Common Pitfalls in E-Commerce Translation and How to Avoid Them

One of the sure ways for growing e-commerce businesses to increase their customer base and revenue is to expand to international markets. However, some business owners make the mistake of believing that merely translating their website into another language is enough.

It’s not — high-quality translation is more complex than that. If you read about American Airlines’ ad failure in Mexico or KFC’s in China, you know what we’re talking about. So, what are the most common pitfalls in e-commerce translation? Are they avoidable? Let’s explore.

Over-Reliance on Machine Translation

Machine translation tools (think Google Translate) are tempting because of their low costs and seemingly high efficiency. No wonder small e-commerce business owners often turn to them in search of cost-effective translation.

The problem, however, is that such tools lack nuance and context, which leads to awkward phrasing at best and outright mistranslations at worst. If you have a tight budget, there’s nothing wrong with using machine translation, but you also need a professional translator who will review and refine the content.

Ignoring Cultural Nuances

Even in our era of globalization, language is inseparable from culture. A phrase that works well in one language might not resonate, or worse, might offend in another. For example, idioms, humor, and cultural references rarely translate well.

The only viable solution is to work with translators who aren’t just fluent in the target language (meaning the language you’re translating into) but are also well-familiar with the culture. Unlike machine translation tools, they make sure the content aligns with its target audience’s sensibilities.

Inconsistent Terminology

Inconsistent terminology is guaranteed to confuse potential customers and dilute your brand message. This often becomes an issue when a business hires multiple translators to work on different parts of the same project without a unified glossary and a style guide.

Ideally, try to hire an entire team of translators from the same reputable agency or service. Also, create a comprehensive glossary and style guide for your brand. This will help achieve consistency in terminology and tone across all translated content.

Ignoring Customer Support Translation

It’s not enough to just translate the content on your business’s website. It’s equally important to offer high-quality customer support in the local language, which you can get from multilingual customer support providers, for example, this one. Miscommunication in customer service takes a toll on the overall customer experience and harms sales.

Neglecting SEO in Translation

If your idea of SEO is simply translating keywords from one language to another, you likely won’t succeed in your target foreign market — there’s no guarantee that the keywords will have the same relevance and search volume there. Tailoring SEO strategies for each language and region is a must.

To make sure that your SEO works even when the content is in a different language, you need to conduct keyword research separately for every target language and optimize your content. Consider hiring an SEO expert who understands and has experience with multilingual SEO.

Failure to Adapt to Local Regulations

Different countries’ regulations vary, including when it comes to advertising, privacy, and consumer rights. Neglecting to research those before translating your website’s content into other languages is risky — you could face legal trouble and tarnish your brand’s reputation.

To avoid such an unfortunate outcome, research the legal requirements of each target market and make sure your translations comply with local laws. We recommend consulting legal experts in each region you’re planning on targeting.

Poor Quality Control

This one poses similar risks as overreliance on machine translation. When business owners rush the translation process or neglect proper quality control procedures, the translated content ends up full of errors. It’s a sure way to look unprofessional and turn potential customers off.

The only solution is to implement a rigorous quality control process that includes multiple rounds of review and proofreading by native speakers. This requires investments, but they will pay off in the long run. After all, you value your brand’s integrity, don’t you?

Overlooking the User Experience

Translating the website is about more than just text. In some cases, such elements as layout, images, and navigation also need to be adapted for different languages and cultures. A poor user experience can — and often does — drive potential customers away.

The best way to overcome this particular pitfall is by conducting usability testing with native speakers in each target market. They will help you identify any issues, and you will be able to adjust those to deliver a seamless user experience.

Skipping the Localization of Marketing Materials

In addition to words, most marketing campaigns have visuals, slogans, and brand messages. Those need to resonate with local audiences, or else they’re doomed to fail. The solution is localizing your business’s marketing materials by adapting them to the preferences and expectations of each market. This might involve changing visuals, adjusting color schemes, or reworking slogans.