In 2021, the global e-commerce market is expected to reach $4.98 trillion. As the market grows, businesses need to stay competitive, reaching new audiences and delivering a superior user experience. That’s where e-commerce translation services come in.
Why are e-commerce translation services important?
With huge market opportunities comes competition. Shopify reported record levels of e-commerce competition in 2020 but noted that not all competitors were delivering high-level customer experiences.
Ecommerce translation can create personalized experiences based on location and language. This helps businesses both reach and engage new customers. Customers arrive at a version of your website that’s catered to them, creating seamless interactions and top-quality experiences in new markets.
On the right hand, e-commerce website translation is a straightforward process. However, there are several areas where businesses often go wrong.
For the best results, always choose professional e-commerce translation services. They can guide you through the process, usually taking on projects of all sizes.
Common mistakes to avoid when translating your website
- Using automatic translation tools
Customers need to connect with your brand. The words you choose impact your brand identity, values, and ethos. For example, Deloitte recently found that one in five people experienced increased brand loyalty towards a company that responded positively to the pandemic.
But how can customers relate to brands with unclear messaging?
Using automatic translation tools without input from a professional translator is bound to lead to translation errors. Whether it’s odd product names, word-for-word translations of idioms, or errors on payment popups, your customers won’t be getting the best experience possible. Always choose professional translators for the best results.
- Displaying incorrect images
Images are a huge part of the e-commerce experience. We might not notice, but many images also contain text. For example, the writing on books, labels, and image-based banners will look foreign to speakers of other languages.
And remember, not all images are universal. Some campaigns and images will be culturally inappropriate in certain areas. Professional e-commerce translation services can localize your site so that it’s culturally and linguistically appropriate for your audience.
- Not optimizing for multilingual SEO
Around 53% of all trackable website traffic comes from organic search results (BrightEdge). So it’s important to make sure your website is optimized for all languages. Otherwise, your customers won’t be able to find you when they search in their own languages.
Multilingual SEO requires the help of a language expert. Ecommerce translation services can help you choose the right keywords, build your site map, localize your content, target the right search engines, and take care of technical SEO requirements.
- Not showing local currency and measurements
Your customers don’t want to spend their valuable time converting measurements or working out how much a product will cost in their own currency. What’s more, customers accidentally buying the wrong size or product means more returns and fewer happy clients.
Displaying dates, currency, and sizing in local formats helps your products feel as though they were made with the target market in mind.
- Providing customer service is only one language
If your website is available in several languages, customers are going to expect support in several languages, too. This might be through FAQ pages, contact forms, or chatbots.
Whatever way you choose to provide customer service, shoppers expect it to be clear and respond exactly to their needs. Ecommerce translation services mean you can provide the best experience, tailored to your customers.
Future Trans – Ecommerce translation tailored to your website
At Future Trans, we have over 25 years of experience in translation and localization services. Our e-commerce teams help brands sell their products clearly in MENA languages. To find out how to engage your international customers, send us a message.
