Translating an online store: key factors to consider

With globalization, e-commerce is now the most effective way of reaching an international audience. although unfortunately for your e-commerce to be successful in the global market, it is essential to translate an online store professionally. 

The translation of an online store does not only consist of literally translating the content from one language to another, but of transmitting a clear and effective message in a language that is easy to understand for the target audience. In this regard, content localization and adaptation are key aspects to consider to ensure a satisfactory user experience and a higher conversion rate.

If you have an online store and wish to open your products or services up to overseas markets, be sure to take great care in the translation of your e-commerce content. A bad translation could lead to you losing up to 50% of sales in overseas markets. In this article, we explore the best practices for translating an online store and offer helpful tips to make the translation a success.

Aspects to take into consideration when translating an online store

To compete with foreign companies, it is essential for the translation to sound completely natural. To do this, it is essential to entrust the translation of the online store to a professional translation company. But the choice may not be that easy. Here are some key points:

• Marketing of content: often, translation is simply not enough. The message, keywords and meta-descriptions, etc., have to be reworked in order to make them attractive to users from different countries and boost the SEO ranking. It is important to know how users search for your product or service in order to use these keywords in your website. And here is where the added value of an experienced native translator for your e-commerce business website is necessary.
• The use of different currencies: if we are going to sell to other countries, all details of our website should be taken into account. Currency is one of these. Users who want to pay in pounds should be able to find the cost of the product in this currency, and likewise for users purchasing in euros. Currency is an important factor in an e-commerce business and must also be adapted to other markets.
• SEO Ranking: Google will penalise websites with incorrect translations, which has a direct effect on the number of hits to your webpage and your sales. Don't forget that alongside translating the content, you must also translate the pages' tags and keywords. In this way, you will not only translate your e-commerce website, but you will also be able to position it correctly in international search engines.

Free automatic translators: your worst enemies

We have all once resorted to one of the free automatic translators such as Google Translate or DeepL in search of a quick translation, and there is nothing wrong with that. These free translators are incredibly helpful in certain contexts and particularly when used with caution, but they are not suitable for anything beyond basic comprehension.

Using an automatic translation in a professional environment, such as an e-commerce translation, can harm your credibility and possibly damage your reputation in the eyes of potential customers; not only could the translation sound unnatural and even ridiculous, but we also risk our reputation and our investments in marketing and internationalisation.

What does a translation agency have to offer when translating an online store?

Many people think that any bilingual person can translate and delegate the translation of sensitive documents to members of staff with knowledge of the target language. As a result, it is usual to come across e-commerce translations of varying quality, some which have been translated on a word-for-word basis with no thought given to context or localisation.

• At ATLS, we are certified with ISO 17100:2015 and ISO 9001. But what does that mean? It means that our translation processes respect stringent international quality standards and are regularly checked to consistently bring our clients the best translation services.
• We also take care of the SEO. It is of little use to translate an e-commerce site without also considering SEO. At our translation company, we have professional native SEO translators who take into account all the variables for optimum positioning.
• At ATLS, we have solid experience translating online stores for companies in a wide variety of sectors: fashion and accessories stores, large retail stores, cosmetics stores, travel agencies, etc. Our specialised native translators translate all the texts on your e-commerce site into the language you need.

Translate your online store and conquer the world

Anyone who chooses to translate their e-commerce website into one or more languages will gain a lot more market share, expanding their portfolio of international customers. If you have an e-commerce website that you're ready to translate, contact us for a no-obligation quote.