How to Effectively Use Machine Translation on Your Ecommerce Site to Expand to Multiple International Markets
There have been a lot of articles criticizing Machine Translation (MT) for needing to be more accurate. But despite the bad reputation it has garnered over the years, the global machine translation market is reported to be worth 305.1 million USD by 2027. Proving that MT has become essential to businesses in the global market.
However, despite the advancements in MT, it is still not perfect. You need to have translators do post-editing work to create efficient and quality output. If you want to learn more about this then keep on reading.
Why Speaking in Your Users’ Language Increases Your Sales
Logically, no one will purchase something they don’t understand. Worldwide about 400 million people are native English speakers and 743 million people are non-native English speakers. That’s only about 1 billion people. It may seem like a lot of English speakers, but the majority are non-native. Research shows that non-native English speakers prefer reading about the products they plan to purchase in their native language
Think With Google data revealed that despite many people believing that the Internet’s language is English, it’s actually far from it. For example, India has around 600 million internet users, but only 2% of them actually browse English-only content. One of the biggest frustrations people face is how limited the browsing options are in their native language. English-only content disrupts their customer experience. They’d feel more confident in their purchase if the content was in their native language, especially in emerging markets.
It proves how language is influential in the user experience. For this reason, many businesses are investing in translation and localization to expand their brand internationally.
How Machine Translation Post Editing Can Speed Up Your Expansion
Another Google article reported that 82% of online buyers were more likely to purchase if the marketing content was in their native language. About 72% of online users said they would spend more time on websites if they were in their language. So if you’re planning to expand your eCommerce website into several markets, the fastest and most effective way is by making it multilingual.
The problem is that creating multilingual content will take time. This is where machine translation plays a significant role, delivering translated content quickly. However, because machine translation isn’t entirely accurate, companies began to have translators oversee the machine translation post-editing (MTPE) process.
MTPE is when the translation process first involves Machine Translation (MT) engines translating content before having it proofread and edited by translators. There are two types of MTPE: Light post-editing and Full post-editing.
According to an introductory guide for businesses on machine translation post-editing, you will need to carefully choose an MT engine before you train and feed it with information that will make it customized for multilingual website creation. A pro tip it suggested is that MT engines work better if the text is pre-edited and simple. So if you want to make your MT engine more accurate, edit and simplify your content.
Plan out what parts of your business you want to be localized, from the branding, the website’s design, and the type of content you will be creating. You will also need to do research on the markets you’re planning to enter.
5 Tips to Localizing the UX of your Ecommerce Site
Here are tips for localizing your eCommerce website for your target market.
1. Implement the Right Tone
It can’t be denied that your brand’s tone is crucial in establishing your business in the global market and differentiating yourself from your competitors. But it also can’t be denied that each country has users who are either more formal or casual when purchasing or making transactions. You will have to adjust the tone of the localized content based on your users’ preferences, which also depend on their demography.
2. Be Aware of Cultural Business Practices
If your eCommerce focuses on B2B, you must understand the cultural business practices of your client. As mentioned, some cultures prefer communicating more directly and casually, while others are more reserved. Even if your eCommerce is B2C, you should still be mindful of the social norms and etiquette of your users’ business practices. Besides the language, visual elements like color and symbols can affect how your customers will perceive your business.
3. Transform Your Website and App Platforms
When adapting your eCommerce site for your target market, you must consider localizing its design, color, and icons and have the text in your user’s native language. For example, blue means stability and reliability for many countries. While the color red means luck and happiness in China.
Word placements may be an issue when localizing your website. Some languages are read from right to left instead of left to right. You may have to change your site’s layout paying attention to how your users will navigate your website. You should implement local payment methods or cash payment methods.
4. Multilingual Content Marketing
As previously mentioned, many users are frustrated that they have limited options in online content and the quality of its translation. MTPE gives your business an edge in fulfilling this market gap, which most of your competitors might have overlooked. Creating multilingual content also helps to cement your brand internationally. With post-editing translations, you can publish content across different languages and ensure it’s relatable to your audience.
5. Create a Local SEO Strategy
Localizing your website is not enough. Each market has its unique SEO ecosystems, which depend on the users’ search intent and the content’s relevance. The reality is if your website isn’t found on the first search engine results page, then no one will see it. Because of this, if you’re planning to target a specific location or country, tailoring a local SEO strategy and incorporating it into your content will make your website more visible to your target customers. When doing MTPE, you can have multilingual SEO specialists optimize the localized content.
Conclusion
Users want to read content and buy products in their native language. Machine translation post-editing has made it possible for eCommerce businesses to expand to different markets simultaneously without compromising translation standards. The success of your eCommerce website depends on localized content and a familiar checkout experience for your target users.
Offer All the Ways Your Customers Want to Pay
Don’t go through all the trouble of translating your content and forget about your checkout flow. Rapyd supports hosted checkout pages in English, Spanish, Dutch, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, Tagalog and more. Increase cart conversion and offer all the ways customers want to pay – cards, ewallets, bank transfers and even cash.
