Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of optimising a website and its content to achieve a higher rank in search engines. A good SEO practice can drive organic traffic to your site and even impact the buying cycle. Translating your content and the keywords into different languages will help you boost your reach in search engines. But are you aware there is a slight difference between SEO translation and SEO localisation?
SEO Translation
SEO translation is a process where keywords, tags, URLs, and content of your website are translated into other languages to gain more visibility and a higher rank in search engines in targeted countries. However, sometimes, literal translation will have limitations in conveying the actual message of the content to the audience. For example, a content might perform well on the search engine in its original language. But when translated into another language directly, the essence of the content might be lost or not be as relatable as it was supposed to be. Therefore, to check if keywords perform well in the search engine even after being translated into the targeted language, a translator or linguist that understands SEO algorithm and strategy has to be appointed to do the job. This is to elevate your SEO performance in the global market.
SEO Localisation
Another step further to elevate your SEO ranking is to localise your page or content to a higher cultural level that would seem like local content rather than just a mere translated page. Localising your SEO would reflect customers’ engagement rate as visitors would feel more relatable and comfortable with the content, even when metaphors, slang, local expression, and humour are used. This is caused by individuals who tend to type something familiar to them. For example, when a student is searching for source material, he will most likely type what they are looking for in their native language. This is to make sure that they get the result as close as possible to what they have in mind. Localising your page or content might amplify your reach to this type of audience. The more professional you localise, the higher your website will rank in search engines.
Translation is actually a part of localisation. While translating SEO would widen your reach and rank in the search engine, you will also need to localise your SEO to make your business more relatable to your new audience. SEO translation and localisation benefits for your websites include:
- Generates more website visitors – when a website is adapted to a locally targeted language, it may attract more traffic and reflect upon the improvement of visitor engagement as a result of a good implementation of translation and localisation process.
- Promotes your website 24/7 – as it ranks higher in the search engine, your website would appear on the first page of search results which affects a lot of visibility as a promotion for your website.
- Cost-effective – compared to a paid campaign, where it is required to spend budgets on ads to promote websites, an effective SEO translation and localisation will be a smart cost-saving move. Practising SEO is a long-term marketing strategy with a long-term ROI.
- Increase brand credibility – the more your website appears and is shared among users and visitors, the more credible your website will be. And with that credibility, you can build your brand image simultaneously.
Here in Elite Asia, we offer both SEO Translation and Localisation services which would increase the attractiveness of your website to appeal to the local audience. We help to build multilingual websites whose content looks as if original content, as it will be adapted not only to the local language but also to the culture and behaviour of customers.
