Case study: keyword translation and multilingual copywriting in sixteen languages
Executive Summary
Our client required keyword translation and multilingual copywriting in sixteen languages: Danish, Dutch, UK English, Finnish, European French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, European Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. The content was product descriptions for consumer electronic components used for gaming and remote work. These included headsets, controllers, docking stations, and other peripherals. The wordcount for each language ranged from 800 to 1500 words.
The Challenge
Our client was rushing to meet the deadline for the worldwide launch of these new products. The short deadline and the complexity of the project presented logistical challenges that could only be overcome through strong organization. Because there were so many target languages, the instructions to the team had to be absolutely clear and the source material prepared very carefully. If any corrections or changes became necessary after the project launch, the project manager would have to communicate them separately to sixteen different teams.
Once she had prepared the source material and established a multi-part workflow, the project manager worked with our vendor manager to assemble an international team of translators who were familiar with the products and were native speakers of the target languages. One of the touchstones of keyword research is that regional uses of language vary significantly. For example, Mexicans and Spaniards both speak Spanish, but they use different vocabulary, especially when searching online. This is why UK English was included as a “language.” Adaptation from US to UK English typically resembles an editing project, but in this case the same workflow was used for UK English as the other languages.
Performance
The first step of the project was research and translation of the keywords themselves. Our team translated the keywords and validated them for each target audience, using an SEO tool. Meanwhile, the project manager flagged the keywords in the English source text to highlight them for the translators.
The project manager then created a termbase using the translated, validated keywords. The termbase was integrated with our cloud-based computer assisted translation (CAT) tools to provide the translators with immediate access to the correct keywords.
From there, the team followed an ISO 17100-certified process. After translation by one linguist, a second independent reviewer edited and proofread each optimized product description. The project manager then ran a final automated QA to ensure that all keywords had been used accurately and with the correct frequency.
Results
Our team delivered the optimized multilingual product descriptions in time for our client to meet their deadline. In addition to the immediate utility of the deliverables, this project represents an initial investment by the client. The termbases and translation memories generated during this initial project can be re-used to reduce costs and turnaround time for future projects. The efforts of our vendor manager to secure the top talent for the project will also pay off when additional keywords and content need translation. The client was pleased with the result and we continue to provide their language services.