Every business owner, website creator, and writer knows the importance that SEO and digital marketing have in our current, digital-first world. The digital landscape can shift so fast that it feels hard to keep up with all the best practices. That’s why even the best marketers can let vital considerations slip through the cracks. One of the most easily forgotten of these is localization.
Website localization encompasses many facets of creating and adapting web pages, blog posts, and other content that feels like it was created by a native of your target locale. This strategy is a key component of larger marketing and optimization plans, and can create measurable gains for your website and business.
What Is Web Localization?
When people hear “localization,” their first thought is often website translation. While translation is an essential part of the process, thorough localization goes far beyond that.
Localization can be done while creating web pages and posts, or as a modification later. Sometimes, you may want to have different versions of pages and posts depending on the visitor’s location. Blog posts targeting specific regions and sub-regions of your audience draw more of those readers in. However you do it, the goal of localization is always the same: content that feels relatable, personal, and specific to the reader.
On top of translation, localization includes techniques worked into the text, the narrative, and the design. As with all digital marketing, little choices add up, and the result regularly ends up better than the sum of its parts.
Why Does Localization Matter?
Incorporating localization makes your website more appealing to your target audience. Local SEO also improves local search rankings, meaning more potential customers or subscribers are likely to find your site.
When more people find your posts and relate to them, you see more than just an increase in web traffic. Boosting sales, fostering brand loyalty, and connecting to a larger audience are all benefits of website localization.
When web searchers input a search query that Google views as being location-specific, they’ll get different results than a non-localized search. Often, this includes showing business profiles or Google Maps listings, but it can also mean a modification of the organic search results page.
These types of searches are usually looking for things close to the searcher, and can indicate intent to purchase from or visit a business. Ranking better on these searches means you’re connecting to visitors who are already prepared to browse what you have to offer.
Many website owners ask, “But do I need to localize my site? I only sell flowers!” The truth is, localization is an invaluable tool for almost any business, website, or blog. Whether fully online, in-person, or a hybrid, localization gets you closer to finding the audience you want and boosts your SEO strategy.
For example, a business providing garden-related content writing services might think they don’t need to localize, since they’re entirely online. Consider the different audiences who might find their content:
- American farmers looking for tips to improve crop yield
- German houseplant enthusiasts wanting to know proper care and propagation techniques
- South African gardeners seeking solutions to pests on outdoor plants
Each of these potential audiences are in different locations with different desires. This business might want to cater to all of those audiences, or only some of them. By tailoring the content and topic of their posts to specific locations, they can better reach those people, improving their conversion rates and engagement.
Choosing Where to Focus Your Efforts
The first step in localization is deciding what geographic region/s you want to hone in on. This decision should be based on the type of content, services, and/or products you offer, and matching that with the people you want to serve. This informs the language, research, and storytelling you’ll incorporate into your site.
Let’s return to the idea of a business that just sells flowers. Imagine you’re a small business delivering custom bouquets to customers in Fort Worth, Texas. Unless you plan on expanding, connecting to customers in Okinawa, Japan, likely won’t be a priority. Instead, you’d want to focus on the area in and around Fort Worth.
You can define the boundaries of the area you serve, perhaps extending out to River Oaks and Haltom City. If there’s a specific event happening at the Kimbell Art Museum that will draw people in, you might want to mention it, or even see if you can market to customers attending that event. As a florist, locations like the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Gateway Park could be relevant for both you and your customers.
This focuses on the geographic specifics of your marketing, but of course there’s more to localization. You also want to consider:
- The types of imagery Texans enjoy
- Regional names for plants that might differ from common names
- The idiosyncrasies unique to dialects of English in this region
When deciding on a localization plan, another factor to consider is how much time, energy, and resources you have to devote to the task. A whole team can perform much more than a single person can, and it’s important to be realistic about your plans. You can always start small and grow later.
5 Key Components of Website Localization
Web localization is a complex topic that can take a while to master, but these are the basics you should never forget. Starting with these will help you build a strategy that is both successful and manageable.
Remember, quality of content is key for search rankings and audiences alike. Be aware of common marketing mistakes to watch out for while you’re localizing. With that in mind, always check these five components:
- Language: Choose the language/s your target audience uses most. When translating content, it’s tempting to use tools like ChatGPT or Google Translate. However, these tools give a word-for-word translation that might not convey the same tone and ideas from one language to another. The best translators are those who understand the nuances of the language. This also applies to SEO research, as direct translations of keywords don’t always carry over the same search intent and context. Region-specific research makes it easier to choose the words and phrases most relevant to your audience.
- Style: Consider the specific dialect and tone that’s most likely to resonate with your intended audience. People in different regions have different speech patterns, even if speaking the same language. Similarly, a legal blog reader expects a more formal, direct style than a pet blog reader.
- Design: The types of images you choose should be informed by the likes and dislikes of your audience. An outdoors-focused blog post for a Boulder, Colorado audience is going to have a lot of snow, mountains, and maybe ski lifts. A similar post targeted toward SoCal would have more beaches and lush landscapes.
- Narrative: Storytelling is a key part of any marketing. This includes the references you might make to locations and events, like in the florist example above. Also research the types of stories that are successful in your target region.
- Minor details: These are small, easily-missed things. The most obvious one is to convert into the local currency. Remember that not all places list dates in Month/Day/Year format, nor do they use a 12-hour clock. Little things like this can make all the difference in creating content that feels natural.
How Better Content Matters Can Help Your Localization Efforts
Clearly, website localization provides valuable benefits for your business. It also encompasses far more than simple translation or the mentioning of locations. While it may be complex, the payoffs can be extraordinary. Blog localization, crafting posts that discuss the topics and concerns specific to your target audience, is one of the most effective ways to connect to your readers.
When approaching localization, it’s important to give it the time and devotion it needs to be successful. Reach out to us at BCM to learn how we can use our expertise to help you pursue your goals.
