The importance of working with a native professional translation agency to expand your ecommerce
The internationalisation of companies, most especially in ecommerce, is a reality that cannot be overlooked. The advent of the internet has prompted many businesses to start exploring new horizons that will help them expand. In this area, one of the major challenges they face is the translation of their content, with all the different aspects this entails.
During the internationalisation process, various issues emerge that need to be addressed by the company, with language being one of the most important. Expanding into new countries comes with the need to translate all your content on social networks, blogs and any other platform into different languages. However, this step cannot be taken lightly – it is crucial to work with a translation agency that has native professionals with knowledge of the online world, especially in the area of SEO positioning.
Whether we like it or not, internationalisation is a logical step for most online businesses to take. Salvador Esteve, CEO and Co-Founder of BigTranslation, maintains that according to statistics “almost one third of ecommerce businesses will branch out into foreign markets in 2018. The barriers between countries are breaking down, and it’s absolutely necessary to work with a translation agency that has native professionals”. A good translation agency will help businesses adapt to the cultural and linguistic complexities of Europe (and beyond), and will bridge language barriers with clients.
Translation agencies and native translators, the perfect partnership
For the sake of clarity, not all agencies work with native professionals, and this differentiates a good service provider from others. These professionals translate into their native language, and are able to correctly convey every single detail and nuance of your content. They also ensure that no awkward situations arise which may lead to misunderstandings or, worse still, to a serious reputation problem that can be blown out of proportion by social networks.
When it comes to translating all a company’s content, it is highly recommended that the translation is done by a native translator of the target language who has specific language training; this will lead to the creation of a text with the most appropriate vocabulary in a contextualized and correct structure, thereby making sure customers enjoy reading the text.
“At BigTranslation our company philosophy is to work exclusively with native translators,” Esteve affirms. “The level of understanding and writing of our documents must be excellent, so it’s crucial that each professional translates only into their mother tongue. This idea is shared by all our clients, who manage all their translations through our online platform. This platform puts them in touch with more than 10,000 translators, through which they can manage translation projects in more than 100 languages at the most competitive price on the market”.
In addition to it being fundamental to opt for a translation agency that works with professional native translators, there are also other important aspects to bear in mind when choosing which company to team up with. Whilst basic factors like price/quality ratio obviously play an important role, it is advisable to look for a translation agency that specialises in your sector and, in addition, has ample knowledge of online marketing.
Specialisation in the sector is fairly self-explanatory: a translator who is familiar with and understands the field you work in will also know which terminology is most appropriate in any given context. The necessity for knowledge of online marketing may seem less crucial, but it’s not. If the translator translating the texts on your website does not adapt the content for SEO in this new country, your website will never be well positioned in Google. These two points are key when it comes to selecting a translation agency to accompany you through process of internationalisation.
