1:48
Let's walk through a simple example.
Suppose you have three popular English keywords that you know deliver results and
have sufficient search demand.
You're thinking about how to translate English content into other languages.
Suppose you've taken that English content, those three keywords, and
translated them into German, French, and Spanish.
You're looking at the demand, or relevance, or
some of the other keyword measures we discussed earlier.
Often that keyword you thought was ideal for English shows either very little
demand, is culturally irrelevant, or just doesn't resonate in another language.
If your SEO lens reveals a lack of demand, not enough people are looking for
that content, then you must get creative determining other keywords
that will prompt strong responses in those languages.
Or agree that this choice of keywords is the best you can do,
all other things being equal.
This is an inherent challenge, it's common.
It comes up anytime you talk to those with a translation or localization background.
For example, say you're looking at digital marketing, but
you want to translate that into French.
In English, it has 1600 monthly searches, but
when you translate that exact phrase into French, it gets only 70.
It can go the other direction as well, where a keyword that has great resonance
in another language is not the term your team wants to use for
your primary English content.
The point here is that you won't automatically get keywords exactly right
when it comes to having the highest demand.
Just do the right thing for your audience.
Write in such a way that the content makes sense culturally for
each language you translate into.
This is why it's important to consider native speakers to help with your
translation efforts.
It can be challenging to justify localization because there is an expense
required.
You need to pay for services, either at a localization agency or
through a competent internal team you train or hire.
It's important to let your current traffic or
marketing focus guide how you prioritize localization.
Clearly, one major purpose of hosting different sites or
sections in other languages is to provide information in those various countries,
but nothing irritates customers more than poorly translated copy.
If it were as simple as using something like Google Translate,
they'd do it themselves.
Therefore, you need to have copywriters who speak the target language intimately
to capture the nuances of what you're trying to say.
There are ways to scale localization by thinking through levels of engagement.
This is not a boil the ocean exercise.
Start with the simplest deliverable, keyword research by a native speaker.
After that, maybe you'd use a documented localization process.
Once that's in place, if business continues to justify moving forward,
maybe consider localization agencies, training, and reviews.
I'm going to walk through each of these in more detail.
Here's level one.
Suppose you're starting with content in English or
your native language and you want it translated into a few
other languages because there's a business case for it.
You could hire a native speaking person
who has a basic understanding of keyword research.
You can find translators on UpWork or Fiverr.
You may need to train them in SEO basics related to the desired language, but
you can start simply by using the Google Keyword Planner or
another keyword research tool.
Then demonstrate how you want keyword research done for another language.
You might consider other options for translation.
You can take the path of lower quality and lower commitment, which is crowdsourcing
or machine learning translation utilizing Google Translate or
another automated translation tool.
But I recommend that you consider localized keyword research where quality
increases in proportion to the training and skill of your translation team.
6:05
Some situations call for a localization process that's documented, for example,
in a multinational enterprise.
You may want to put in place a step-by-step documented repeatable
process, or ask for it if you're working with,
team with something already established.
This might include number one, in-country keyword research.
Two, map keywords to a preferred landing page for
the languages you're translating into.
Three, localizing those keywords in content
while being culturally sensitive regarding video and images.
Number four, you could establish a review process where the editorial, SEO,
and web teams collaborate regarding the kind of localization you're doing.
Involving many perspectives in content review increases accuracy.
Number 5, finally, that localized content then goes live in a launch.
This is a mature way of thinking about localization because it emphasizes quality
control, requires communication among teams to ensure that nothing is missed,
and it ensures that the process is as efficient as possible.
Most multinational companies eventually hire a vendor, or
vendors, to handle localization.
7:42
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you go this route.
Make assignments by language, not by product, so
that you capture the linguistic expertise of your workers.
This creates consistency across a single language.
Ultimately, your search needs can complement other websites or collateral or
copy needs that you have for localization, so that you have the same
vendors working on multiple deliverables for a launch or a product release.
You might consider a translation guide for a more sophisticated organization.
This brief document covers the tone of voice in writing style.
You could even do this in video or
some other visual way to help your workers better understand expectations.
8:36
You might also build a glossary or dictionary of common terms and
phrases that require particular translation.
Here's where you'd include brand terms that you don't want translated or
specific criteria for how phrases that are pertinent to your industry are translated.
And make assessments at a per language level of how you think through your
industry terms, what that means for content on your site.
One final step I recommend is to develop a review process.
Building a review process provides needed quality control to
ensure the effectiveness of your localized marketing copy.
Typically, you'll have linguistic reviewers for targeted regions.
They may sit in-country or have native language speaking ability, but they won't
have the same level of buy-in as employees or clients you work with directly.
Having your regional or
geographically-based team sign off on the content engenders further buy-in and
ownership of the content that's going live.
You also increase ownership by setting up a long-term engagement with your chosen
vendor or partner, increasing accountability and
quality through a coordinated review process.
Dave LloydSenior Manager, Global Search Marketing
