5 questions to ask yourself regarding eCommerce Localization
Your business is growing, and you’re looking to break into the global market. Fantastic! You’ve probably heard a lot about why eCommerce Localization is a must – but where do you start? Before jumping in at the deep end, there are a few things you need to think about. To simplify the topic, we’ve broken it down into five key questions to help get you started
#1. Why do you want to localize your e-commerce?
First step: evaluate whether localizing your e-commerce is the right choice for your business. In many cases, translating your content is going to help you reach a wider audience and build trust with international customers. If you haven’t already, check out our article on Why Website Localization Is The Key To Going Global to explore the benefits of e-commerce localization in further detail.
#2. What will you localize?
While your initial instinct might be to localize everything, the reality is that this probably isn’t necessary. We suggest saving yourself time and money by pinpointing the pages that matter. Of course, your homepage is going to be a good place to start. Since consumers are more likely to buy a product after reading positive reviews, localizing your user-generated content is also a good idea. Another logical approach would be to find out which pages already generate the most traffic and go from there.
#3. Who will you localize for?
Likewise, when considering which languages are a priority, it makes sense to cater to your existing audience. This way, you can better reach the people who are already visiting your website. The result: visitors learn more about your product, thus becoming more likely to be converted into paying customers. The important thing is to adjust your strategy to prioritize certain content for certain markets, to reap the rewards of localizing your e-commerce.
#4. When do you need the content ready?
It’s worth thinking about how quickly you need to do this, as this will inform your approach. We understand that making your content viable in a certain market can become more prudent at any given time. However, accuracy is imperative if you want to make your business internationally credible. Try not to compromise on this, even if you have a quick turnaround.
#5. How will you localize your website content?
You’ve selected the content you want to localize and the markets you want to localize for; now what? The next steps will depend on the scale and complexity of your e-commerce. Do you have a large online shop with hundreds of landing pages with repetitive content? Then machine translation + human review approach may be just right for you.
We want to kickstart your journey in the best possible way. However, the decision of how you go about eCommerce Localization ultimately lies with you. If you decide to outsource, check out our handy guide to choosing the best freelance translator for your business. Finally, our software is flexible and scalable, so you can tailor it to your own business needs.
Hopefully, going through these questions has made tackling your eCommerce localization seem like less of a mammoth task! Whatever you choose, Text United is here to guide you every step of the way.
