10 common localisation mistakes and how to avoid them from the start
Localisation is a powerful tool for small businesses to reach a wider global audience. It can be a challenging task with many factors to consider. If done poorly, it can make your content look unprofessional and potentially alienate the customers you're trying to reach. But when done right, it can be a fantastic opportunity to reach new audiences, increase engagement and conversion, and improve customer loyalty and trust.
To save you trouble and headaches, here are my top ten localisation mistakes and how to avoid them from the start.
A brief refresher on what content localisation is:
Localisation helps you tailor your content to a specific audience by adapting or creating content for the language and culture of the target market.
Your goal: Your audience should get the same experience they would expect from a local business. To make your content resonate with them, make them feel like you speak their language.
Your benefit: Providing content in multiple languages helps build trust with your customers, shows respect for individual cultures, and increases brand awareness.
10 common localisation mistakes
Assuming every market has the same needs
The needs of one market may differ from those of another. What works in one country may not work in another because different countries have different buying habits and trust factors.
Make it your primary goal to provide the same experience to customers who speak different languages.
Missing out on cultural nuances
Content localisation isn't just about translating words. It's important to consider the context in which your message will be received.
Make sure your message is culturally appropriate, taking into account cultural norms, values and taboos, as well as the way people from that culture do business.
Are you targeting a collectivist or individualist culture? What form of address does your audience expect - polite or colloquial? If you're a hip startup targeting young customers in Germany, it's acceptable to address them with the colloquial Du. But if you are a serious law firm, you should use the polite Sie.
Research the language and culture of each region thoroughly to ensure your content is authentic and appropriate for your target audience.
Relying on machine translation
Machine translation has made our lives easier. And AI writing tools can be a useful help. But overdoing it, or even relying on it exclusively, can damage your tone of voice, and your SEO, and reduce quality traffic to your website.
If your content is translated poorly or inaccurately, it can lead to embarrassing moments or even offensive mistakes that could damage your company's reputation.
What may seem like an innocent joke in one country may be considered rude in another. And remember: Some words have different meanings in different countries.
Native speakers, professional translators, and localisation experts can save you trouble. They can ensure that your localised content is accurate, appropriate, culturally sensitive, in tune with your company's tone of voice, and has the magic you need to convince your customers.
Neglecting local laws and regulations
Different countries have different rules, regulations, and requirements. These include advertising standards, consumer protection laws, and data privacy regulations.
It's important to know and understand these before you publish anything online or use customer data from other countries.
Not considering local buying habits and payment methods
Different countries have different payment systems, and not all payment methods are available in every country. So it's important to localise your shopping experience too. This means using the local currency and appropriate payment methods.
For example, credit cards are not as common in Germany as they are in the US. However, Germans often pay by direct debit.
If you are offering your service in Brazil, make sure you display your prices in Brazilian reals rather than USD. The exchange rate is high. If a Brazilian customer has to buy your product in USD, it's much more expensive for them. As a result, they may turn away from your offer.
Not optimising for search engines
Content localisation can help you improve your SEO performance.
When localising content for search engines, remember that different countries use different search terms.
Research the keywords that specific audiences are likely to use in their country and incorporate them into your localised content. This will ensure that more people find your website when they search for relevant terms and that you target the right content to the right audience.
Focusing on source content only
Taking your business global also means thinking globally about your content.
If your source language is English and you are planning new messages and content for your website, remember that you will need to translate this content into other languages later.
A lot of things sound cool in English, but when it comes to turning them into well-sounding messages in another language, it can often be tricky.
You can save yourself and your localisation team a lot of headaches by using messages that are easy to adapt to other languages. In this way, localisation can even be a fantastic detection system for identifying weaknesses in your source content.
Forgetting different text densities and lengths
Different languages have different sentence lengths. This can affect the design of your website, as you'll need more horizontal space on a page when you translate it into another language. So don't just design your interface formats around English.
The average English sentence is about 15 words long. In German, it is about 22 words. That's 40% more.
It would be a visual mess if your text started to overlap the interface. Plus, it would create a lot of extra work for your developers.
Not localising visuals
When localising your content, don't forget that this also includes images and graphics.
All images and graphics on your website should also be localised for different languages and cultures.
When creating graphics, make sure they are usable in all languages. Abstract illustrations are a good way to go. And prefer visuals without text, as text always needs to be translated.
When including images, consider how they may be perceived in different countries and cultures. Can they be alienating or even offensive?
Localising everything at once
Don't try to localise all parts of your customer experience at once.
Building and maintaining a multilingual product and website takes more time and resources. That's why it's important to be strategic and prioritise your localisation efforts.
Start your localisation with the most important and relevant parts for the target market. Then move on to the less important parts.
You don't need to do everything at once. Instead, focus on quality and consistency.
Localisation takes time and effort, and it's a multi-layered process. But that doesn't mean it has to be difficult or overwhelming. With an experienced partner like Öökull Creative at your side, you can avoid common mistakes from the start and face challenges with confidence. Take your business to the next level with personalised, localised, high-quality content that makes your customers feel valued.
At Öökull Creative, we're happy to discuss your localisation needs and help you along the way. So please get in touch. We're here to help you.
