Content localization can be a time-consuming, research-intensive process, which is probably why it’s often overlooked — even by big brands that otherwise have highly robust and effective SEO strategies in place. But that’s also what could make it such a key differentiator for you.
When you take the time to accurately localize your content, your brand won’t just feel like another option for your audiences. Instead, you’ll feel like a brand that actually understands them and takes the time to speak to them on their own terms (literally). You’ll stand out from your competition, form more authentic relationships with your audience, and drive more qualified traffic to your web pages. All it takes is a little extra work on the front end.
If you’re wondering whether it’s worth localizing your content for different regions, that’s already a pretty good sign the answer is yes.
What is content localization?
Content localization is the process of creating or editing content for a specific region. Though localization is related to — and frequently conflated with — content translation, the two are separate undertakings that require separate expertise.
Where translation is about converting the text of one piece of content from one language to another, localization can be thought of as converting the meaning of a text. Localizers are in charge of rewriting text to ensure its message makes sense to and resonates with the localized audience they are attempting to communicate with.
Compared to translation, content localization is much broader in focus. It could involve any number of alterations to content, including changes to:
- Spelling, such as changing American English to British English (for example, changing the spelling of “color” to “colour”).
- Measurements, such as switching from the imperial measurement system to the metric system (for example, changing feet to meters).
- Time and date formatting, such as changing the MM/DD/YYYY format used in the US to the DD/MM/YYYY format used in most of Europe.
- Idioms and phrases, which may rely on cultural knowledge that makes them difficult to translate to other cultures, requiring a replacement or analog instead.
- Hyperlinks, including any links to other webpages or websites you include in the content. You don’t want to localize one page only to send your visitors to an un-localized, irrelevant webpage when they want to learn more.
- Images and other media are often overlooked by localizers, but swapping out images and videos with media that’s more relevant to a local audience is a great way to make a page feel more targeted.
- Emojis, which can have different connotations in different cultures and regions. For example, the smiley face emoji actually symbolizes contempt or distrust in China.
- Keywords are also highly affected by localization. Using localized keywords is an opportunity to rank highly in the locales you’re targeting, significantly boosting your visibility to the right audience. Keyword localization is an important part of international SEO.
Depending on the nature of the content itself, even more substantial changes may be necessary. For instance, if you’re writing about celebrations or cultural events that aren’t observed in every region you’re targeting, then it won’t make much sense to publish that content in those regions. Instead, your content team should consider creating an alternate piece of content for those regions — or scrapping the idea entirely in favor of something with broader appeal.
Content localization best practices
No matter your audience, your content, or the region you’re localizing to target, you should always take the time to follow each of these best practices.
Get to know your regions first
The earlier you start your localization process, the more effective it will be. If possible, make thoughtful localization a part of your content and SEO market entry strategizing. As you develop audience personas, take note of where these audiences are located, and gather insights such as the following:
- Languages spoken in the regions
- Formatting styles used in the region (for date, time, measurements, spelling, etc.)
- Average demographics in the region (including age, education, income level, etc.)
- How people within this region typically find and interact with content online
- Major competitors in the region and how they approach content creation
- Audiences most likely to be interested in your product
- Major holidays celebrated in the region
- Unique cultural factors to be aware of within the region
- Specific words, phrases, and subject matter to avoid
- Anything else your content creators should know about the region
The later you implement your localization strategy, the more content you’ll have to retroactively localize, which can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. If you already have a great deal of existing content you’d like localized, it’s worth taking the time to conduct an SEO content audit with your new regions in mind.
Create (and maintain) regional style guides
Once you’ve researched the regions you’re targeting, build out separate style guides for each. These style guides should contain all of the information you found during your research and will serve as a source of truth for your content and SEO specialists.
Consult these style guides frequently and continuously update them as you learn more information about the region in question. If and when you conduct additional customer research, cross-check your learnings with your regional style guides and update them accordingly. If you maintain them properly, your style guides should continue to become more accurate and useful the longer you have them — just like your personas.
Don’t think of your regions as “primary” and “secondary”
Chances are, you probably do most of your business in one or two major regions. It’s tempting to think of these regions as your “primary” regions and narrowly focus on them. But by deprioritizing “secondary” regions, you risk stifling their potential for growth.
Take the time to consider all of these regions a primary source of traffic and potential revenue, and create content for them accordingly. Doing any less will only serve to alienate your “secondary” regions — which is exactly what localization aims to avoid.
Measure success for continuous optimization
Track all the localization changes you make to content closely so you can measure their success. Detailed, regionally segmented reporting will help you understand the specifics of progress and opportunities.
Keeping a close eye on how your localization efforts affect your success within target regions can inform your ongoing content approach. Include learnings in your regional style guides to build out more informed and impactful localization strategies for each of your regions over time.
Ask for local guidance
There’s nothing more valuable than local insight for any stage of your content localization. If you’re just starting out, ask locals to review your research and style guide and add anything they can come up with. Have these locals review any localization edits you make to your content on an ongoing basis to ensure a higher level of authenticity and effectiveness.
You’ll find that your brand gets out of content localization what you put into it. If you take the time and invest the resources to accurately and thoughtfully localize your web content per target region, you’ll see just how valuable localization can be.
Want to learn more about advanced content strategies that can help your brand get ahead? Check out our full content marketing hub.
About the author
Harry is one of TopRank Marketing’s Content Strategists, and has been a professional digital content specialist since 2016. During this time, he has honed his content writing skills and worked closely with SEO and SEM experts to enhance his understanding of how to most effectively create high-quality content that performs well on both search engines and social media. Harry is passionate about creating content that represents the voice of his clients well and provides genuinely relevant, insightful information that his client’s customers will find helpful and entertaining to read. When Harry isn’t writing content, he’s usually reading it, or watching movies. He watches a lot of movies.