Technology PR firm Content Coms ensures client website isn’t ‘lost in translation’

Multi-lingual websites are becoming the norm. As companies expand their operations overseas, they also tend to create a new, translated version of their website. However, a straightforward translation often fails to do the job, due to translation errors or cultural gaffes.

This is an issue raised by the BBC in its feature, Firms ignore the foreign language internet at their peril, which details the pitfalls of UK businesses translating their websites into other languages.

However, what of non-native businesses selling into the UK?

They face similar problems. Raw English text provided by a translation agency can sometimes provide too literal a translation; the danger is it may lack the subtleties of English vernacular that Britons take for granted.

A translation agency is also likely to lack knowledge of the UK market. In the complicated low-carbon sector, this can be especially problematic. If a business is targeting sector specialists, a translation that lacks market context can make the company seem amateurish. It can even limit a business’s visibility on search engines, if the English text simply doesn’t include the right keywords.

For these reasons, when Priva – a building controls for hotels and cloud based controls for healthcare specialist with its roots in the Netherlands – launched its new and impressive website, it enlisted PR firm Content Communications for assistance.

The original web text was prepared by Priva’s Dutch head office and translated into English by a translation agency. However, with little knowledge of the UK low-carbon sector, the agency captured only the words, not the essence of Priva’s philosophy and online pitch.

Fortunately, Content Coms was on hand to edit and adapt Priva’s translated copy, ensuring that it was clear and relevant to UK site visitors.

“The UK is a huge growth area for Priva, so it was important that the text of our English-language website appealed to British customers and referenced their market concerns,” comments Anders Norén, Managing Director of Priva Building Intelligence. “The Content Communications team was able to breathe new life into the translated web copy, using their sector knowledge to make it relevant to businesses in the UK.”

 

Content Coms
Content Coms
We create award-winning content for businesses delivering a greener, healthier and more sustainable future.