Online courses are multimedia and interactive, and they appeal to multiple senses, which produces better learning outcomes. In this age of independent, digital learning and remote working, e-learning is an ideal tool for transferring knowledge. Countless companies are successfully incorporating e-learning in wide-ranging sectors to continue their employees’ professional development.

Some sectors that typically utilise e-learning courses:

• Company training: E-learning is a popular method for training employees in new skills or new processes. It can be used to deliver onboarding training to new recruits or to keep existing employees up to date with the latest changes.
• Compliance training: E-learning is also a great option for compliance courses, such as training on statutory provisions or health and safety requirements. It can be made available to employees on request, so that they can learn at their own pace and around their own schedule.
• Technical training: E-learning provides a fantastic basis for transferring technical skills, such as how to use a software or remedying faults on machines. It can be used to run training courses at the students’ own pace or to deliver live lessons through webinars or online classrooms.
• Soft skills training: E-learning can also be used to teach soft skills such as communication, teamwork and problem solving. These skills are often vital for success in the workplace, though they can be difficult to impart in a traditional classroom environment.
• Academic courses: E-learning is becoming an increasingly popular way of delivering academic courses. It can be used to provide remote teaching for students that are unable to visit a conventional university or to offer online courses for further study.
• Lifelong learning: E-learning can be utilised to support lifelong learning by providing access to educational content across a wide range of subjects. This can be helpful to those who wish to gain new skills or keep up to speed with the latest trends.

Because the technology is evolving so quickly, e-learning courses will become even more widespread.

To achieve the best possible learning outcomes, e-learning courses need to be made available in the right language for the students. When it comes to highly technical learning content, this is absolutely vital. Converting e-learning content into another language can be a challenge, however, since e-learning translation projects are by their very nature complex. What is the best way to plan localisation and achieve a high quality of translation? Here are five tips from the professionals to guarantee your e-learning project is a success:

1. Choose a suitable e-learning authoring tool

If your company is creating e-learning content for the first time, you are faced with the decision of which software to use. There is a large variety of authoring tools that can be used to create e-learning content, such as:

• Articulate Storyline 360
• Adobe Captivate
• Lectora
• iSpring Suite
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• and more besides.

These tools present different advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of training content. Some of these software packages offer the option of automatically exporting texts for translation and then importing them again, e.g. in XLIFF format. That can be really helpful and save a lot of time!

2. Export the content and have it localised

Texts from an authoring tool like Articulate Storyline can be exported in XLIFF format – which is ideal for formatting and translating within a translation memory system or CAT tool such as those used by professional translators.

The text can also be exported into Microsoft Word. The exported Word document contains preview images of the individual pages of the training course, the source text and placeholders for the target-language text in tabular form, but serves only as an overview and context information for the translator.

Important considerations for translation:

• Insist on the native speaker principle – guaranteed linguistic quality and consideration of cultural nuances
• Make sure your customer-specific terminology is followed – company-specific terms and abbreviations (glossary if necessary) in all languages
• Request a full localisation – adjust the full content to reflect the target culture and target group, e.g. currency, units of measurement, addresses, fonts, country-specific images and symbols, colour symbolism
• Ask for a translation memory system to be used – brings consistency to translations and reduces costs

3. Get your videos professionally subtitled or dubbed with a voice-over

E-learning courses often feature embedded videos. When transmitting the translated video content, you have a choice of different options: Subtitling, synchronisation, voice-over…

Subtitles into different languages are relatively inexpensive to produce and represent a flexible option.

If you choose to have an audio recording for your video content, we strongly suggest using an experienced voice actor (take care with dialects and accents!). Factor into your schedule the time it takes to select a voice actor (audio samples) and record the audio (studio time). You need THE right voice for your project!

4. Import the translated content into the authoring tool

Once your e-learning course has been translated, it is time to reimport the content into your authoring software.

