Columnist

Why a Spanish translation for your website can be bueno for your business

If you’ve considered the possibility of tapping into global markets, but aren’t sure where to start, a Spanish version of your business’s website can be hugely beneficial. Here’s why your website, and therefore your business, could very likely profit from a Spanish translation.

Spanish is one of the world’s most spoken languages

Spanish is one of the most spoken languages worldwide, and is widely considered as one of the most important languages for business. Indeed, Spanish is the most important language for the UK’s future, according to The British Council.

In addition to that, Spanish is one of the most used languages on the internet too; in 3rd place with almost 300 million internet users using Spanish worldwide.

Markets all over the world will now be open to your business

Not only are there a large number of Spanish speakers in the world, but there are also a large number of Spanish speaking countries in the world. There are a whopping 20 countries in the world for which Spanish is the official language. That figure doesn’t include countries like the USA where there are significant amount of Spanish speakers, but it’s not technically an official language.

Spanish is also in high demand closer to home; in 2011 the BBC reported that London’s Latin American population had quadrupled in the last decade. Further proving the language’s popularity, London-based professional translation company, London Translations, state that Spanish translation services account for 30% of their annual turnover.

Using professional translators for your Spanish translation needs is far preferable than going it alone, because professional translators can use their specialist knowledge to cater to all the different Spanish dialects spoken across the world. Never forget what American Airlines learned from not localising their Spanish language advert; instead of telling customers to ‘Fly in Leather’ to promote the airline’s new leather seating, their ad instructed customers to simply ‘Fly Naked’. So if you’re planning on branching out into the Spanish language, make sure your translations are localised for your target market.

You’ll put yourself ahead of the competition

British businesses are notoriously monolingual. Indeed, research has shown that the U.K’s lack of language skills has cost the economy tens of billions of pounds every year, simply due to all of the missed trade and business opportunities.

Due to the fact that Spanish is so important to the UK’s future, and to the fact that English may well be losing its legitimacy in Europe in the wake of Brexit, having a Spanish language version of your website can be what finally pushed you ahead of your competition.

Websites are often the first port of call for potential customers looking to buy a product. Indeed, research has shown that 82% of customers conduct research online before making a purchase.

So if your competitors are anything like the rest of the UK and are woefully unprepared for this globalised, business world, then you’ll likely find yourself blowing them out of the water in terms of both brand reputation in these key and growing markets, and in terms of financial gain if you have a Spanish language version of your website.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Caitlyn Stevens .