If that’s the case, then you have to decide what gets translated first.
How do you do that? You know it already: the priority is the platform and content likely to bring you the most views, interactions and purchases.
Therefore, it’s important you check which platforms are popular with your target audience (they may not be the same as in your own country). Also, find out what kind of content is bringing foreign prospects to you – and where you are losing them. For instance, if your shopping cart and checkout pages are not translated, and you have high abandon rates, localizing those pages should certainly be your priority.
Summing up. If you want to use translation to your advantage when growing your ecommerce, you should:
- translate and localize your entire website;
- understand how crucial translating SEO by seasoned experts that will lead people to the right articles;
- adapt fully your chosen platform and content, and be sure to make it by partnering with a linguistic and cultural advisor.
