Monika Sofrenovic is the Marketing Specialist at CIRA. She is a recent graduate of Carleton University with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Marketing.
As a business owner, you know that your website is a critical part of your brand. You want it to look great, work perfectly and be easy for customers to use. But did you know that your website also needs to be bilingual? While many Canadians speak English, many don’t—and those who don’t are probably looking for businesses with websites in their primary language.
Why does my website need to be bilingual?
Having a bilingual website can benefit your business in several ways. Here are some reasons why your website needs to be bilingual:
- Improve search engine rankings: the more people you can attract and keep browsing your website, the better your site will do in search engine rankings. Having a multilingual website will reduce your bounce rate, improving your domain authority and overall ranking in search algorithms. It’s also important to note that choosing the right domain can also have a significant impact on your SEO efforts—learn how a .CA domain can help you rank better in local searches.
- Attract more customers: by having a website available in multiple languages, you can attract new customers and effortlessly engage with people who would have been lost in translation otherwise. With linguistic prowess, you’ll effortlessly captivate customers and boost sales, turning your revenue into a polyglot powerhouse.
- Improve brand reputation: being inclusive of varied linguistic needs can improve your brand reputation. Having your website available in your area’s official languages demonstrates that you’re operating a committed local business, so prospective customers will perceive your brand as more complex, professional and sophisticated than your competitors.
How do I create a bilingual website?
When you decide to create a bilingual website, there are many different ways you can go about it.
- Use a translation service: one of the most popular options is to hire an agency that specializes in translating websites. This will ensure that your content is accurately translated into French and/or English, but it’s not necessarily cheap or easy to maintain.
- Use a bilingual website builder: if you want something more DIY-friendly without all the hassle of hiring someone else (and paying them), then consider using one of these tools instead. They offer drag-and-drop functionality so that even non-technical users can create multilingual sites without any coding knowledge required! Check out our web builder comparison guide to find the right one for you.
- Build a multilingual CMS: another option would be using one of these content management systems (CMSs) to build your site on top of—they’ll handle everything from user accounts through localization settings for each language pair! Not sure which CMS to pick? We’ve done the work for you.
So, if you’re targeting Canadian customers online, going bilingual is the secret weapon to conquer the Great White North! From expanding your business horizons to connecting with curious Canucks, a bilingual website is your ticket to winning over the maple leaf-loving masses.
