{"id":858,"date":"2017-04-17T11:11:13","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T05:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulatus.com\/translation-blog\/?p=858"},"modified":"2017-07-21T14:42:59","modified_gmt":"2017-07-21T09:12:59","slug":"seo-and-quality-assurance-in-website-localization-what-to-keep-in-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ulatus.com\/translation-blog\/seo-and-quality-assurance-in-website-localization-what-to-keep-in-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"SEO and Quality Assurance in Website Localization: What to Keep in Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

Website localization<\/a> is essential for companies wanting to expand their global reach. Speaking to consumers in their native language and appealing to them with locally relevant content is helpful to improve the user experience and ultimately drive up sales. Fully localized websites enhance consumer confidence and trust, as consumers are more comfortable making purchases in their language and interacting with a website that \u201cfeels local\u201d to them.<\/p>\n

A solid website localization strategy<\/a> can make the difference between increased ROI and failure. Once the localization strategy has been crafted and implemented, it is essential to keep in mind a few factors including Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and localization testing.<\/p>\n

How Do You Implement an SEO Strategy for a Multilingual Website? And How Do You Effectively Perform Localization Testing and Quality Assurance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) A Localized SEO Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just as you had an SEO strategy for the English website, you will need to have one for all localized versions. However, a localized SEO strategy is not simply translating a list of keywords in English. Different countries use different search terms, so if you want to generate a higher conversion rate you will need to do research on the most used keywords. Google Adwords<\/a> is an extremely helpful tool that provides data on search volumes for keywords in specific geographic areas, and thus it can be consulted to find the \u201cmore ROI-driven translation<\/a>\u201d. It is important to conduct thorough research on current usage of terms in a given target market in order to pick the best and most up-to-date terms.<\/p>\n

Moreover, working in synergy with a native SEO specialist or local marketing consultant may be helpful to ensure the site is optimized for the best keywords and locally used expressions.<\/p>\n

Also, you should optimize your website for different search engines, depending on the country you\u2019re localizing for. While in most regions Google is still the preeminent search engine, in some others local consumers prefer Bing and Yahoo. In two particular cases (Russia and China), consumers don\u2019t go to Google, but to Yandex and Baidu.<\/p>\n

2) Optimization of Site Speed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Internet providers have different speed standards depending on a country (i.e., what seem like good Internet speed in Italy is average for Norway). You should consider the speed standard of the country\/locale you are localizing into, and if necessary make adjustments to the website. For example, if you are launching in a region with slow internet, you might want to think twice before including large files like videos and images. Instead, you might be better off coming up with a simplified version of the website that is lighter and easier to load. You have to keep in mind that site speed is one of Google\u2019s main ranking factor, so being cognizant of that will help you achieve higher-ranking results.<\/p>\n

3) Localization Testing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>When testing website localization, you need to look into the following:<\/p>\n

a) Language<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spelling errors, wrong use of words, punctuation errors<\/p>\n

Grammatical mistakes, capitalization<\/p>\n

Writing direction<\/p>\n

Keyboard shortcut and layout<\/p>\n

b) Culture and Region<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colors and images<\/p>\n

Names and titles<\/p>\n

Presence of cultural taboos<\/p>\n

Inappropriate or offensive texts<\/p>\n

Misuse of keywords<\/p>\n

General readability and appeal of message<\/p>\n

c) Local Details<\/strong><\/p>\n

Date and time formats<\/p>\n

Calendar types<\/p>\n

Number formats (decimal separators, grouping of digits etc.)<\/p>\n

Currency symbols, weights and measures, paper sizes<\/p>\n

d)<\/strong> Strings\/Design<\/strong><\/p>\n

UI and layout defects (i.e., misalignment and overlap)<\/p>\n

Errors in concatenated strings<\/p>\n

Avoid the use of idioms (expressions whose meaning is not predictable by putting all words together) and contronyms (= words or phrases that mean different things in different context) as they can be misleading and prone to error in translation.<\/p>\n

A Few More Things to Keep in Mind:<\/strong><\/p>\n