Online Translation is Not Always a Priority

Last Updated On: August 23, 2023

The Internet today means global business. Once you open your internet browser to access your email, it won’t be long before you see an array of adverts passing in front of you. They often become so invasive that you can’t even read your emails. The way they conduct this advertising is quite well thought out. If, for example, you put in a search for the latest wearable fitness tracker, immediately you will get your search engine results displayed in front of you.

You will probably open up the link that is at the top of the list first and study what appears in front of you. You have found out all you want to know and put on hold any purchasing decision. You may be delaying your action but the Internet will continually bombard you for a few days ahead with advert reminders related to fitness trackers even if you had spent more time that day reading your preferred newspaper. If that doesn’t convince you how important the Internet is for product sales then nothing else will!

The most important tactic of all is translating your website into the multitude of languages of the people who use the Internet for product information and for the purchasing of products. It seems that many executives of businesses who engage in doing global business online do not seem to realize the importance of accessing translation services and getting their websites translated so they can access a bigger chunk of the global market.

A TransPerfect survey revealed that companies who have an international focus seem to think that it is not important to localize their products by getting the information about them translated into well known languages using website translation services. This is directly the opposite of what consumers want, as they give far more value to companies who market their products in their language as they are far more likely to purchase products which have been advertised appropriately in their own language.

Only 19% of executives who were surveyed thought that translating product information online was a high priority, while 63% percent of consumers said they were more likely to purchase from websites when they were written in their native language. The sample in the survey included 200 executives and potential shoppers from Germany, United States, Sweden, France, and Japan and other nations.