In authoring tools such as Storyline, editing the text works in a similar way to PowerPoint, however formatting the spoken texts can pose challenges. In this instance, we recommend the use of professional DTP experts for data post-processing. Firstly, they insert the translated texts into a specific field and then adapt it in close consultation with native speakers, e.g. to ensure pauses are a natural length and fall in the right positions. This ensures that the computer voice sounds as natural as possible to the training participants. To ensure that tricky words, such as “deaeration”, are pronounced correctly (“de-aeration” rather than “deration”), corresponding markers are positioned in the spoken text window (e.g. using a hyphen or space).

5. Run the final tests

An absolute must for a high-quality multilingual course is the final testing and quality assurance process, including test runs to ensure your content looks its best online. Plus, it is this step that ensures the audio and videos are positioned correctly and play at the right time.

In summary: Increase acceptance and boost learning outcomes by having all content professionally translated into the native language of the students!

STAR service

Are you preparing e-learning courses?

STAR works with a range of tools, including Articulate Storyline 360, and takes care of the localisation of your e-learning.

Looking for a translation incorporating video localisation for an e-learning project?
Professional translation including review steps – quick and easy. Need more advice? We are here for you.

1. Choose quality that is carefully controlled!

To achieve the best quality in your translation process, you need a rigorously organised quality management procedure and direct contact with the translators working on your texts. Only qualified native speakers of your target language should be used for the projects; either permanently employed by the service provider’s subsidiary branches or freelancers working on a contract basis.

Look out for the following:

• The service provider has full ISO 9001 certification for the entire company, including the relevant quality management system.
• The service provider does not have any subcontractor chains that cannot be quality-checked and does not assign contracts on an arbitrary basis via job portals, but rather produces translations in-house through permanently employed native speakers, who work in the service provider’s national branches within the target-language countries or comparably qualified and trained freelance translators.
• The service provider assures quality through software for general checks (e.g. checking for terminology and consistency) or software for specialist checks tailored to the customer’s requirements.
• The service provider gives the option of extra quality assurance steps, such as a proofreading department for specialist fields.
• The service provider defines and implements consistent process standards and quality standards all around the world.

2. Choose automation technology!

Effective cost reductions in the translation process are only possible when an automatic translation process is used comprehensively. The service provider should be familiar with this kind of software and should have the necessary IT expertise on hand.

Look out for the following:

• Extensive implementation of automated translation using translation memory technology.
• Over the years of a long-term partnership, this is proven to successfully reduce the volume of text to be translated manually. It is the degree of automation (and not the word price/line price) that determines the overall costs of a translation project.
• Workflow automation that largely removes the need for manual process steps.
• Use of AI, including by means of machine translation, preferably accompanied by an ISO 18587:2017 certification to prove MT technologies are used transparently and effectively within the wider framework of translation processes.
• The service provider is highly skilled and reliable in their use of the software.

3. Choose experience!

As with any highly specialised service, the experience of those involved is a deciding factor in the translation and production process.

Look out for the following:

• The service provider has been active on the market for many years.
• The service provider employs at least 50 (or better still 100) employees on a permanent contract, enabling them to deploy specialist teams for every process step.
• Continuity within the service provider’s workforce and management (low turnover of labour).
• Translators with many years experience in your field of industry, which can, where necessary, be proven with CVs or test translations.
• The service provider has longstanding partnerships with companies that have similarly high standards and operate in your industry or related industries.

4. Choose capacity!

Larger service providers with an international presence can quickly and easily serve new customers and deliver large projects and have the resources to deliver a short ramp-up phase.

Look out for the following:

• A large pool of highly qualified permanently employed and freelance translators.
• The service provider has an internationally structured network of subsidiary branches in all countries for which you require translations.
• Central project management (single point of contact) and decentralised production in the target countries.

5. Choose security!

Often, information that requires translation is confidential, perhaps relating to an as yet unreleased product, a company’s internal processes or even financial information relating to an organisation. In all of the above cases, the translation service provider must use technical and procedural measures to ensure that the information is processed using maximum confidentiality and security. What’s more, the translation service provider must be protected against unforeseen interruptions to operations, so that they can provide the customer with a seamless service.

