WRITING WEB CONTENT: SHOULD YOU TRANSLATE YOUR ARTICLES INTO ENGLISH?

Let's say you want to translate your blog into English to expand your market. Is it better to continue writing articles in French and then have them translated? Or directly entrust content writing to an English-speaking provider?

According to one study,English remains the most spoken language on the internet, even in Europe. Other languages are progressing,but English will continue to dominate for years to come.

The first step in internationalizing your business will therefore be the translation of content into English. On the face of it, there are no problems with "fixed" content, such as menus and instructions. But what about creations designed to engage your audience?

The problem of locating (adapting) web content and SEO

A different audience

As a blog is a communication tool for your customers, its content must be tailored to your audience. Directly translating an article intended for a French audience to give it to English speakers is not always relevant. Indeed, even with the help of a professional English translator,some parts may need to be completely rewritten. This limits the interest of a translation and pushes you towards transcreation.

What is transcreation? It is the translation of a text that must not simply transpose its meaning, but also to readjust it. This sometimes forces you to recreate it. Think of an advertising slogan, for example.

The SEO to be taken into account

As for SEO, your translator is not necessarily aware of all its intricacies. Today, there are still few translators capable of translating a text with an SEO focus. That's why even transcreation isn't always ideal.

The translation of content optimized for SEO is a specialty that requires the know-how to do the corresponding research. If some translation agencies with a marketing focus are specialized in transcreation, this is not necessarily suitable. It is better to look for a professional translator with experience in the field.

Choose a good brief for content writing

In general, if you don't find an English translator who specializes in SEO content, it is better to have your articles written directly in the language of Shakespeare. By recruiting an English web editor, you will avoid the problems of transposing content written for a French audience to an English-speaking audience. Content writing for this new audience will be done directly in their language.

The important thing will be to make sure that your communication style is well respected in the English version of your blog. For this, it is necessary to write a quality brief for your English web editor.

Then, as soon as the first items are delivered, check them carefully. By getting help from a French-English translator if needed. Send your comments to the web editor directly. It is thanks to your guidelines that he will be able to write articles in line with your communication.However, as always in content writing, don't abuse "guidelines" at the risk of curbing one's creativity.

With this roadmap, it's easy to start creating articles directly in English. This approach is logically preceded by the translation of the site into the language of Shakespeare.