You can’t just ‘Google Translate’ or ChatGPT your content…
We live in the golden age of AI. Tools like ChatGPT and DeepL are incredible. You can paste a product description, click a button, and two seconds later, you have a French, German, or Spanish version. It’s fast. It’s free. And it’s technically “correct.”
So, why do we still tell our clients that relying solely on AI translation is the fastest way to kill your conversion rate?
Because selling isn’t about transferring words. It’s about transferring emotion.
When you enter a new market, you are a stranger. The customer doesn’t know you. They don’t trust you yet. They are looking for reasons not to buy. And nothing screams “risk” louder than a website that feels slightly… off.
The “Uncanny Valley” of Copywriting
AI is great at grammar, but it’s terrible at culture. It often creates text that falls into the “Uncanny Valley”—it looks real, but it feels robotic.
A Dutch brand might use a direct, no-nonsense tone. “Buy this now, it works.” If you translate that directly into French or Italian, it comes across as rude or aggressive. Conversely, a flowery French description translated directly into German might sound fluffy and unscientific to a buyer who values facts and specs.
- Example: In the Netherlands, we address customers informally (“Je/Jij”) to build a connection. In Germany, using the informal “Du” too early in a B2B context or luxury segment can be seen as disrespectful. AI often misses this context.
SEO Intent: Keywords Don’t Translate
This is a technical trap. You might rank for “Running Shoes” in the UK. If you literally translate that to Spanish, you might end up ranking for a word that means “Sneakers” (fashion) rather than “Running shoes” (sport).
Consumer search behavior is local. A French customer searches differently than a Belgian French-speaking customer. If you simply translate your keywords, you are optimizing for terms that nobody is searching for. Localization means researching local search intent, not just translating the dictionary definition of a keyword.
Beyond the Text: The UX of Localization
True localization goes far beyond words. It’s about the User Experience (UX).
- Dates and Formats: Did you know that getting the date format wrong (MM/DD/YYYY vs DD/MM/YYYY) can cause checkout errors or confusion about delivery dates?
- Payment Methods: You can have perfect French text, but if you don’t offer Cartes Bancaires, you won’t sell in France. Perfect Polish copy means nothing without BLIK.
- Social Proof: Displaying reviews from “Jeroen from Amsterdam” on your Spanish landing page doesn’t build trust. It actually highlights that you are a foreign company. You need a strategy to display local reviews or utilize cross-border syndication.
The Hybrid Model: Technology + Human Touch
At Your International, we aren’t anti-AI. In fact, we use advanced technology to speed up the heavy lifting. But we never let a machine have the final word.
We believe in a Hybrid Model. We use technology for consistency and volume, but we use native experts for Localization. Real humans who know the slang, the holidays, the cultural sensitivities, and the psychological triggers of their home market.
Your goal isn’t to have a website that is “readable” in another language. Your goal is to have a website that feels native.
When a customer lands on your page, they shouldn’t think, “Oh, this is a Dutch company trying to sell to me.” They should think, “This looks like a great brand that understands exactly what I need.”
That difference is where the profit lives.
Ready to sound like a local? Stop letting translation errors eat your margins. Let’s build a localized strategy that builds trust from the very first click