Look out for the following:

• ISO 27001 or TISAX Ⓡ certifications to guarantee that the service provider’s internal processes comply with the defined standard for information security in terms of confidentiality, availability and integrity.
• The service provider offers a secure customer portal or other secure channels for data transfer
• Regular information security training courses and awareness measures are in place for employees

 

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A picture paints a thousand words. Videos can relay information to specific target audiences succinctly and with a more personal touch. Content is conveyed quickly and easily, since both our sense of hearing and sense of sight are involved.

Short, interesting videos on websites grab the interest of potential customers and increase traffic. Millions of videos are watched every day on social media sites such as YouTube, Facebook, etc.

You should also make your videos available not just in your native language, but also in other languages for all your target audiences and markets so that you can achieve a greater reach.

But what is the quickest way to translate your videos into multiple languages?

Three important questions to ask yourself:

1. Subtitles or dubbing?

For many videos, the best option is a translated voice-over, which is laid over the original language dialogue as an additional audio track.

To know if this is the right option for you, you need to know what you want to do with the video:

Who will see the video? Which target customers do you want to reach? Which platform will the video be published on? How big is your budget?

Voice-overs are normally more expensive than subtitles, because they require professional voice actors as well as the use of a recording studio. The production process usually takes longer too. Videos with sound seem more professional and “high-quality”, and are therefore better suited for “important” communications intended for longer use, such as a company image video or a video that accompanies an important product launch. Videos such as user testimonials or information about company events have a shorter lifespan and are better candidates for subtitling.

2. Source text template?

The “template” for the translation of subtitles is the source text. Ideally, this would include existing time codes, for example in SRT format. These time codes synchronise the displayed text with the spoken word and images on the video. If you do not have the spoken text as an SRT file or as a script in a Word or Excel file, your language service provider can often create a text version for you, known as transcription.

The original spoken text is typed out and “smoothed” if needed: Stutters, slips of the tongue, filler words such as “um” and “urr” are removed and, if needed for fast speakers in the source text, slightly shortened, so that there is not too much text to read in a short time period. Additionally, the transcribed text is split into logical chunks and given time codes so that it synchronises correctly with the video. It is also important that during this process, the text is created on the basis of the moving image to allow for harmonious transitions. The resulting SRT file can then be translated.

3. Source text check and in-country review

Particularly for very company-specific or specialised videos containing a lot of abbreviations or brand names, it is advisable to have the customer check the source text once the text template/SRT file has been created. This means that the spellings of product names or device designations can be adapted or defined as terms that should not be translated and that these rules will be followed in all of the target languages. This gives us the best possible source document to ensure that the translation process runs smoothly. Equally, it can be a good idea to have customer employees in the target country review the video before it is published. During this process, the source and translated texts are made available on a web platform so that the reviewer can make any linguistic changes necessary for their target market. This guarantees high satisfaction and a highly effective video.

Good translations are paramount for subtitles

Some languages need more time, and therefore more space, to convey the same ideas. For videos, however, translations must not be too long, otherwise they will no longer correspond to the video. The aim is that the audio content matches the subtitle shown. Sometimes it can be necessary to shorten the content slightly, without changing the original meaning.

STAR Deutschland offers transcription of audio and video files, multilingual subtitling and post-processing as well as voice-overs from professional voice actors. Our professional translators use their flair for language to make sure that your message is communicated perfectly in every language.

Our workflow – simple and efficient

 

 

Checklist

When it comes to subtitling and voice-over projects, we take you through the most important questions, step by step.

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Further information

You can find more information about our translation services here:

STAR translations

“Why is Japanese so expensive in comparison to other Asian languages?” – this is a question that we are regularly asked by customers, and by colleagues in other STAR offices too. Yet it cannot be answered in a single sentence.
The following explanations are an attempt to give readers some greater clarity on the situation.

Socio-cultural differences

It’s not just a cliché – customer focus and the notion of service are still very important in Japan, despite the increasing awareness of price and sustainability over here; the expectations and demands placed on consumer goods are extremely high. Most Japanese consumers are happy to pay a higher price for quality branded goods, provided they meet their expectations and the complete package is just right.

