Five golden rules for localising your online store content

Throughout the pandemic, having more spare time has led to people diving into new work areas more than ever before, making them more likely to branch into new industries for themselves. The internet has provided the obvious place to sell any product or service, leading to the number of online stores skyrocketing.

Did your online store spring up mid-pandemic, or were you a pre-pandemic pioneer? Either way, it’s going well, and you’ve decided to take the next step – localising your store’s content. Please keep reading to discover our five golden rules for perfection when finalising your foreign launch.

1. Get a deep understanding of your target audience

Already decided the language into which you want to localise your store? Before you get started, spend time getting to know your new audience. Do some market research, find out what your target audience likes, what they buy and how they buy it. Your online store needs to look as local as possible, so to make sure it does, check out your competition.

2. Adapt as necessary

Whether you’re opting for French, Portuguese or Spanish, think specifically about the country you are targeting because that will influence the language. Just like an American would use “store” and “pants” where a British person would say “shop” and “trousers”, each language varies from country to country, and even region to region. If you’re going to the trouble of speaking your customers’ language, make sure you go all the way and use the variant with which you will create a connection.

3. Localise ALL your content

Again, if you’re doing it, make sure you’re doing it well. Leave no room for mistakes.

Don’t just focus on localising the text on the pages of your online store.

Localisation goes much farther than just translating words – it stretches to ensure you provide the most commonly-used payment methods in your target country. Not doing so could have your potential buyers clicking away and finding something more familiar.

Another location that’s often overlooked? Your online store’s customer support page.

4. Hire a competent team

Don’t hand your prize project over to just any company. Localisation is a task for a competent team with appropriate experience in the area.

Beyond experience and an excellent command of the target language, the professionals working on your project must also be familiar with SEO.

Content that isn’t optimised means you run the risk of losing customers because your store won’t rank highly in search engines, meaning customers take too long to find you (if they find you at all!).

5. Localise your store’s adverts

We’ve mentioned this already, but it’s important, so we’ll say it again: your online store should look local. An essential step to make sure it does is to create or translate adverts. Are you familiar with local holidays and celebrations? Aware of the best times of year for special offers in your new destination country? When you localise your adverts, you’ll create a deeper connection with your target audience, increasing visits to your online store.

Have all your questions been answered, or are you still unsure and need help with your localisation plans? Get in touch today! We can help. 😉