If you have something to say, it’s important that everyone hears it. After all, you did not spend hours writing that brilliant article just so people could look at the letters on the page. You want people to be able to read your content, but many take this for granted. Not everyone can read the great blog you have created because not everyone speaks the same language.

Fortunately, it is extremely easy to fix your blog so that more people can read it. It’s also worth noting that many people in America speak English as a foreign language. For this reason, translation of a blog becomes important.

Google Translate is the most popular form of translation for a blog. The feature is completely free and can work in one of three ways:

3 Ways You Can Make Your Website Available to the World

1. Add the Website Translator (Drop-Down Menu)

This is a great way to section off your website. For example, if you only want readers to have the option to translate your blog into a different language, you can do that. You can also hand pick which languages you want available. You can select all the languages Google Translate offers, or pick and choose. Once you make all of your decisions on the Google Translate service, a code will be generated for you. Just copy and paste the code into your webpage, and you’re done! Visit the Google Translate homepage for more information.

2. 1-Click Translations for the Toolbar

This is one of my personal favorite ways to translate a webpage. This works great if you have a little bit of extra space on your webpage and know that you only want a few languages available for translation. For example, many businesses know if they have a lot of Spanish speaking readers, so it makes sense to stick with that one language. 1-Click Translations allows the language to be on display (as opposed to a drop down menu), so it works nicely for those who think translation will be a big selling point for their business. The best part: All you have to do is drag the language you’d like found here into your toolbar, and then all readers have to do is click the link.

3. Download Google Toolbar

Although this option does not have as many language choices as the other options, it is extremely beneficial for those who speak English as a second language. Many people want to read a website in English, but get caught on a few words. The Google Toolbar allows readers to put their cursor over a word and instantly see the word in a different language. This service is also free, and can be downloaded here.

Common Concerns with Google Translation

• Comments – Many people get nervous about translation because of the comments. If a blog is read in a different language, then won’t the comments be in that same language? In some cases yes, but in many cases no. You will be surprised to find that although a reader may read something in a different language; they feel comfortable writing a comment in English. If you do get an occasional comment in a different language, it only takes about ten seconds to translate that comment into English. You can use the Google Translate website by copying and pasting the comment in the box on the left. There is a dropdown menu up top where you pick the language of the comment (or have it detected) àEnglish, and then hit “translate” to see what the comment says. You can even type in your own comment and translate it into the reader’s language if you wish!

• Conversion – It is also worth noting that the translation is never perfect. Because languages do not always follow the same format (ex: sentence structure of subject, verb, object), it can be tough to translate perfectly. However, the translations will get the main point of the website across. If you have ever read writing from a non-native speaker, you will sometimes hear mistakes here and there; however the message is clear. Your translations will be very similar in this sense.

Translation of a website is truly one of the easiest ways your company can optimize its website. It doesn’t take up much space on a webpage or involve more than 5 minutes of work, so it’s a great little trick if you’re looking for something to spice up your website. There is no better time than the start of a New Year to try something different, and I think you will find that this is an aspect of website optimization that you’ll enjoy.

Photo Credit: cuesportnews.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to employee background checks. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including document software to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

Originally posted on January 23, 2012 @ 12:33 pm