Business Content Translation – Do I Need to Translate and Subtitle All My Business Content?

Imagine having the best product on the market but missing out on millions of potential customers—simply because they can’t understand your message.

“When your business speaks their language, your opportunities grow. Ensure your message is understood by everyone.”

Missed Opportunities, Accessibility Challenges, and Global Growth

In a rapidly expanding global marketplace, the language you speak can make or break your business. You may have the best products, the most innovative services, or the most engaging video content, but none of that will matter if your audience can’t understand it. With over 7,000 languages spoken globally, businesses that fail to translate and subtitle their content limit their reach to just a fraction of their potential audience.

For example, only 25% of internet users speak English. That leaves billions of people who are far more likely to engage with your content if it’s available in their native language. And it’s not just about getting your message out to a wider audience—accessibility plays a huge role in ensuring everyone has access to the same information, including Deaf people, and non-native speakers.

According to a CSA Research study, 76% of online shoppers prefer buying products in their own language, and 40% will never buy from websites in other languages. This statistic alone shows how many businesses lose out on sales simply because their content is not available in multiple languages. Additionally, failure to meet accessibility standards, such as providing multilingual transcription services or video subtitling, can lead to legal consequences in some industries, especially in healthcare, education, and government services.

The question many businesses face is: “Do I need to translate and subtitle all my content?” The answer depends on your goals, audience, and the importance of the content itself.

Why Failing to Translate and Subtitle Content Hurts Businesses

Ignoring the need for translation services and subtitling services impacts businesses in several ways. First and foremost, businesses that rely on monolingual content effectively shut out entire markets. In an age where global reach can drive exponential growth, the decision not to translate or subtitle key content can stunt your business growth, as it limits your exposure to the millions, or even billions, of potential customers worldwide.

Secondly, accessibility is a legal and moral obligation in many countries. Failing to provide subtitles for video content, for instance, might exclude a significant portion of your audience, including the Deaf community. It’s not just about avoiding fines or lawsuits—it’s about fostering inclusivity. As more companies begin to recognize the importance of accessibility, those that fall behind risk losing their reputation as customer-friendly businesses.

Additionally, search engine optimization (SEO) plays a crucial role here. By not translating content, businesses miss out on multilingual SEO opportunities, meaning they won’t rank as highly in non-English speaking regions. Websites that offer localized content will naturally be favored by search engines in those regions. As companies like Netflix and YouTube continue to push subtitling and translation to reach more viewers, it’s clear that localization isn’t just a trend—it’s essential for long-term success.

How to Prioritize Translation and Subtitling for Maximum Impact

While translating and subtitling all your business content might seem overwhelming, the good news is that you don’t have to do everything at once. By carefully prioritizing the most impactful content, you can ensure that your message reaches the right audiences without unnecessary effort or expense.

Step 1: Audit Your Content

Begin with a thorough audit of your current content. Separate it into categories such as:

• Essential content: This includes product descriptions, key marketing materials, and instructional or compliance-related content that needs to be understood clearly by your audience.
• Useful content: Blog posts, educational videos, and other helpful but non-essential material fall into this category.
• Supplementary content: Internal documents, less-trafficked web pages, and minor customer service materials should be lower on your priority list.

For example, let’s take Amazon. As one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, they prioritize translating product descriptions and key purchasing pages into multiple languages. They know that if a customer can’t understand how to buy a product, they won’t make a purchase. The same principle applies to smaller businesses—start by translating your most critical content.

Step 2: Understand Your Audience and Their Needs

Once you have your content audit, the next step is to understand who your audience is and what languages they speak. Use website analytics and customer data to identify your key markets. You might find that a significant portion of your audience comes from countries where English is not the primary language.

For instance, Shopify, an e-commerce platform, learned that many of their users were Spanish-speaking. By translating their user interface and key help documents into Spanish, they significantly increased their customer base in Latin America and Spain. Knowing your audience and prioritizing their language needs is the foundation of good business.

Step 3: Evaluate Accessibility Needs

Accessibility is another major factor to consider when deciding what content to translate or subtitle. Subtitles should always be provided for any video content, whether it’s promotional, educational, or for internal training. Moreover, if you serve an international audience, subtitles in multiple languages will greatly increase the accessibility and usability of your videos.

Take the example of TED Talks. They use multilingual transcription services to offer subtitles in dozens of languages for their videos, ensuring their talks are accessible to a global audience. This strategy has significantly increased their reach, making TED one of the most influential educational platforms in the world. Businesses should aim for a similar level of inclusivity by providing translations and subtitles in multiple languages.

Step 4: Localize Content for Maximum Impact

Localization isn’t just about translating words; it’s about adapting your content to the cultural and linguistic context of each target audience. This means more than just swapping English for French—it involves considering regional dialects, cultural preferences, and even legal requirements. For example, HSBC, a global bank, learned the hard way when their “Assume Nothing” campaign translated poorly in some regions. They ended up rebranding the entire campaign after translation errors led to cultural misunderstandings.

Localization ensures that your content resonates with the intended audience. Whether it’s adjusting your tone of voice, using local references, or ensuring legal terminology is correct, professional translation services can help ensure your content feels native to the region.

Step 5: Leverage Multilingual SEO

Another often-overlooked benefit of translating content is the potential boost to your search engine rankings through multilingual SEO. By translating your website into different languages, you can ensure that your business appears in searches made by non-English-speaking users.

For example, Etsy, the online marketplace, saw a significant increase in international sales after optimizing its website for multiple languages. They translated product descriptions, search tags, and other SEO-rich content to target non-English speakers. This led to improved search engine rankings in those countries and ultimately higher sales. Your business can achieve the same by focusing on high-traffic pages and ensuring they are SEO-optimized in multiple languages.

Don’t Wait—Make Your Business Accessible Today

Your business speaks for itself, but is everyone hearing the message? At Transcription City, we ensure your content reaches its full potential by providing professional translation services, multilingual transcription services, and video subtitling that meet accessibility standards. Whether you’re looking to expand internationally or meet accessibility guidelines, our team will ensure your message is clear, accurate, and engaging in any language. Contact us today to find out how we can help you break language barriers and reach new heights.