Passport? Check. Money? Check. Cat sitter? Check. Global SEM strategy? Ch…huh? Planning for a global website launch requires some forethought, much like planning for a trip around the world. Our Top 10 Tips article gives you our suggestions for making the most of your global website launch. From internal code to external user-facing content, we know how to take websites global, and we want to share our tips with you.
Byte Level Research’s 2013 Web Globalization Report Card is released, and is full of information for how to take your global website to the top of the class. Selection criteria highlight use of mobile sites, social media, the number of languages, and how easy it is for global users to find information that is relevant to their market.
Not surprisingly, Google holds the top spot. Below that, major global brands have shifted up and down the scale, and there are eight companies from 2012 who are nowhere to be found this year (including one of the former top ten!). Check out our post to find out who’s reaching global audiences most effectively, and what makes a good global website great.
To ensure a successful global website launch, it’s good to consider some issues early on in the process, such as your own content management system’s (CMS) infrastructure and capabilities for handling multilingual content, the relevancy of your content for your global users, and the general tone and style you want to impart in translation. If you’re preparing to launch your site internationally, today’s post gives you some good starting points, and links to our more detailed newsletter article on the same topic.
So your business plan is in place and you’re ready to enter new markets. But is your content ready? Developing and managing international content for multiple language markets isn’t something that happens overnight. From creating localization-ready source content to figuring out a content management strategy, there are a lot of factors to consider. But with some advance planning, you can set your international content up for multilingual success. Read on for some of our top tips for smoothing the international content creation and management process.
The devil is in the details in any language, and when it comes to ensuring your brand communicates as clearly in Japanese as it does in English, the style guide is your translator’s best friend.
Creating and maintaining a style guide is a worthwhile investment in your brand’s future. Clarity, consistency, and maintaining an on-brand voice depend in part on access to a central reference for translators as they bring your company’s products and service to life in new markets.
Sure, with infinite monkeys, typewriters, and time you’ll produce a Shakespeare play or two, but can you really gamble your international client base on the idea? In this post, we’ll take a look at why a style guide makes a big difference in localization projects.
Complex eCommerce platforms can present challenges when entering global markets. Each platform in a different market acts much like an independent entity, especially when you consider the market-specific customizations you may need. Today's post gives you five pointers to make the process easier and more cost efficient.
On December 15, the landmark exhibition Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal Asia opens at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. With over 300 paintings, photographs, screen prints, drawings, 3-D installations and sculptures featuring some of Warhol’s most iconic images, the Hong Kong stop is part of a two-year tour throughout several cities across Asia.
Thanks in part to Acclaro’s track record serving clients such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Guggenheim, Tiffany & Co., and Coach, The Andy Warhol Museum chose Acclaro to translate into Chinese their mobile app and educational resources website for the exhibition.
How does one present an artist like Warhol whose own definition changes in the context of contemporary life? Furthermore, what does it take to translate his legacy for Chinese audiences?
It turned out doing it well while on tight deadlines was an art form of its own.
When Breastcancer.org sought to expand their mission to Spanish speakers around the world, they needed more than just a run-of-the-mill translation of their website. They wanted a true partner who knew how to speak to their users accurately and compassionately, mirroring the effort and care that is evident on their English site. Acclaro is proud to have been selected as their vendor of choice. How did we meet the challenge? Read on to find out.
Last month Facebook announced the launch of Global Pages, a new structure for brands on Facebook that engage with multiple countries. This social network is definitely a key part of many social media strategies and offers some new options for international companies. Here are our pros and cons on Global Pages and their impact on brand development and global marketing strategy.
Translating your website for international audiences is the first and most important step in launching your brand online overseas. Even if your target countries have a high degree of English-speaking consumers, recent studies show that 85% of online shoppers will only purchase from native language websites.
Translation, however, is not the whole picture. Optimizing your website’s usability for these new markets will help ensure that your brand is represented well. Just as with your U.S. site, your metrics for conversions and goal completion will depend largely on how well you’ve localized and tested interface and design elements of your site.
If you’re preparing for a new international launch, be sure to take these five tips with you as you meet with stakeholders in your global expansion project. A few smart technical decisions at the outset will boost the credibility and usability of your site in the long run.
