How to Leverage Localisation in Your Website Content
How satisfied are you with the results of your ongoing marketing efforts? If these actions seem to be falling on deaf ears, then chances are high that your website content might not be optimised for a local audience.
8 Top Tips for Localising Your Content
One of our previous blogs covered content marketing in relation to local businesses. However, these very same principles can be applied to an organisation of any size. Thankfully, a handful of useful tips can help point you in the right direction. After all, the main intention still involves your ability to address the needs of a certain target audience or locale.
1. Appreciate the “Bread and Butter” of Local Search Queries
This is why three important pieces of information should be present throughout your website:
- The physical location of your business.
- Contact details, such as a telephone number and an email address.
- The hours when customers can contact your business.
Furthermore, this data must be presented in such a way that it is immediately noticeable to the reader. Users should not be forced to scroll through lengthy blocks of text or navigate a maze of digital material before they come across a single phone number or email address. It is much more likely that an interested party will take further action when you make your contact details easy to find.
2. Consider Currency Issues
Let’s assume for a moment that your business recently launched an advertising campaign in the United States. Localisation is still important, even if on a somewhat broader scale. One common mistake is failing to take into account currency conversion requirements.
To be clear, this is much more than a practical faux pas. We also need to remember that users expect to be presented with personalised solutions. In this case, listing prices in the wrong currency may give the mistaken impression that the company has not taken the needs of its new target market seriously.
Furthermore, there is nothing worse than nearly cementing a new sale only for the would-be client to walk away after realising the total purchase price is not what he or she was led to believe. Simply stated, make it a point to ensure that all values are adjusted to the local currency in question.
3. Localise the Language
An analytical report issued by CSA Research found that website visitors are up to 75 per cent more likely to buy a product or service if the associated descriptions are written in their own language. Of course, this is already common sense and normally applies to businesses dealing with foreign marketplaces.
However, there are still times when phrases and nomenclature can differ, even when speaking the same language. Here are some examples associated with English:
- The bonnet of a vehicle as opposed to its hood
- Kerb compared to a sidewalk
- Flat versus apartment
- Banger (English sausage versus an American gang member)
Differences can even be seen within the same relative region. For instance, residents of Buffalo, New York, will use the term “sucker” when referring to what individuals from New York City would call a lollipop. And there’s an ongoing argument between the various UK regions about sandwiches: is it a butty, or is it a bap?
In other words (pun completely intended), localisation also emphasises linguistic dialects and expressions that we often take for granted during our everyday lives. Make it a point not to fall into this trap when creating bespoke content.
4. Create an XML Sitemap
We need to remember that localisation will also involve material that is not intended for the reader. As Neil Patel rightfully points out, this comes in the form of an XML sitemap.
An XML sitemap is simply a list of the URLs associated with your website. Its main purpose is to make it easier for search engine crawlers to interpret the information and content that is contained within your site. This is important for three reasons:
- It highlights where your business is located.
- It illustrates the demographics that you are targeting.
- It describes the products or services that you have to offer.
This is even more important when creating standalone pages for specific towns or regions (which you should already be doing). When users employ discrete search terms, such as “pet groomers in Aylesford”, the relevant links will be presented.
5. Localise Your Search Engine Optimisation
We can think of this term as another twist on traditional search engine optimisation (SEO) practices. While this Textbroker Expert Centre article delves deeper into the subject, there are still a handful of takeaway points to highlight before moving on.
One of these involves the use of local-friendly terms when addressing a certain demographic. For instance, let’s imagine that you are offering car repair services to clients primarily residing in Camden. In this case, blanket phrases such as “London car repair” will not resonate with your intended audience. Instead, it is much more efficient to embrace a localised approach. Here are some fictional examples:
- Friendly car repair in Camden
- Quality Highgate vehicle repairs
- Professional and experienced Regent’s Park mechanics
We can see that while Camden is still the main area of focus, other locations can also be used to target even smaller locales. When this strategy is paired with the use of marketing-friendly power words, such as “quality”, “professional”, and “experienced”, your website will be provided with the exposure that it may have been lacking.
6. Encourage Client Feedback
The notion of online reputation management also has a place within website localisation. This is primarily due to the fact that modern consumers will rarely take things at face value in this day and age. There is a massive difference between claiming that you offer top-notch products and previous customers confirming that this is indeed the case.
One powerful strategy, therefore, involves providing new and existing clients with an opportunity to leave feedback. These objective reviews will give your site greater transparency while also stressing that you care about what others have to say about their personal experiences.
In terms of localisation, feedback will engender a sense of organic trust that would be difficult to achieve through generic text alone. After all, the chances are high that you would be much more likely to purchase a product that has already received stellar reviews from other consumers in your area.
7. Take Advantage of Google Maps
Google Maps is yet another pivotal factor in website localisation. This partially arises from the fact that the number of searches embedded with the phrase “near me” is on the rise. Google Maps provides vital information such as directions to your business, opening hours, the latest products, and (once again) star-rated user reviews.
The good news is that the Google Maps application is easy to deploy, and it offers a flexible pricing plan based on usage and other factors, such as if you wish to embed the Dynamic Street View function. Furthermore, this handy widget will present the content found throughout your website in a more professional light when it displays within SERP (search engine results page) listings. You can find out more about what Google Maps has to offer in terms of site localisation by visiting the official page.
8. Spread Your Digital Wings
Let’s assume that you have already implemented the steps outlined above. It is now time to broaden your horizons in order to gain even more recognition from your intended audience. This is why promoting your content throughout other online portals is so important. For instance, you can create dedicated social media pages that cater to specific regions or demographics. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are excellent tools to increase your digital clout.
These pages can then be used to create hyperlinks to your existing site content. This provides visitors with yet another means of further appreciating what you have to offer. Furthermore, hyperlinks will expand the “footprint” of your website within major search engines, such as Google and Bing. This improves your SERP rankings and will ultimately lead to more exposure.
Website Localisation Saves Time, Money and Effort
Localising the content on your website is one of the best ways to ensure your marketing efforts are not in vain. All of the suggestions outlined above will help to make sure that your products and services resonate with appropriate audiences at the right times.
However, always keep in mind that localisation should represent an ongoing process. Customer desires may change on occasion, or a certain area might be associated with specific pain points (such as regions that happen to be suffering from an economic downturn). Be sure to monitor the results of your approaches on a regular basis so that changes can be applied as needed in the future. In this day and age, it pays to have an upper edge over local competitors!
About our author
Ron is a prolific author who regularly contributes to on-site blog posts. His passion for creativity combined with a client-centred approach has brought him a significant amount of success within this competitive marketplace. Writing for Textbroker since 2012, his hobbies include martial arts and bodybuilding.
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