How Does a Multilingual Website Affect Your Business?

October 30, 2018
Posted by: admin
Category: Website Translation

The internet has been the default go-to place of customers to search or buy products. Whether your brand is offering services or products, investing in a multilingual website these days gives you a competitive advantage as you expand overseas.

Your customer isn’t just within your proximity anymore. Once your website is live, you become a global service provider or seller.

Global brands like you should consider what Common Sense Advisory, a research and consulting company said after it polled out 3,002 customers in ten countries—customers spend less time during their visits in English language websites and don’t buy products that lack instructions or post-sales customer support in their native language.

So, how can a multilingual website affect your business from a digital-driven perspective?

#1 It helps you get more leads

Global brands have to think globally and understand that not all people – or their potential visitors that could become customers – can read English.

Based on the poll mentioned above, visitors less spend time during their visits, which means that if you don’t have a multilingual website, you are losing your potential customers, too.

According to Kaizad Gotla, a senior Internet analyst, Nielsen/NetRatings, “The easiest opportunities are in countries where Internet usage patterns and user/site relationships are less established. Acquiring users in markets that are currently in their growth stages will lead to a loyal user base that will pay dividends for Internet companies in the future.”

#2 It boosts website your website traffic

Your website is your greatest asset if you want to compete and establish your brand globally.

If it supports multilingual features, including localization of the structure, design, and layout, and even payment channels then you have high chances of attracting customers to visit and interact with your website.

According to a study from the European Commission and Common Sense Advisory, which the participants in the research were Europeans, “Nine out of 10 Internet users said that, when given a choice of languages, they always visited a website in their own language.”

#3 It builds your brand’s credibility

Visitors are likely to read content on a website if it’s in their native language. If one of your goals is to educate your visitors through informational blogs or knowledge-based content, then multilingual features add credibility to your brand.

For brands offering educational content such as online courses, the available languages you have on your site are likely to attract those who can read and speak it.

#4 It improves SEO results

If you want to target specific regions or countries, a multilingual website is a great asset as well in SEO as long as the web pages are optimized for local search engines.

For example, if you are targeting the Chinese market, then your titles and meta descriptions are in Chinese and searchable on Baidu and Sogou for indexing.

According to Yoast, when you make your site available in several languages you achieve these two things:
You expand your potential customers and improve your chances to rank higher for a specific country and in several languages.

#5 It converts visitors into customers

A website with multiple languages has a higher chance of converting those visitors into loyal customers. Customers buy because they can understand the information, and are likely to trust those websites that provide content and speak to them in their native languages.

Remember, if people can read, they buy. If people can understand, they trust.

According to the same source from Common Sense Advisory mentioned above, the more local-language throughout the customer experience, the more it leads them to a greater likelihood of purchase.