And what applies to consumer goods, naturally also applies to the services industry, which brings us to the topic of translation.

So, what does this (extra) level of service actually look like as part of the translation process?

Example 1

Japanese is known for its many forms of polite speech – both in the spoken word and the written word. Naturally, the document type, data medium, target audience, etc. must not be ignored during translation into other languages, however, in Japanese, the nuances are undoubtedly more precise and the adaptations require more work.

Let’s try to make this variation a little clearer: At a very basic level, there are three different forms of polite address. 尊敬語 (reverential), 謙譲語 (humble), 丁寧語 (polite), which are then divided into many different subgroups depending on the word in use. Let’s take the verb “to think” as an example. For this simple word alone, there are ten (yes, ten!) different variants, as the table below shows. Note that these are not synonyms, but instead it is the same verb used in different situations.

 

If you take into account that there are also differences in forms of expression between men and women (admittedly this is slightly outdated), then it becomes much easier to understand how much you can get “wrong” when translating. In which case, as the quotation marks suggest, it is often not actually a translation error, rather in many cases it is a question of personal preference that depends on who is checking the text.

Example 2

An example that is directly linked to the point above has to do with the frequent use of irony or ambiguity in marketing texts. When addressing their customers in advertisements, European languages often love to use both of these elements, as a means of sharing a joke or an unspoken jibe at their competition, for instance.
While this works well in Western markets, it causes problems in Japan, as these rhetorical devices would imply that the end user is being spoken down to. Result: A translation that is technically correct, but will nonetheless be considered “wrong” by the end user.

Example 3

Use (or lack) of footnotes for disclaimers: Footnotes are common practice in Western marketing and sales literature, for example, to indicate optional equipment shown in the product image or limited availability, but these are only used in Japan in rare exceptions. The reason for this is plain and simple; Japanese customers expect perfectly localised content.

Example 4

Owing to the standards highlighted in example 3, during customer review, the translations are not just checked for errors but are subject to extensive market-specific changes.
The logical consequence of this is that any non-Japanese observer might confuse or equate the many “corrections” with “incorrect” translations.

Of course, the above examples only show part of the full picture and they can only give a small insight into the difficulties encountered when translating into Japanese.

Undoubtedly, the fact of the matter is that when translating into Japanese, the context (who is the document aimed at, how will it be published, etc.) and framework information (e.g., specifications for Japanese texts) are indispensable.

Economic situation

A widespread misconception that is always being thrown around Western media states the following: “In Japan, apples and melons cost 100 euros each and everything else is unaffordable.”
This statement isn’t completely false; there are actually apples in this often cited price category and there are even people who buy them (we’re back to socio-cultural differences – apples as a status symbol), but – never fear – you can also buy apples for 1 euro each!
Nevertheless, when compared to the majority of their Asian neighbours, the price and salary structure in Japan is proportionally high and the GDP per capita is correspondingly higher than in Europe.

As the fruit example shows, you cannot generalise, however there is an underlying trend. Defining unit prices (or even attempting to standardise) for different languages does not match reality. If a tradesman in Berlin worked for the hourly rate that is standard in Prague, he would probably soon struggle to make ends meet. To a certain extent, the same could be said of Tokyo and Bangkok.

This state of affairs is naturally well known, and is nothing new – but when it comes to translation, it is often overlooked.

Another important factor: Supply and demand of resources. Japanese is not only geographically but also linguistically isolated to a certain extent as there is not a language family that it can be grouped into. When a language falls within a large family of languages, as is the case with German (west-Germanic/indo-Germanic family), there are, in principle, more resources available for that language. If there are more translators, the costs are lower.

DTP (desktop publishing) – Japanese sentences

It sounds simple in principle: Select the customer’s preferred font, insert the text, done.
So it can’t really be that difficult, can it?
But if you take a closer look, it quickly becomes clear that a simple copy and paste won’t quite cut it in Japanese, and language-specific skills are essential.

When typesetting in Japanese, different writing systems need to be harmonised: Chinese characters (kanji 漢字), Japanese syllabic characters (hiragana ひらがな and katakana カタカナ), Latin alphabet, Chinese and Indo-Arabic numerals.

