These days, it’s normal for companies to conduct business online. It’s more common to advertise your products and services using the internet than it is to use paper marketing. However, that also means that many countries and cultures will view the company website.
If you truly want your business to appeal to a global market, localization is a must.
When targeting foreign markets it will be essential to check the content and ensure it’s displaying correctly. This can be a major challenge as your IP determines what content you see. This is where location-specific proxies, like a Japan proxy, come in. A Japan proxy will enable you to test your localized content as if you’re a local in your target country without you having to fly across the globe. Below, we look at localization, its benefits, some tips to localize a website, and how proxies can help in the process.
What is Localization?
Localization is the strategy and process of adjusting and curating your website content to fit other global markets. It considers the differences in cultures and environments to best appeal to the local market. It’s a comprehensive strategy to ensure your website competes with local websites of your target market, from translating your content to adjusting your multimedia and offers to fit the target market better.
Benefit of Localization
Below, we look at several benefits of curating your content for the target market’s culture and language.
More Appealing to Locals
A local will immediately like a website available in their local language and if it offers relevant content to their everyday life. It also helps you maintain your brand image as one that puts in the effort to consider the target market’s culture and preferences. A website that makes it easy for the locals to navigate and purchase your product or service will automatically attract more customers in that market.
Improves Local SEO
SEO is specific to certain regions, and the SEO of one country will differ from another’s SEO. If your content is curated to the target market it’s available in; you have better chances of improving your local SEO. The language locals use affects the SEO rankings, and ensuring you use the same language is a great way to improve your SEO rankings for a particular audience.
Increase Brand Loyalty and Revenue
Customers love a brand that cares and what better way to show you care than to provide a relatable website? Curating your content to fit the target market and circumstances ensures you show care toward your client base. It also has the effect of increasing your revenue since you’re gaining loyal customers who’ll spread the word about your services online or through word-of-mouth.
Gives Competitive Edge
It can be hard to compete with local companies and websites that intimately know the needs and wants of the target market. However, localizing a website ensures you at least don’t start on the back foot when competing with local parties. It also gives you a headstart over other global brands that haven’t localized their content.
How to Localize A Website
There are several ways you can localize your website to fit a different target market’s culture and language. We look at some primary ways to localize a website that significantly impacts its positive appeal to a target market.
Design Your Layout Effectively
It’s no secret that different languages are written in different ways. That means the website’s text layout is also not the same. While English and many other western languages are read from left to right, Arabic languages are read from right to left. Consider how the translated text will look in the provided space and what makes it easy to read when switching between different languages.
Tailor Your Design Elements
When you adjust the content for a specific market, you shouldn’t just stop at translating the text. Consider the multimedia on your site as well. Are videos available in the target language or have subtitles for the language? Are your images relevant to the market for which you’re advertising? It’s also essential to make it easy for visitors to your website to switch between different languages. For example, instead of listing “Japanese” as a language, list “日本語” so it’s easier for local speakers.
Translating Your Content
One of the most important steps to do, even if it’s the only step you follow, is to translate your content into the language commonly spoken by your target market. As soon as someone visits your website and struggles to read or understand it, they’ll just leave and look for another website. It’s a fundamental requirement of advertising to a specific international market to provide the products and services in the consumer’s language and currency. You may visit Languex translation for a fast and accurate official translation service.
Customizing Your Offers for Each Market
While it’s not always necessary, an excellent step is customizing your offers to each market. For example, if you’re trying to reach the Japanese market, try offering a Hatsu-uri special in December/January, just as you would do a Black Friday special in November for US markets. These customized offers have the benefit of attracting more customers and sales, as the locals are already in the mindset of looking for specials, and it allows you to take advantage of the local circumstances and market needs.
Create a Global Website
While you use a proxy like a Japan proxy to check your localization efforts and ensure the target market can access your website, your content must also fit that market. Localization is the first and most crucial step when expanding your website into a global market. The benefits far outweigh any extra work and capital you need to put into ensuring your website is fit for a different target market. The above tips are great ways to get started and ensure your website localization is suited for a global market.