Useful tips and information to help international marketers localize their content at scale. Helpful guide for global marketing specialists, multilingual brand publishers, copywriters & anyone who wants to localize marketing content into different languages, in a flexible and scalable way.

1. How to localise
content at scale
August 2021

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Oban International:
How to localise content at scale
Who is this presentation for?
International marketers looking for
information on how to localise their content
in a scalable and manageable way.
What does this presentation contain?
Useful, practical, easy-to-read content
marketing tips written specifically for
international businesses.

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Firstly, why localise at all?
• Localising content makes commercial sense. A 2020 study by the Common Sense
Advisory, which looked at large, representative samples of consumers in 29
countries, found that:
• 40% won’t buy from ecommerce websites in another language.
• 65% prefer content in their own language.
• 73% want to read product reviews in their own language.
• 30% never buy from English-only websites, and another 30% say they do so only rarely.
• In short: international marketers who don’t have a content localisation strategy for
target markets are missing out on a sizeable opportunity.

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Localisation v. translation: What’s the difference?
Translation Localisation
Translation involves changing text from
one language to another, so its meaning is
equivalent.
Localisation is a much more comprehensive
process, which involves making sure your
content is fit for purpose for your target
audiences in different countries.
This goes well beyond translation to take
account of cultural and non-textual elements as
well as language.
Localisation ensures that cultural nuances and
consumer preferences by market – for example,
in lifestyles, values, beliefs, religion, food,
purchasing behaviours and more – are reflected
in your content.

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Tip 1: Understand your best performing markets
• Begin by drawing up a list of your priority markets. This
will involve analysis of your existing international traffic:
• Use Google Analytics and other SEO tools to understand
which markets are driving traffic already.
• This will give you an understanding of which markets to
localise into, and what channels to focus on.
• You can take a deeper dive into the specific regions and
pages which appear to be driving the most interest and site
visits.
• Understanding the order of market priority will help you
allocate resource.

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Tip 2: Carry out keyword research in your target languages
Once you have a sense of which markets to target, it’s time to carry out local
keyword research. Don’t simply translate your existing English keyword research:
How audiences
understand, describe, and
search for your product is
likely to vary by market.
Simply translating your
existing English keywords
may mean you miss the
biggest opportunities.
Find out the level of
competition for your
localised keywords so
you can decide where to
focus your efforts.

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Tip 3: Understand the digital landscape in your target markets
Facebook and Google are popular all over the world.
But so are other social media platforms and search engines:
Each market has its own
digital landscape –
involving different
platforms and user
behaviours.
Bear in mind that different
search engines may
require different
optimisation techniques,
which could affect how
you approach content
localisation.
Understanding how your
target audience consumes
digital media in your target
markets will help you
decide where and how
to publish your content.

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Tip 4: Start small, and build from there
• Content localisation involves time and resources. To mitigate risk, take an
agile approach to testing new markets:
• Start with some localised paid search campaigns built on target market keywords that link to
your English language site.
• When you can see demand, this builds the case for localising a landing page, providing key
information on shipping, returns and more.
• In turn, this builds a broader business case for deeper localisation of both your site and other
marketing channels.
• Approach localisation in stages – e.g. Priority 1 markets, then Priority 2, Priority 3, and so on.
• Consider what will have the biggest impact in each market and be selective. It’s useful to think
about the customer lifecycle – discovery, education, purchase, post-purchase, advocacy – and
what content you could create for each stage.

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Tip 5: Decide the types and style of content
• What types of content are popular in your target markets?
Use Local In-Market Experts to guide you:
• What content formats perform best for your target audience – video?
White papers? Long form? Short form?
• What content are your competitors publishing? What’s performing well for
them? Use SEO tools to provide competitive insight.
• What nuances around tone or humour should you bear in mind?
Remember, some languages are more formal than others, and what is
considered humorous in one market may fall flat in another.
• What cultural factors affect visual imagery? Images which resonate in one
market may not make an impact in another or worse, could even cause
cultural offence.

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Tip 6: Create a flexible, scalable content plan
Sometimes, marketing teams can create more content
than is needed for one market but not enough for others:
Develop realistic content
calendars for each market and
design a team structure and
workflow to deliver them.
Content governance is critical so
it’s worth investing time in
defining roles and responsibilities
and processes.
Designing a future-proof
multilingual content model for
your organisation will probably
involve trial and error
Ultimately, it’s about finding
the right blend of centralised
efficiency with the
essential involvement of
Local In-Market Experts.
Whilst respecting cultural
nuances, look for commonalities
across markets to identify content
which can be repurposed and
republished across markets.

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Tip 7: Balance budget constraints with local expertise
• No brand has infinite resources. Successful international content
marketing is about generating the biggest impact possible within
your budget. That said:
• Avoid the temptation to use automated translations. Whilst technology has
come a long way, machine translations will still leave you with largely literal
translations and could contain embarrassing (and potentially expensive)
mistakes.
• It is always better to use human, native speakers who are based in market
– who can make sure that language, visuals, style, tone, and references are
all on point.
• However, if you are already using customer service chatbots on your site,
then ensuring these are multilingual is an obvious localisation must-have.

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Tip 8: Be authentic to local audiences
• Aside from words and text, localisation elements
to consider include:
• Imagery, page layouts, how colours are perceived across
cultures, check out forms, address formats, expectations
around delivery times and payment methods, clothing
sizes, legal and regulatory issues, date formats etc
• SEO elements – URLs, title tags, meta descriptions,
menu and navigation elements, image alt tags etc.
• It’s essential to understand the key cultural and retail
dates in each market. Oban’s international calendar for
marketers is a useful free resource.

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Tip 9: Prioritise SEO
• Although Google is the dominant search engine
globally, search engines vary around the world,
which has implications for your content strategy:
• Before localising your content, understand the search
engine landscape in each of your target markets – not just
Google but also Bing, Yandex, Naver, Yahoo! Japan, Baidu
and so on.
• Understand the best practices for SEO for the relevant
search engines.
• As you localise your content, use these SEO insights to
guide which keywords and key phrases you use, and how
you structure your content.

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Tip 10: Promote your localised content
Once you’ve produced your localised content, you need to promote it. Lack of content
promotion is a big reason why so much content marketing fails to cut through:
Localised content allows you
to have an ‘always on’ paid
amplification programme
across search and social media.
Again, platforms vary by market
– it’s not just about Facebook,
LinkedIn and Twitter –
a Local In-Market Expert can
advise you on relevant platforms
in your target markets.
Work with local media and
influencers to generate news
coverage, links and citations
and create business impact.

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The right localisation partner can help
About Oban International
Oban International is the leading digital marketing
agency for international growth.
By identifying our clients'​ biggest opportunities for global
expansion - and ensuring they avoid costly mistakes - we
help ambitious brands hit tough global targets.
Since 2002, we have worked with a wide variety of
businesses to develop market strategies, optimise
performance in existing markets and launch into new
ones.
Our core team of digital experts, based in our Brighton
UK HQ, work with insights from our unique network of
LIMEs (Local In-Market Experts). Together, they plan and
deliver powerful digital strategies and campaigns in any
market on the planet.
• Although the task of localisation can seem
daunting, the right partner can help make it
manageable. To find out how Oban’s network of
Local In-Market Experts – LIMEs – can create
competitive advantage for your business, please
get in touch.
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