Translate Landing Pages to Personalize the Global Buyer Experience

Global buyers prefer marketing materials in their native language

Prospects are more likely to be interested in learning about your software when marketing materials are available in their first language. Most software buyers believe it’s essential to translate marketing collateral into their native language, per Gartner Digital Markets’ 2021 Global Software Outlook survey. (Read the survey methodology at the end of the article.)

Also read: How to Translate Your Website Into Other Languages and Why It’s Important

Why is it important for software providers to translate landing pages?

Landing pages are vital for digital marketing and sales, and serve as a crucial tool for attracting prospects and converting them. However, if visitors don’t understand the language of your landing page, it could result in a drastic conversion drop.

About 66% of software buyers believe it is imperative to read or access software companies’ sites and landing pages in their first language, per Gartner Digital Markets’ 2021 COVID-19 Impact on Business Strategy survey. (Read the survey methodology at the end of the article.) 

If you're a software or SaaS provider planning to target overseas customers to boost leads and sales, make sure your landing pages as well as marketing materials, such as brochures and user guides, are translated into target market languages. 

How to translate landing pages for a seamless global buying experience

1. Decide where translation is worth the effort and cost

When translating landing pages, decide which pages should be localized based on the needs of your target audience. The needs may differ across regions, so consider translating certain pages or restructuring the page content and overall flow accordingly.

Translations will be effective only if they're done well and targeted at the right websites, audiences and campaigns. You'll find that translations on smaller, niche sites are much more likely to perform well in comparison to generic websites.

Translation is an effort, so it’s crucial to get it right. Here’s how to make it worth your while:

• Identify the different languages your prospects speak to determine target languages for translation or localization.
• Focus on high-value pages and audiences to prioritize translation.
• Carefully evaluate each site, campaign or audience to decide if localization is indeed required.

2. Tweak keywords and messaging for local audiences

Every country has a unique market in terms of culture, values and language. When localizing a website or landing page for international markets, don’t ignore this aspect because it can result in missed sales opportunities.

So how do you tweak keywords and messaging per local audiences while translating landing pages? Here are a few steps to follow:

• Ensure consistency along with localization: Keep the message consistent for better customer engagement yet refine it for local buyers. For example, America's favorite snack “french fries” are known as chips in British English and "Pommes Frites" in French. Understand your target market’s dialect and tweak messaging accordingly to avoid translation mishaps.
• Understand international SEO: Understand buyers’ search intent to target keywords relevant to global audiences. For example, if you want to rank for the keyword "red widgets" in German, your landing page content should include words like "rot," which is German for red.

Also read: 3 Content Localization Tips for Expanding Into New Markets

3. Hire an expert translator

If you don't speak the language of your target audience, don't translate your landing pages on your own because you'll most likely create contextually incorrect content. Get language and cultural experts involved in the process to reduce effort and workarounds.

But the question is: How do you find the right talent? Should you go with a translation agency, hire a freelancer or create your own in-house translation team? Or should you partner with sites that already have localized websites? Here are some options you can explore:

• Hire freelancers: Freelance translators are ideal for small projects that require occasional translation work. If you're looking to cut costs on your landing page translations, freelancers could be a great option. However, freelancer hiring can result in issues such as difficulty tracking progress and inconsistent translation quality.
• Create an in-house team: In-house teams have a sound understanding of your company's products or services and are well versed in the industry and language pair. They also ensure consistent high-quality translation output. However, having an in-house team requires significant investment and a dedicated project manager to keep everyone on task.
• Choose a professional translation agency: Third-party agencies are more efficient because they have dedicated localization teams proficient in target languages and with industry expertise in creating localized landing pages. These agencies maintain a consistent brand voice throughout by leveraging translators who specialize in your industry.
• Partner with networks that already have localized sites: They can help you save time and effort since they specialize in your target industry, language and location. This way, you can direct interested buyers to the highest quality page written by experts who know how to speak in the language of your target market.

Ready to serve global buyers?

The global software market is vast and ever-growing. If you don’t cater to buyers in their native languages, you will miss out on many potential sales opportunities. Now that you know the “why and how” of translating landing pages without losing the core messaging, it’s time to act on them by implementing the tips we’ve shared in this article.

Survey methodology:

Gartner Digital Markets 2021 Global Software Outlook Survey

Results presented are based on a Gartner Digital Markets study to understand business challenges and approaches to technology and software investments. The primary research was conducted between October and November 2020 among a total of 1,349 respondents in the following countries: United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, India, Spain, Germany and France.

Companies were screened for number of employees (2 to 249) and total annual revenue (less than 100 million USD in fiscal 2019) to arrive at small and midsize businesses. Respondents were also required to be involved in purchasing technologies for the organization and hold a position of manager or above in the company.

Gartner Digital Markets 2021 COVID-19 Impact on Business Strategy

Results presented are based on a Gartner Digital Markets study conducted to understand the current practices around demand, buying practices and investment practices pertaining to software solutions. The research was conducted online from November through December 2020 among IT decision-makers across companies in Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden and India.

Francesco Papagni

Francesco Papagni is an Associate Director of International Marketing at Gartner Digital Markets, where he helps companies grow faster and scale their operations efficiently. He has 12+ years of experience in international omnichannel marketing and expertise in multilingual digital strategy and execution. Connect with Francesco on LinkedIn.