There are a lot of online businesses looking for effective ways to improve and enhance their content marketing tactics. Creating locally-relevant content can help businesses increase conversions and strike a chord with their target audience.
According to the CMO Council report, 50% of marketers understand the clear need to localize content to maintain business growth and profitability. Content localization includes observing your interactions with customers and learning their needs, preferences, and values.
This study from Fortune 500 companies revealed that companies with localized content doubled their profits and grew their earnings year over year.
If you want to reach your target markets and build overall business authority on a local level, it is time to develop your content localization strategy.
In this article, you will find five ways on how to build a successful content localization strategy.
1. Make your content locally relevant
You know that it is important to show users the content in their native language which, by the way, doesn’t necessarily mean the official language of the country they are in. You should define which content to translate to maintain your business goals. If you want to localize your content, you should carefully research your target audience and understand their preferences in terms of localization.
To promote a product in a new country, you need to consider factors like demographics, the culture of the target audience, political and social influences, geography, language and search engines. For example, do you know that Baidu dominates the Chinese market? You should take into account this factor while creating content for this location.
The use of location signals is a good way to let search engines know the geographic location of your business. Don’t practice verbatim keyword repetition as it often creates a poor reading experience. For example, the phrase “best halloween costumes in Los Angeles” being used four times within the page. Instead, try to explain what neighborhood your business is located.
Use any neighborhood synonyms, highways and landmarks to create a solid footprint around your business. For example, Fernandez & Karney uses precise landmarks like “Downtown Santa Monica” and “Fernandez & Karney in Santa Monica”. You can use any synonyms for your business in case people are searching for them.
To do local keyword research, start with using the SE Ranking keyword research tool to find the best geo modifiers for your business in your niche.
2. Collaborate with local experts
Local experts know a given culture better than anyone else. Local experts know what customers want and how to sell your product or service effectively. You can hire anyone from sales experts to local influencers who have a better understanding of your consumers’ language and culture.
Collaborating with local influencers is a good way to deliver relevant, localized and accurate content for users. Local experts usually have a massive audience and have a greater impact on them. They will help you effectively convey your key message and sell your brand to target customers.
If you want to get the most accurate translation, a local expert can make your brand flourish with human touch and properly get your key message to your target customers. For example, Unbounce worked with Ben Harmanus to translate their content into the region’s language and became a market leading face in the Swiss, German and Austrian market.
Another example from the law office of Vikas Bajaj, APC that successfully handles criminal cases thanks to Vikas Bajaj, a legal expert and one of the best criminal defence attorneys in San Diego. He is regularly featured on local and national news.
3. Make finding your business easy
If you manage multiple business locations and take care of a solid online presence in these areas, you should tell users what to do next. Writing content for a specific location is one thing, but it’s totally another to provide clear calls to action to reach the goal of your content.
Once you create a localized landing page, include calls to action like:
- Create a prominent clickable button to request a consultation or appointment;
- Embed Google Maps or directions on your landing pages that help users find your service area;
- Give a contact form to get enough information;
- Add a “Call Now” button in Google My Business.
Here is a good example from Glotzer & Leib, LLP on how to use calls to action:
No matter what CTA you integrate, it should be easy for users to know what to do next and take action. They need to know whether your business is real and obtain a working phone number and up to date contact information so they are able to get the answers to their questions as soon as possible.
4. Participate in local communities
To be a trustworthy business in your location, it’s more important than ever to connect with locals and show that you care about them. It is more than just doing business online. You should build a strong local reputation around your content.
To improve the connection with your local audience, you can try the following things:
- Find a local expert in your region. They should have a deeper understanding of the regional market and can effectively interact with the target audience. They can also run your social accounts and speak directly to audience members in a language related to your area.
- Be a sponsor of a local business event, local schools, colleges or universities. It is a proven way to mention you as a sponsor and improve brand recognition.
- In case of a disaster such as earthquakes, tsunamis, or terrorist attacks in a specific location, you can show your support and care by donating money.
- Join a local business association or a chamber of commerce to boost valuable business referrals and credible resources.
- Share engaging posts, stories and experiences on social media, YouTube or a blog as a part of your content strategy in order to build powerful connections and add a human touch around your brand.
- Offer a list of things and neighboring businesses that can be interesting for your customers to visit and encourage community collaboration.
All of these things can help you find new content ideas, create a strong local community, and enrich and accelerate your exciting content by giving people what they are looking for to meet their needs.
5. Optimize localized landing pages
Creating locally relevant content is one thing, but it’s an entirely different thing to convert this content. Define what landing pages you want to translate to generate leads. Make them simple and easy to understand.
Here are some ways to increase conversions on your localized landing pages:
- Adapt your local pricing. Consider the economic status of target customers when optimizing your pricing page. Make sure that local businesses can have the same products or services with the same features. If you have something to make you stand out from the crowd at a bargain price, go ahead.
- Optimize lead gen pages for webinars, ebooks, and guides. Here is a good example of a CTA for a German webinar on Unbounce:
- Give discounts and special offers to stand out during holidays, festivals and other occasions to strengthen your connections with locals.
- Get people to subscribe. Don’t forget to localize your subscription landing page to allow them to get regular blog updates. Here is how HubSpot optimized a French subscription page:
- Once people visit your site, give them the opportunity to set their language and remember the choice.
Bottom line
Any global brand understands how it is important to localize content to generate more leads and improve conversions. Extend your reach to crack local markets and start including localized marketing in your content marketing campaigns.
Do you know other ways to adapt your content to a specific location? Share your experience in the comments below!
Guest author: Irina Weber is a blogger and marketing manager of SE Ranking. She creates and develops new marketing campaigns, writes articles about online marketing, social media, conversion optimization on popular websites like Jeff Bullas, WordTracker, Onblastblog and other authoritative websites. If you have any questions, you can reach her on Twitter.