We’ve all heard of the big fish in the small pond metaphor, right? The sentiment is that sometimes it’s better to be a big deal in a smaller group, rather than a bit of a nobody in a bigger and better crowd. There are certain scenarios where both ring true. Sometimes, the only way to improve in sport, in business, or in life, is to be part of a larger group where there are bigger and better players than you. On the other hand, sometimes it really does pay to think small.
The big fish in a small pond metaphor also applies to the expansion of your online business overseas. Despite the dominance of the English language online, there are all sorts of statistics that illustrate the strong preference overseas consumers have for native language websites. For example:
- Over half of all Google searches are in languages other than English;
- 90 percent of internet users claim that when given a choice, they always choose to visit a website in their own language;
- 72 percent of online customers only make purchases on websites written in their native language;
- 56 percent of online customers say the ability to read product information in their own language is more important than price.
The benefits of translating your website
With such a demand for native language websites, the benefits of translating your business’s website are clear. You can:
- Enhance your reach
- Improve your rankings for non-English web searches
- Make your business more approachable
- Enjoy better branding
- Increase customer confidence
- Be able to reuse existing content by translating it into new languages
Make a big splash
When considering which language to translate a website into, companies tend to look towards the languages with the highest number of native speakers online. This includes languages like:
1. Chinese (Mandarin) – 704.5million speakers online
2. Spanish – 256.8million speakers online
3. Arabic – 168.1million speakers online
4. Portuguese – 131.9million speakers online
5. Japanese – 114.9million speakers online
Conventional wisdom might be that the larger the target market the better, but online, competition is also a serious consideration.
Enter a smaller pond
Before entering one of these huge markets, just think about how long it has taken to achieve decent search engine rankings in the UK? Or, if you’ve gone the pay-per-click (PPC) route, how much it costs to outbid your rivals for the most lucrative terms?
If you’re a small business looking for a quick return from your website translation efforts, why not enter a much smaller pond? Consider countries with a stable economy where consumers have plenty of disposable income. For example, just think how much less competition you’ll face by translating your website for the Norwegian, Swedish or Danish market?
These countries are relatively close to home and will be easy to operate in. Most importantly, the level of competition you’ll face will be much less than in larger markets, so you can generate a return from the off. And, while consumers in these markets are also likely to speak English, the bias for native language websites will give you and your new website a distinct competitive advantage.
How can we help?
At Linguistica International, our native linguists hold exceptional language qualifications and have at least five years’ experience working in over 200 languages. So, whatever market you want to target, we can provide the pitch perfect website translation you need to strike the right chord. For more information, please get in touch with our team today.