Localization: A level up from translation
In today's globalized world, winning over new markets and international clientele are major challenges for your business' developments. Of course, translating your content is the first step to conquering the world or, if we take it one step at a time, winning over a new audience… However, you can't always just stop there. To really optimize your content and your projects, you need to adapt your offer in its entirety to the target culture, localization is a type of translation that allows you to effectively overcome this challenge.
Plus, in a broader sense, you need to choose the right type of translation to make sure that it aligns with your needs and projects.
What is localization? What are the benefits of localization? How can you localize your content? Powerling, your go-to professional translation agency, answers all your questions in this article!
What is localization?
Localization: What's what
Localization is a translation process that goes beyond translating the language to also adapt the content to a specific region, city or even a country!
Much more than just translation into a target language, localization involves adapting references, such as to standards, laws, and regulations, to those applicable in the target region. The translated content needs to align with the region's culture, which requires specific knowledge and good analysis skills.
So, to give you the run-down, localization involves:
- Cultural references;
- The colors and illustrative images used;
- Jargon and local dialect;
- The adaptation of times, dates, currencies, and units of measure;
- Local news and circumstances.
What are the benefits of localization?
Localization is a type of translation that's not to be dismissed for your international content. If you've still got questions or aren't sure, Powerling has put together a quick summary of its 3 key benefits:
- Overcome border barriers! Well-written content that is, above all, well-translated is essential for winning over new clientele and presenting them with high-quality texts that do your brand justice. Localization offers you a new opportunity to boost your business' visibility on the market.
- Reach out to every audience! If your business is going international or if you want to target international markets, localizing your content is crucial. It will allow you to address all your audiences, no matter where they live. Thanks to this advanced type of translation, each and every individual will have access to the same resources and will be able to easily understand your content, without feeling left out.
- It's all about cultural adaptation! When we talk about adopting a cultural approach in translation, we mean adapting the content according to the target audience receiving the message. Localized content takes into account the visual symbolism of each word. The linguists working on the text know that using certain symbols and their meanings can change from country to country. With localization, you can be sure that you're not at risk of any "lost-in-translation" cases!
Localizing your content
Do you need to localize your content?
You've probably got the idea by now, localization is not only important, but it's also incredibly valuable for businesses looking to conquer new markets and win over new targets. Thanks to this translation technique, you're equipped with plenty of ways to conquer a new audience: Creating specific promotions, organizing events around the target country's national holidays, reflecting local culture, or even translating content directly into the local dialect.
Whatever sector your business trades in, clearly defining your objectives, requirements, targets, and target market is a key step in identifying whether localization is for you!
However, localization can also be of use if you need to comply with local regulations.
Leave it to the professionals: A sign of high-quality
To make sure that your translation is localized well, you need a specialist professional!
Effectively, localizing documents requires particular skills on top of those required for classic translation. Localization calls for in-depth knowledge on the culture, linguistic expressions, and even the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the target region.
This is why, if you want to guarantee high-quality localization, the choice of professional translator is essential! Here at Powerling, we're a multilingual agency that works with a select team of professional translators who can respond to your requirements and deliver excellent localizations of your content.
Localizing a website
Localizing websites isn't just a case of automatically translating them or just translating the words - a lot more goes into it!
Of course, when you localize your website, you're adjusting all of the content to make sure that it aligns with the target audience and you're also boosting your search engine result positioning. For example, you need to adapt all of the more technical elements of a website, including URLs, backlinks, and everything along the lines of pop-ups, buttons, automatic emails, and error messages.
Here are our top 3 tips for successfully localizing your website:
- Don't overlook customer service! A sense of proximity is often reassuring to customers. To ensure this, you'll need to localize your contact information with a local address and phone number, or you can opt for an interactive chat, if you can't localize with local information. Also remember to specify your opening hours adapted to the target country's time zone.
- Don't forget the payment method(s)! Before placing an order online, customers like to be sure of who they're sending their money to. Check in with your targets' habits so that you can offer them a payment method that suits them and that they're used to.
- Remember the currency exchange! To make things as simple for your customers as possible, it's best to use the target country's currency and to convert any prices indicated on your website. This will not only reassure the customer, but they'll also appreciate not having to do the conversion themselves.
Localization requires real skills and in-depth knowledge. You'll now see why it's a must to use a professional or a professional agency!
Not sure that your project needs this type of translation? Not to worry - there are other types of translation, such as certified translation or transcreation. As a multilingual expert, Powerling is able to offer you various types of translation within the agency, so that you can be sure that your content is being translated effectively and to high standards. Get in touch with us to find out more!