If you’ve been wondering how to reach the Hispanic market, your answer is Translation. The first step is to translate your website to Spanish or create a Spanish-language site from scratch. That way, your services can reach more people in the Hispanic community, potentially turning them into customers and boosting your profits.
However, if you’ve decided to translate your website to Spanish, there are certain things you should avoid. Here are the do’s and don’ts of translating your website to Spanish:
The Do’s of Website Translation
Here, we give you quick tips on what you need to do when translating your website to Spanish.
Discover Your Spanish Audience
When translating your website, it’s vital to remember that your audience is unique. Not all Spanish speakers are the same, so you need to consider the cultural and language differences of your Spanish audience. For instance, Spanish speakers in South Texas are pretty different from those in Miami.
Alpha Co. Marketing & Media works closely with local copywriters when translating or creating a website in Spanish. That way, we always provide you with culturally relevant website translations personalized for your audience.
Hire a Professional
There are a lot of nuances that go into website translation and bilingual marketing. You want to find a team of professionals who are experienced in English-to-Spanish translation with a digital marketing background. That way, they can cover all bases, making it more likely to have a positive return on investment (ROI).
Unfortunately, we have seen many examples of websites or translations done poorly, quickly, or flat-out sloppy. That’s why Alpha Co. Marketing & Media employs a team of bilingual marketing experts who are ready to tackle all your translation needs while following Hispanic marketing trends.
Build a Spanish Version of Your Website
Creating a Spanish version of the site with Spanish-specific pages is vital. That allows all your pages to show up on Google search results. It also helps build a relationship with the Spanish audience, as a language-specific website shows you care enough about the audience to create a dedicated website specifically for them.
Google recommends using dedicated URLs with language indicators for the same pages in different languages. For example, if your website name is www.website.com, your Spanish version should be www.website.com/es/. This will make your content easier to find.
Lastly, your Spanish website shouldn’t be a literal translation of your English site. Remember that different cultures have different buying motivators and triggers, so you should keep that in mind when employing your Hispanic marketing strategy.
Create an Icon to Switch Language on Every Page
Switching to a Spanish version of your site should be easy and transparent. The most elegant solution is to put a language indicator in the corner of every page. That way, your website visitors don’t have to scroll or click on other pages to get the Spanish content they want.
The Don’ts of Spanish Website Translation
Now that you’ve learned about the things you should do, it’s time to talk about what you should avoid. These are maybe even more important, as they will help you improve your digital marketing in Spanish and capitalize on Spanish SEO (search engine optimization).
Don’t Use a Google Plug-In for Website Translation
Automatic translators have come a long way since the pocket dictionaries we used to carry around. They are quick, easy to use, and can help you understand many languages in a matter of seconds. Google translate plug-in for websites can help you switch content language from English to Spanish, to Swahili, to any other language you can imagine. And honestly, it is really cool.
However, if you try putting complex ideas in an automatic translator, a lot of context gets lost in the translation. That’s why a professional translation will beat automated translation tools every single time.
Another reason to avoid translation plug-ins is SEO. The plug-in only temporarily translates the text on the page, so the translation never gets indexed by Google, and your website is not recognized as a Spanish-language site. That means you are missing out on all the benefits of Spanish SEO and language-specific keywords.
Luckily, Alpha Co. Marketing & Company can help you build a Spanish version of your website while paying attention to bilingual marketing and SEO in Spanish. That way, you can reach more Spanish speakers who wouldn’t be able to find your website otherwise.
Don’t Mix Different Languages on the Same Page
Mixing different languages on the same page is bad for your website. Doing this will cause a mix-up with Google, affecting your web page ranking. So, make sure the language on each page is obvious to make it better for customers and search engines like Google.
In addition, you need to translate all the content on each page. That includes navigation buttons, pop-ups, notifications, and all other features.
Don’t Try to Do It Yourself
We don’t recommend trying to translate your website unless you are a bilingual speaker with a strong grasp of both English and Spanish. It is incredibly easy to misgender a word or use a phrase you think makes sense but actually makes you sound like a gringo. That will make you lose authority and interest among Spanish-speaking prospects.
Your Bilingual Digital Marketing Agency
Whether you’re in Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami, or anywhere in between, the Spanish-speaking community in your area is likely growing. So, why not start engaging the community now and get a head start on creating brand equity?
Alpha Co. Marketing & Media specializes in bilingual marketing and marketing to Hispanic consumers. We employ experts with a strong grasp of English and Spanish languages to translate your website and capture all the cultural and language nuances. In addition, we pay attention to Hispanic marketing trends, Spanish link building, Spanish SEO, and other marketing strategies that attract more customers to your business.
If you are interested in our website translation and other services, visit our contact us page or call 346-375-5349.
