Even Google says native translators are better than automatic translation

Recently I obtained the Google Digital Training Certification on Digital Marketing and while following the lessons I was super glad to discover that Google advocates for localization carried out by native translators. But I wondered, why didn't Google foster its own product, Google Translate?

The answer came straight from one of their lessons. Automatic translation tools like Google Translate are not 100% precise and therefore when launching your company on a foreign market you cannot rely on these tools for the localization of your company website or blog or e-commerce.

The importance of localization and translation according to Google

If you, just like me, aren't a marketing expert and followed or are following Google Digital Training, you know that there is a whole section of the course dedicated to localization. Google affirms that if you aim at succeeding in a foreign country, you need to speak your new clients' language, otherwise you will not be able to make an impression and involve them in your brand because they don't understand you.

In order to speak to your foreing clients in a proper way, you should hire a professional translator native in the language of your new costumers. By doing so you will ensure that all your company content is properly translated and more importantly localized.

In fact, there is actually a difference between translation and localization: the first means translating a content from one language to another just the way it is; while the second means translating and adapting the content so that it is more marketing and SEO focused.

Bad translations examples

Would you lke to end up like the Norway's Team during Winter Olympics in China? With thousands of unrequired eggs? You can read the article here. This is what can happen to you too.

Do you want to negatively surprise your new foreign clients that are coming to visit your company by showing poorly translated slogan and signs? This is what happened to a Spanish museum using Google Translate. You can read the full article here. (in Spanish)

Is your objective to completely destroy your company's marketing campaign in a foreign country by translating the ads word after word and not localizing them? Or even worse, using totally wrong words? This is what happened to a Galician wine festival which name became "clitoris festival" after a Google Translate misuse. You can read the full article here.

In conclusion

Keep in mind that if your goal is to succeed in a foreign market, you will need the help of a professional translator like me. But do not never forget that automatic translation tools aren't a 100% reliable. Even Google says so!