As if that weren’t enough, Japanese can also be written both horizontally and vertically.

Bringing all of these typographical elements together and creating a unified form out of the chaos can sometimes be rather time-consuming. Though Chinese and Japanese may not look hugely different from one another to the layperson – having several writing systems, as is the case for Japanese, ultimately also acts as a multiplier when it comes to effort needed.

*Example Japanese magazines. The majority of magazines in Japan are set out with pages to be read from right to left, even if the majority of the text is set out horizontally.

InDesign: Japanese special functions

All InDesign versions, regardless of the language used, are naturally compatible with one another. This means European versions can open a Japanese InDesign file and vice-versa.
However, the InDesign version for European languages does not include the typographical functions or layout grids and text frames needed to edit Japanese texts.
If you are familiar with the software, one look at the paragraph and character panels will make this immediately obvious.

More information about “Kinsoku-Shori”, “Mojikumi” etc. can be found here.

Japanese texts do not flutter

Most written languages in the world use some form of separation between words. Lines of text are broken at the gaps between words. The lengths of lines vary because words the are a different length. This can give the impression that the text is fluttering. However, Japanese is written without spaces and, aside from a few exceptions – which, nevertheless, absolutely must be taken into account – a line break can be inserted in the middle of a word after any character.

Because of this, there is no ragged margin in Japanese, like you would commonly find in Western texts. For the vast majority of cases, Japanese texts use full justification.
Where full justification is not applicable, for example, in assorted headings, teasers or image captions, text is set out with a ragged margin with line breaks following content considerations rather than being placed according to the space available. So, this should mean that the text is easier to read for DTP.

Japanese fonts

The fonts that are used in brochures, instructions or flyers created in Germany, often do not cover Asian writing systems such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean.
Global, or world fonts are extremely complex to create; 26 Latin letters would require up to 50,000 characters or glyphs. This means that the fonts used in the source document often cannot be used in the layout work for the Japanese translation.

The “Latin” fonts must therefore be replaced or combined with Japanese fonts – an additional and often intensive work step. It requires careful consideration to retain the optical design and impression of the original, since – even though it may not be obvious to the untrained eye – Japanese fonts still have a wide range of personalities.

Ranging from classical, “serif” style fonts with a decidedly traditional feel to clear, modern “sans-Serif” style fonts, anything is possible.

We would be happy to advise you on the selection of Japanese or Asian fonts that will best match your corporate design identity.

Varieties of different Japanese fonts

If you need more detailed information and have questions about Japanese and everything it entails – we are always available to advise and assist.

More information about our translation services

Fabienne, Nadège and Frank are specialist translators for STAR Deutschland, working into their mother tongue, French. In this interview, they tell us about their job, their daily work life and the challenges and experiences that they have encountered over time.

STAR: Can you please tell us why you decided on a career as a translator?

Nadège: I was always interested in languages, and German especially. When I completed my school leavers’ exams, the French Baccalaureate, I majored in Philosophy, French, English and German. I definitely wanted a career that had something to do with languages. So that’s why I chose a translation course, with German as my first foreign language and English as my second.

Fabienne: Foreign languages were always a hobby for me. For my German Abitur exams, I took three languages and afterwards, I studied German and Romance Studies in France and Germany. I gained my Masters degree in Heidelberg. It’s a fascinating job, seeing as you must always be up-to-speed with at least two languages and be constantly aware of current developments in both countries. Language is in a state of constant flux and there are many neologisms that have to be integrated into the texts we’re translating at the moment.

Frank: I studied engineering and was always interested in languages. I wanted to bring the two together. I have always enjoyed looking through technical publications to find the French equivalent phrasing.

STAR: French native speakers are often very proud of their language. Is that the case for you, and what is so special about your mother tongue?

Nadège: Yes, indeed! I am proud of my native language. French is a very beautiful language, but it’s also relatively complex. The grammar is not super simple, and there are a great many exceptions to the rules.

