The internet is home to people worldwide. It’s where we connect, shop, and do whatever else we need without having to cross any borders. A blog is part of the internet and can be used to generate passive income if you know how to monetize it on a global scale.
Unlike a brick and mortar business, your blog can reach people from any part of the world. However, just because your blog can reach anyone in the world. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone understands what your blog is talking about. When someone can’t comprehend your content, they wouldn’t stick around.
Therefore, it is important that you translate your blog into another language. In this article, we will cover how to increase your traffic through content translation.
Why You Should Translate Your Blog To Another Language
In 2017, the internet world stats reported that the internet has 7,634,758,428 users, but only 1,462,008,909 uses English. That means if you’re only using English for your blog, you’re only reaching 19% of the entire internet population. What does this mean to you? It means you are leaving lots of money on the table.
If you want to make lots of money online, you’ll need to think on a global scale. Sure it’s might seem difficult, but by having a multilingual blog, you’ll eventually see an increase in both rankings and revenue.
Should You Translate Your Blog?
Well, it depends! If you’re only catering to people who speak English, then you don’t need to translate your blog. However, if you’re trying to reach people on an international scale, then yes, you should try to cater to them by writing in their language.
Also, it is easier to rank high on the search engines in a language other than English. There’s just too many English contents making the market extremely saturated. Whereas, you’ll have a lot less competition in a different language because there’s a lot less content available.
Find Out Where Your Traffic Is Coming From
Before you go ahead and translate your content, you want to check where your traffic is coming from. It will allow you to determine what languages you should translate your blog to. There’s no reason to translate your blog into every single language out there.
You can check by using a tool called Google Analytic. Here are the steps to get started:
- Login and Search For Acquisition
- Click All Traffic And Click Channels
- Locate Secondary Dimensions, Click It And Type Country
- Select Country From The Drop Down Menu
- You Should Now See Exactly Where Your Traffic Is Coming From
With this information, you can now determine which country you would want to translate your blog to. Another thing you can do is to use link trackers such as Bitly. It not only shortens the URL but also gives you basic analytics such as where the clicks are coming from. This is very important if your traffic is mainly coming from Social Media.
How To Translate Your Blog Into Another Language
Have you decided to translate your blog into another language? Well, there are a few ways to do this. One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to translate your blog is by using an online translator like Google Translate. Do keep in mind though, Google translate is not 100% accurate. Therefore, the translated text might not make sense. This was proven when I translated a few passages in Chinese for my friends.
Alternatively, you can hire a professional translator. Someone who speaks the native language that you want to translate your blog to. It is way more expensive compared to the regular translation tools, but your blog posts will have fewer mistakes and better grammar.
You can also sign up for Google’s Website Translator by clicking here.
No Such Thing As Duplicate Content In A Foreign Language
Since duplicate content doesn’t apply to foreign languages, you don’t have to worry too much about changing your content. However, you should still due diligence and remove anything such as links that are irrelevant to the foreign country. Just because something is well-known and popular where you live, might not be welcomed in a foreign country.
All you really need to do is to ensure that the translated content delivers the value that you want to deliver. By keeping simple, you’ll make it easier for your translation tool or paid translator.
SEO For Your Multilingual Blog
SEO for your multilingual blog is not as easy as you think. Unlike the English language, we can use tools like Jaaxy Keyword and Niche Research Tool.
When it comes to foreign languages, a regular translation will not make sense because maybe they use different words to explain different things. For example, in the United States we say Gas Station while in Australian, they would say Petro Station.
What this means is, people who are searching the internet from other countries are going to be using different keywords. If you translate directly from the English keywords, you’re not going to see good results. That’s why I recommend hiring a native speaker to translate for your content and keywords to optimize for search engines.
In Conclusion
You must think as if you’re the one visiting your website. If you speak another language other than English, what would you do if the blog posts are only available in English? Leave of course. By following the tips above, you should see an increase in traffic and maybe even conversions.
Do you agree with this article? Do you have something to add? Please leave a comment below!
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