Despite Europe's economic woes, unemployment remains low in Germany and consumer confidence is on the rise. Germany is the powerful motor driving Europe’s economy forward. If you’re looking for strong purchasing power and 80+ million new customers, this Western European market is not to be overlooked.
To truly connect with German customers and get beyond winging it with your “Genglish,” you’ll want to invest early on in translation for this market. Among your top priorities will naturally be client-facing communications, such as your corporate website, marketing materials and product information.
Attention to detail will definitely pay off as you continually build and refine your German branding. In this post we’ll take a look at five pointers to help you develop your strategy and go to task.
A successful online launch of your website in new international markets depends on more than solid translation. While a recent study from the Common Sense Advisory found that 85% of online shoppers will only buy from a site in their native language, language alone is not the only driver behind global brand growth online.
In this blog post we’ll take a design-centric look at localization choices to consider before your next international launch, specifically the design elements crucial to succeeding in high-context cultures. Never heard of high-context vs. low-context culture distinctions? Don’t worry!
After the jump we’ll help you see the world with a brand new pair of eyes.
How do you explore new international markets for your business online when full translation and localization of your website is a significant commitment? An affordable alternative to global market research is the multilingual microsite. Done well, it not only positions you for greater success abroad, but might also open your eyes to unrealized opportunities.
A microsite can be a condensed version of your full website — whether it’s for eCommerce, customer support or marketing. Or it can be a minisite that delves deeply into your brand, a specific product or value proposition. No matter the microsite’s focus, it’s a concerted effort to introduce new audiences to your brand, gauge demand and meet product- or brand-specific objectives in a controlled environment online.
In this article we’ll suggest 10 ways to maximize impact while minimizing cost when thinking about international microsites.
In celebration of Acclaro's tenth anniversary, we are taking a look back at how our industry has changed over the past decade. In this post, we cover a topic that is near and dear to anyone involved in the localization industry: websites. The last ten years saw some pretty phenomenal changes in the development of global websites, perhaps more so than any other medium we work with. Curious to know more? Acclaro's own Localization Geek, Jon Ritzdorf, explains.
Just because we're already savvy with web localization (including web apps) doesn't mean we still can't learn a thing or two. Acclaro now adds Ruby on Rails (RoR), an increasingly popular web application development framework, to our list of web localization specialties.
Opening up global markets online isn’t merely a matter of buying a domain name in other countries and translating product descriptions. To earn a return that truly justifies an investment in international eCommerce, you’ll want to go beyond the basics of translation.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at ten key factors which have a direct impact on your ability to maximize the lucrative traffic of international buyers. Whether you’re thinking about Brazil, China, Turkey, or beyond, you’ll need to work with a partner who can help you cover these crucial aspects of localizing your shopping cart and customer experience.
The 2012 Website Globalization Report Card is out, and now is a good time to get a view into this year’s best globalized websites. We’ll take a look at the factors driving this year’s ranking as well as the criteria used to judge how well companies are performing on a global scale. The biggest players are doubling down on their international reach, and for good reason.
While Google and Facebook continue the battle for the top spot, others have lost ground to companies aggressively upping their international game. Read our coverage of The Best 25 Global Websites for 2012 and discover who’s on the move.
The Acclaro blog is two years old! Two full years of snippets of localization savvy, language, and international business, all for you, dear Mr. or Ms. Acclaro Blog Fan. Since 2010, we've done our best to bring some pizzazz to your international business life, and we hope we've succeeded. Come with us as we take a trip down blog memory lane.
It's la fin ("the end"). The French government has dropped the title of "Mademoiselle" from "official forms and registries". This leaves "Madame" as the only title option for women, corresponding to the equally matrimonially-neutral title of "Monsieur" used by men. What's good for the goose might be good for the gander, but if you use forms on your website for France and beyond, you'll want to make sure they are properly localized for your global markets.
"Never a dull moment" is a commonly-uttered phrase around here. Because we deal with a large variety of clients and industries, each translation project has its own personality, and in 2011 we ran the gamut when it came to helping some wildly different businesses connect with global audiences (and we had a lot of fun doing it, too!).
In this post, we review recent projects for four Acclaro clients — Netflix, Opus One, Breastcancer.org, and Amway, also highlighted in our Q4 2011 newsletter — and take a look at what makes each of their translation projects unique.
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