Fabienne: French has this legendary reputation for being a difficult language, but what about Chinese or Hungarian or Thai with their non-Latin alphabets and their many eccentricities? Speaking completely “objectively”, I do think that my language is beautiful. The way it sounds, the extensive nuances, the complicated rules as well as those silent letters and word endings that can pose quite a challenge. I can give you an example of a nice, not-too-technical false friend: “car” in French is not the family car you might picture, but rather a coach.

Frank: When it comes to the technical side of things, I have to admit that French is lacking in comparison to German or English. It is always a challenge to faithfully reproduce complicated technical texts. French does not use compound nouns, so you can’t just stick individual words together to make new ones. This makes translation harder.

Our specialist translators, Fabienne, Nadège and Frank (pictured here with Bob, second from right)

STAR: What challenges do you need to master as part of your everyday work?

Nadège: One of the daily challenges would be translating highly specialised texts, for instance, because they use a very specific set of vocabulary. It might be a legal text or complicated technical concepts, which require a lot of research. Aside from that, we sometimes encounter metaphors or a play on words that is difficult to translate because the target language doesn’t have an equivalent. Sometimes it is the type of text that provides the challenge, say if there are length restrictions that need to be complied with. The translations must still be understandable despite being shortened and that is not always easy.

Fabienne: Over the years, clients’ requirements have increased and the complexity of the texts require more research. There is sometimes enormous time pressure on a delivery deadline and there are certain particularities that are unique to each customer and that sometimes contradict each other. It’s certainly never dull, and being flexible is a distinct advantage.

Frank: I translate texts that are often very specialised and require previous knowledge. Source texts are not always written well and sometimes you lack context; particularly for very short translations or supplements to a text that I didn’t previously work on. Many translations also go through an approval process, but the reviewers do not always have the same desires and expectations. That makes my work harder. Marketing texts are often very tricky because you need to take a step away from the original text. Generally, they take longer than a purely technical text.

STAR: On that note, is there anything that you would like to say to the authors of texts that you will subsequently translate?

Nadège: As an example, with texts that have length restrictions, I would like the authors to be aware of the fact that a translation is sometimes longer than the original text. For some texts, the context is completely lacking. In this situation, it is always helpful to send reference files, such as screenshots or images, to help avoid any misunderstandings.

Fabienne: The writers of source texts should keep in mind that the text will be translated and that their slogans, claims, idioms or jokes cannot always be translated exactly into a foreign language. In these cases, I always try to find something new, idiomatic or fitting so that the French text has the same effect.

STAR: What do you think about machine translation? What opportunities and risks does it present for your profession?

Summary of the answers from all three translators: Machine translation has advanced at a rapid pace and the advantages it brings cannot be ignored as it offers cost and time savings. Its output will always be better when it is trained with high-quality, correct and approved reference material.
Having said that, the results are often unreliable and not always coherent. Correcting and finalising machine-translated output (known as post-editing) requires more concentration than simply working with standard reference material. Simple technical texts are often correctly rendered by MT engines, but for complex passages, we believe a translator is still required.
It is a new kind of translation, a completely different skill. As human translators, our job is to detect the intricacies and nuances. The devil really is in the detail!
I’m not currently worried about the future of my profession, as it is not yet possible for machine translation to replace a human translator for legal texts, advertising and marketing texts as well as other specialised text types. Time will tell!

STAR: Surely your job also gives you cause for laughter, now and then? Can you think of any examples of funny errors or misunderstandings in a source text or a translation?

Fabienne: One example that I recently came across was in a translation that I was proofreading: “Barcode not readable” = “Code bar non lisible”; (instead of “code barre” for barcode, the original translator has put “code bar”, which could be back-translated to mean “nightclub code”).

Frank: In English source texts, I often see “break” where “brake” is meant, and a common spelling error in German texts is “Reperatur” instead of “Reparatur”.

More about our Marketing translations

 

What website operator doesn’t dream of their site appearing at the very top of web search results?

If you want to convince users across the globe to click on your localised website, view your products and services, and better still, make a purchase, we can show you how.

