Offer Your Blog in Different Languages
Google, Microsoft Bing, SEO tips, Yahoo, search engine optimization |
Image by woodleywonderworks
Despite being the universal language, English is not deeply entrenched within every nation’s culture. And even if it is considered the second language of many countries in the European Union, Asia and Africa, there are still large regions worldwide that do not speak it. Needless to say, this can limit your site’s traffic and demographic, with only a significant portion of Internet users being able to understand your content online.
If your site or blog is centered on issues, products and services available only in America, having your content solely in English is understandable. However, this bars those located outside the US who are interested to learn more about your brand and may be willing to avail of your products overseas.
Bigger brands with popular international representation either set up several independent sites per country or develop language-specific micro-sites to cater to the locally utilized language or dialect. These are good ways to attract new clients or readers abroad. Maybe you can even offer eCommerce and other valuable add-ons within your domain as you go along.
Should an investment to generate country-specific content prove to be feasible, you can perhaps create site templates with the same development team but employ the services of competent translation services to further save on costs.
However, if you’re a business on its startup stage, a smaller media entity or an independent blogger and would like expand you reach outside the country, you can instead use free Web-based language translators. Today we take a look at three commonly used Web apps you can embed into your site. All these services have a handful of features for both Web site owners and readers, and all you need to do then is to generate the necessary code and paste it on your site’s HTML layout.
For design and user experience purposes, the best place to embed these widgets is on your site’s landing page where it’s easily accessible; perhaps at the top of the page under the site banner or maybe by the sidebar. It would be preferable to have it among the first Web page elements seen after your visitors type in your URL.
Nota bene: these Web-based translators work on algorithms which prove to be effective for the most part, but some foreign words and concepts simply do not have direct English translations yet. Also, because English is such a dynamic language, these translators have yet to adapt to most slangs, idioms and other modern expressions.
You must also proofread your content multiple times before you hit Publish. Because these translators are unable to distinguish between a deliberately published word and a typographical error and as a result, they will still attempt to translate them which most of the time churns out gibberish.
Despite these, these Web-based translators are sufficiently effective, as they generate translations that offer at least the gist of what you want to say in your content.
Yahoo Babel Fish
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Previously housed under the Alta Vista umbrella, Babel Fish now resides under Yahoo’s steady wing of services. By visiting the landing page, Babel Fish can offer to translate any text you type or paste on its text field in 38 languages, or you can choose to have an entire Web page itself and the linked pages translated. It also has a toolbar you can download for quick translations.
From the landing page, click on Add Babel Fish Translation to your site and it will direct you to a page that offers two ways to integrate its translation technology into your Web site. You can either add a text field which pretty much does the same thing as the translation box from the landing page, or you can put a translation drop-down to translate your entire page in 12 languages. Widely used ones like Chinese (in two dialects), French, Italian, Russian, German, Spanish and Korean, among others, are included here so you’ve pretty much covered the biggest nations.
Both of these options are widget-based and it should be easy for you to embed their functionality to your site or blog. Just click on the I want this one! button of your choice and the service will generate the necessary JavaScript for you.
Google Translate
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With Google’s phalanx of services (and continuously expanding capabilities), it’s no surprise that they have a Web-based language translator. Google Translate’s features with its 52 language options merely reflect the company’s seemingly constant localization strategies.
Like Babel Fish, you are presented with a basic text translation box upon visiting the Google Translate page where you supply the text you need to translate. You can even contribute a better translation if you happen to know the language which is a good move for Google so it can continuously improve this feature.
To the text field’s left is a set of features for Google Translate. These tools will allow you to conduct Translated Search which translates a search query and automatically search for it among foreign language sites, and upload and translate full documents in various text formats on a Google Doc interface using the Translator Toolkit.
To make your Web site readily available in different languages, the last feature, Tools and Resources, is exactly what you need. To set it up, it will first ask for the content your site is written in and then you select which languages you want your page to be available in from a list of check boxes. You can select specific languages depending on your intended scope but selecting the All languages radio button would be preferable if your strategy is to considerably expand your readership.
Similarly, the Google Toolbar also carries translating features that would benefit your foreign readers as well. Upon installation, they can mouse over an English word and it would display translations in their own language. Also from the Tools and Resources page, they can drag a language option to their toolbar to make full page translations just a click away.
Microsoft Bing Translator
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Despite being in its infancy, having been launched just last year, Microsoft’s Bing Translator already comes full featured with a handful of nifty capabilities you and your readers can utilize. Aside from the quick text and full Web page translations in 30 languages by way of translation boxes, it can natively display the page in its original language and its translated counterpart side-by-side. This is very useful for when you need to closely review each line of text since it also highlights the translated phrases or sentences when you mouse over the original version.
Clicking on Tools above these boxes will bring you to a page that lists the bevy of Microsoft products that utilize Bing Translator. Among these are the Translation Accelerator for Internet Explorer and Windows Live Toolbar; but to utilize this translator’s technology on your site, click on the Widget. This directs your browser to a page where you can customize the Widget’s language settings and its appearance to match your site’s general theme and layout.
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RSpears @ April 12, 2010
