Localization describes the process of translating material to a foreign language. Localized documents must be clear, comprehensible and culturally appropriate for the audience of the target language. Almost any professional translation company can perform such translations adequately or they would be out of business.

Website translations differ from printed localization because rather than targeting human readers, they must suit search engines and the way in which they organize information. This process is called search engine optimization, or SEO. Translators must be aware of keywords, anchor texts, titles, tags and other SEO elements that such engines depend on to rank the importance of a site. They must localize such elements so that when a foreign-language searcher types a relevant phrase into the engine, your website appears first in the list of matches. Naturally, their efforts must also make the website translation appealing for its human readership. Visitors must find your site engaging to read and useful if you want them to stay.

When you submit your site to website translation services, make sure to explain the keywords and audience that you’re going after. Show them competing websites through search engines. In addition, ask them what search engines they’re going to target. If your main audience consists of foreign-language speakers in the United States, Mexico, or Germany. then Google remains the search engine of choice. Other countries rely on different search sites. In Japan, Yahoo is more popular. In Russia, Yandex is number one and in China, most searchers rely on Baidu.

At Keylingo, we can translate your website so it meets both human needs and search engine parameters in the country of your choice. Contact us if you want to know if we can help you.