With a translation process that takes into account SEO optimisation, you can save your marketing budget and win customers.

Step 1: Clearly define and communicate your goals

Your website is your digital flagship with which you can welcome your customers, address them personally and take them along with you! You use your website to pursue specific goals and it is very important that you communicate these goals with your translation service provider before you begin localising your website. Why not chat for a while and give them as much information as possible about your business and your customers: Who do you want to reach, how and why? Any information about the company, your services or products, your target audience as well as your competitors is important to the project framework.

Perhaps your website is not yet SEO-optimised in the source language either? Get some advice about SEO optimisation before you start the translation process.

 

 

 

Step 2: Be aware of cultural differences

 

User search behaviour can vary dramatically from one target market to the next. That’s why it is important to take into account the needs of the relevant target markets. It is important to find out what criteria users apply when they search online. Google may be top dog among search engines, but SEO is also possible for other search engines such as Yahoo or Bing, or Baidu in China.

 

When localising a website, cultural aspects should also be taken into account. Writing conventions for addresses or telephone numbers, images or colour schemes should consider cultural sensitivities. Demonstrating intercultural competence will bring a significant advantage when it comes to achieving your goals.

 

Step 3: Keyword research

 

Keywords are paramount for the success of your website. In this step, you need to identify the terms to use to make it clear to a search engine what your website is about; Users’ search requests should be answered as fully as possible. Keyword research should be carried out for every market and adapted to search behaviour and search intention. A one-to-one translation is not always the best choice. A term that is rarely searched for in your target market is not a keyword. Instead, several alternatives should be monitored. Specialist tools can be used to analyse variants (alternative keywords) and calculate the search volumes and difficulty score for each. We recommend carrying out such an analysis before you prioritise or qualify your keywords.

 

Every SEO translation includes a keyword research step. Only after the localised keywords have been approved should you begin the website translation, integrating your keywords as you go.

 

Step 4: Content is king

 

For an SEO-optimised translation, the target text must be easy to read so that your visitor will spend a while browsing your website. Of course, the text must be free from errors, but it must also be unique. This means that it should not appear in an identical form anywhere else on the internet – and this also applies to single paragraphs and sentences. This rules out using a machine translation or standard translation process. Search engines can recognise machine translation and penalise it, which can lead to a lower ranking being given. The text should offer the user a high degree of value and it should be created for the target group using corporate language.

 

Do not create text just to make the search engines happy, but instead focus on your users and potential customers and create a web page that piques their interest.

 

 

Step 5: Work with SEO experts

 

Anyone who wants international success must speak their customers’ language – in every sense. Work with experts in the field of SEO who can create native-speaker quality, professional translations that convey the intention of the original texts and which match the stylistic expectations of the target market groups and their cultures. A specialist SEO translator knows the cultural and country-specific characteristics of your target group and target market and also possesses excellent SEO knowledge.

 

Only allow experts to translate and localise your content.

 

STAR Deutschland has the right language experts for your industry. In addition, the whole translation process will be supported by a qualified SEO expert. STAR only works with native speaker translators. We have a presence in over 30 countries, with 50 STAR branches and 1200 permanent employees. We have the experts for every project – including yours!

 

In summary

 

If you want to raise the global profile of your website, you absolutely must work with experts in multilingual SEO. STAR has both the expertise and the resources to help your website enjoy international success.

 

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Do you use Chinese translations as part of your marketing campaigns in the Chinese market? Then you should get advice from STAR about the Chinese Advertisement Law.

China is a vast sales market, and expanding into the region looks very attractive for B2B and B2C businesses – but it is also very complex. Much of the regulatory landscape differs from that of the European sphere. There are also different rules for advertising, which companies must abide by. A 1:1 translation of a European advert is to be avoided at all costs, as the Chinese Advertisement Law includes provision for fines if certain words and phrases are used!

STAR offers you the complete package – translation of your marketing text into Chinese as well as a subsequent linguistic check of the translation for the most frequent problematic phrases.

Take advantage of our skills and our knowledge of the Chinese Advertisement Law and minimise your liability risks!

More information