Do: Translate to your Spanish audience
This seems self-explanatory or even redundant but you would be surprised at some of the Spanish translation we see. The most important thing to remember when translating your website (or creating a Spanish-language site from scratch) is that your audience is unique.
That is to say, not all Spanish speakers are the same, cultures vary based on location, and the type of Spanish spoken may vary as well. Spanish speakers in South Texas can be quite different from the Spanish speakers in Miami. When you set about creating a Spanish version of your site, make sure it is relevant to your audience.
Alpha Co. Marketing & Media sources our copywriters locally to ensure we provide you with a culturally relevant website translation for your audience.
Don’t: Use a Google Plugin for your Website Spanish Translation
If only it were that easy. Automated translators have come a long way from the pocket dictionaries we used to carry around. Today, you can pull up translate.google.com and easily go from English to Swahili to Spanish and back again. It is, quite frankly, really cool. That said, have you ever tried putting a complex idea into a translation service just to see how much gets lost in translation? A lot.
The same is true for the translation button you might install on your site. Just take a look at this list of hilarious Spanish translation fails to see just how poorly a bad translation can go.
Another key reason for avoiding translation plugins is SEO. We’ve gone over what SEO is in previous articles which you can find here. So why don’t plugins work? Since they sit on top of the site and only translate the copy that is on the page this translation never gets picked up by search engines. The site never gets indexed or flagged as a Spanish-language site. So yes, if someone searching in English finds your site and sees you have a Spanish translation via a plugin they may use it. But, if they found you searching in English, do they really need a translation? What about people who truly need the translation? They would never have found you in the first place because when you use a plugin you aren’t searchable in Spanish!
Do: Build a Spanish-language version of the site
It is important to have Spanish-specific pages and a Spanish-language version of the site. This achieves a few things:
- Allows your site to be searchable. You have to create the copy and the pages in Spanish for them to show up on Google.
- Gives the impression you care enough to create a website for the Spanish community. When you plan a trip overseas aren’t you more likely to give your patronage to the business with an English site rather than a plugin or a quick notice saying “we speak English?”
- Gives you the flexibility to market differently to different segments. Your Spanish site shouldn’t be exactly the same as the English version. Different cultures have different motivators; we want to be mindful of these as we write copy, create graphics, and ask for a prospective business
Don’t: Try this at home
More of a suggestion than a definitive don’t, but, I wouldn’t recommend creating or translating this yourself. Unless you have an incredibly strong grasp of English and Spanish much gets lost in translation. It is incredibly easy to use a phrase you think makes sense but actually makes you sound like a gringo. We want our Hispanic prospects to know that we understand them and we speak their language. You want to be an authority to both audiences, not a master of none.
Do: Engage a professional for Spanish Translation
There is a lot that goes into creating effective marketing and an effective translation. If you engage a team skilled in providing translations and skilled in marketing to both communities you are much more likely to be successful and have a positive ROI. Unfortunately, we have seen a number of examples of sites or translations that are done poorly, quickly, or are just flat-out sloppy. In these cases, it is better to not have tried at all. It is better to be thought a fool than to have opened your mouth and removed all doubt.
Whether you’re in Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami, or anywhere in between chances are the Spanish Speaking community in your area is growing. Why not start engaging the community now and get a head start on creating brand equity?
If you are interested in learning more, schedule your free consultation or reach out to us over the phone: 713-482-1879
