Whether you’re promoting a new foreign-language website or launching an app for an overseas market, you’ll soon realize that keyword localization is essential.
Translating your original content into the new language probably won’t be enough to give you a great SEO ranking or ensure that potential customers and clients can find your website or use your app effectively.
For the best chance of success, you’ll really need to create a localization strategy that includes multilingual keyword research, native-speaking localization, and a professional Language Services Provider (LSP).
However, to help kick-start your project, you can read our 3 top tips for the best keyword localization here…
1. Keyword Research, Research, Research.
Maybe we should’ve said that a few more times…Research, research, research!
The point is, research is key to understanding what your customers are searching for online, how they use specific keywords within a search, what search engine they prefer to use, and, ultimately, what they will type into their search bar.
It simply won’t be effective enough if you just translate your existing keywords from your home territory.
The way people speak, phrase questions, structure sentences, and so on, changes with different languages and locations.
For example, an Arabic language speaker in the UAE is likely to use different keywords to an Arabic language speaker in Egypt, and an English language speaker in the UK will be different to an English language speaker in the USA.
In order to ensure you are targeting the right audience, and that your audience can find your products or services, you’ll need to localize your content and keywords for each specific region and language.
If you are localizing keywords without the help and guidance of a professional LSP, consider factors such as:
• Localize Keywords for Language/Dialect – do different regions speak different dialects within the same basic language? Make sure you understand the linguistic differences within dialects and localize keywords
• Check out your Competition – research how other companies in your sector are targeting customers and run some searches using their primary content keywords
• Keywords and Content – translating content is great but it will only get you so far. Localize your content too and ensure that the keywords you’ve researched are embedded into your content
• Search Engines – as surprising as it may seem, Google is not the favourite search engine in every country. Check out what search engine locals use and research (again) how you can elevate your rank for each search engine provider. A local SEO approach is essential.
• Ask for Help – If you are struggling to localize keywords and content effectively, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It might save you lots of wasted time and money by using a reliable Language Services Provider for some of your localization tasks
2. Create Content with a Local Audience Focus
All the research you’ve done on localizing keywords shouldn’t go to waste.
Creating content that makes use of your keywords and which is crafted with a local focus will ensure your audience are able to find what they are looking for.
It will also encourage them to make a purchase as research shows that 40% of us won’t even consider buying from a website in another language, while over 70% of us want reviews in our native language too.
Whether you’re operating as B2B or B2C, adopting a local audience focus to your content and keywords will give you the best chance of success in every market.
3. Talk to a Professional Language Services Provider
While you may have done lots of research and work in creating a great list of localized keywords it is always worth asking for a second opinion or getting some extra help with your language project.
Many LSPs offer a full range of language services, which can be tailored to suit your budget and requirements, so you can have as little, or as much, assistance as you need.
For example, you might have a local team who are great at keyword generation but not so good at creating content that is relevant, fresh, and exciting.
In this instance, you would benefit from using an LSP who can create engaging localized content using native copywriters.
Or perhaps you just need an experienced translator and editor to proofread and check for errors in new content?
Whatever your language requirements, a professional LSP will be able to guide you through the localization process and ensure that your content captivates your new audience.
More advice regarding localization can be found on our blog page, or you can contact us here to discuss your language project with one of the Creative Word team.
