Do you know the difference between translation and localization?
Even though these terms are often used reciprocally, there is a clear difference between website translation and the process of website localization. In short, website translation basically converts your content into a different language through the simple substitution of words, while website localization is a more integrated mechanism in which your content is adapted for consumption by a specific audience. This will involve translation, as well as formatting and usability modifications as well as the consideration of a particular culture.
Though Google Translate and other similar services have made it easier for many businesses, there are invaluable advantages of a human translator over machine interpretation.
Let’s face it, human translation has better flow! Machines are short of creative thinking that will make translated marketing material boring, simple and more tedious than a human translation. So, definitely human translations are what you need for your marketing campaigns.
Another important aspect is that literal translation for keywords might go wrong and they are usually not the appropriate terms that the local internet users are looking for.
This is why there is a need for human perception and translation for keywords, which are part of the website’s content and meta-data.
Don’t shoot yourself in the foot, avoid using machine translation to localize your software, website, app or service for a global market.
And remember these simple yet powerful statements:
- Human translation has better flow.
- Human translation is better for marketing campaigns
- Human translation is best for SEO
- Working with a human translator, you won’t need to recheck your work. This will make your life (and work) easier in the long run and your money worth, and our final tip: Make your sure hire a translator with a marketing background who can also edit your content.