America is the single biggest market in the world for just about every product and service. However, for some entrepreneurs, the market is not big enough. Also, once you reach the ceiling of growth in the English-speaking market i.e. America, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc., you’ll need to start reaching out to markets where other languages are spoken. That being said for some services and products, for instance, a service offering TESOL courses business people will want to target a non-English speaking market.
A few advantages of adding top spoken languages to your website include:
- Extending the sales life of your products and services by selling them in new markets.
- Reducing dependence on already exhausted markets or highly competitive ones.
- If your business is plagued by seasonal changes which cause fluctuations in sales tapping into new markets can help you improve stabilization.
Which languages should your website be translated in?
That is the million dollar question and an issue that many businesses wrestle with because it’s not as simple as having a corporate website in English. That said you could set yourself for success by translating the main website into three or five top spoken languages. Below is our rundown of the top five languages which we suggest your website be translated in:
Chinese: The second most commonly spoken language. 751.9 million internet users speak Chinese. Plus, it is important to mention that China is the second biggest market for brands like Apple.
Spanish: If your business is based in the US, it is important to note that Spanish is the second language of almost 60% of the population. Not to mention that if you’re looking to grow the business from the US and across the border into South America and also target Spain, having the website translated into Spanish is a very good idea. Incidentally, Spanish is spoken by 277 million internet users across the world.
Arabic: Spoken by 168.4 million internet users and the predominant language in the Middle East which happens to be extremely lucrative markets for luxury brands. If you want to grow your business beyond the constraints of Europe and the US, the Middle East is the next best transition.
Portuguese: Spoken by 154.5 million people across the world. If you want a service or product to sell successfully in Europe, make sure that your website is translated to Portuguese at the very least.
Japanese: Japanese people love luxury brands, educational services and products. Though European and American businesses may not be able to compete with them in terms of technology products – clothes, shoes, English courses, and even food, all do well in Japan. The key to targeting the Japanese market is to make sure your website is localized for Japan. Also, Japanese is spoken by 115 million people.
Decide the languages based on research and not gut instinct
Even though we have listed the top languages second to English spoken by internet users, it is by no means exhaustive. Do your research to determine which of the above markets would be best suited for your business before getting a corporate website localized for that language or region. Yes! Get it localized because all of the languages spoken by the cultures above are very different from that in America or the UK.