Blog Post

Why Can't I Just Use Google Translate for My Company's Website Translations?

by: Susanne Evens, Founder/CEO of AAA Translation

Don't get me wrong, Google is a very trustworthy company and has many great products, but if you have not worked in the translation industry like I have for the past 25 years, you would not know the difference.

Using Google Translate, or any other free online translation tool for personal use or to quickly understand an email is totally acceptable, but it isn't appropriate for your company's professional documents or your website.

Just recently, we pointed out to a prestigious client entering the global market that their website should be available in other languages and the answer was: Oh, it is.

Really? I didn't see it.
So I dug deeper into their site and, after a few layers, I found a link to Google Translate in English only.

I'm an English speaker, and I was able to navigate through the site, but a non-English speaker would have never found the Google link and, therefore, left the site immediately. A potential client gone!

Language options must be visible on the landing page of any global website, and the links to the languages need to be in their native language: German = Deutsch, Spanish = Español, and so on.

Caution: Never use country flags in your tool bar. Here's why:

Here are the benefits of translating your website into other languages by professional translators:
  • It was found that 85% of all consumers will simply not make a purchase if information is not readily available in their native language.
  • 70% of the world does not speak English, yet 57% of websites contain English only!
  • As many as two-thirds of internet users are non-native English speakers, and this percentage is growing rapidly.
  • Over half of all Google searches are in languages other than English.
For much more please visit:

..... to be continued, or call us if you need further guidance on how to create a global website without offending anyone. We are here to help you succeed in the global jungle. Learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

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