Translation vs. localizationWhen is a translation not enough?
A translation is right when the words are right. A localization is right when the reader acts on it the way you intended: clicks, buys or gets in touch. For a manual, a good translation is often enough. For ads, landing pages and emails, almost never.
I localize between Dutch, English and Norwegian, from any one of them into either of the other two. I made up the examples below for this article. I don't use client material.
What's the difference between translation and localization?
With translation, the source text is the yardstick. With localization, the reader is.
A translator asks whether the text says what the original says. A localizer asks whether this reader will do what the text asks of them, and whether they'll understand why. That's why a localization is allowed to depart from the source: a different example, a different order, a different tone and sometimes a different argument.
A simple example is how you say "you." English has one word for it. Dutch and Norwegian each have two, a formal one and an informal one, so every translation out of English makes a choice the source never had to make. Between Dutch and Norwegian the choice is already made in the source, and it's tempting to carry it over. A Dutch online store that carefully uses the formal u shouldn't be translated into the formal form in Norwegian. In Norwegian marketing I almost always see the informal du. A literal translation would sound stiff and old-fashioned there. Choosing between Bokmål and Nynorsk is part of localization too; I cover that in my comparison of the Netherlands and Norway.
A harder example is the argument itself. I was born in the Netherlands and moved to Norway, and the two markets don't always respond to the same argument. In the Netherlands I often see people compare prices closely. When Norwegians buy online, I notice that trust needs extra attention. So a headline that sells on price in Dutch may work better in Norwegian if it starts with who you are and what the customer can expect. That's not in the source text, and it's still the better text.
When is translation enough?
When the reader uses the text and doesn't need to be persuaded. Think of manuals, product specifications and internal documents. There, staying true to the source is the whole point: a reader has to be able to trust that it says what the original says.
Legal texts belong here too, in principle. Have them checked as well by someone who knows the law in the other country, because a correct translation of your terms doesn't make them valid there.
When do you need localization?
As soon as the text has to sell something or earn trust. That covers ads, landing pages, product descriptions, emails and newsletters. It also covers anything with a brand name or slogan in it.
Keywords get researched, not translated
A translated keyword is often correct and still not the word people in that country search for. That goes for SEO and for ads alike.
Find out which words people there actually use instead. The Keyword Planner in Google Ads helps, as does Search Console once you have pages in that language. Look at which words competitors from that country put in their headings, too. What it takes for that text to get found as well is part of how I approach SEO in more than one language.
Can't you just use English in the Netherlands and Norway?
Not as your main language. Get the local language fully in place first, and add English as a fallback or an alternative if your brand is large enough for it.
In practice, I see many large Dutch and Norwegian brands that never take that second step: their products and services still aren't available in English.
In my experience, English gets you further in the Netherlands than in Norway. Many people in both countries read English well, and the Dutch score slightly higher on the EF English Proficiency Index. In Norway I find English marketing harder. What I see there is that buying depends heavily on trust, and English works against it. Where I do see English work is with young audiences and in fashion. And the closer someone gets to a purchase, the more often it happens in their own language.
Research points the same way, with caveats. In a survey by CSA Research of 8,709 consumers in 29 countries, 76 percent said they prefer to buy when the product information is in their own language, and 40 percent said they never buy from a website in another language. Even among the people most confident reading English, a majority wanted customer service in their own language.
Weigh those numbers. They're what people say about themselves, the survey is from 2020, and CSA Research works for the translation and localization industry. The same survey also shows where English gets away with it: most respondents would still choose a cheaper product, or a major global brand, over one with information in their language. If you're neither the cheapest nor a global brand, that exception probably doesn't apply to you.
The index figures for both countries are in my article on getting found in the Netherlands and Norway.
Can't you just use machine translation or AI?
For a first draft, yes. For the version that goes live, usually not without a native speaker checking it.
AI translation has gotten a lot better in recent years, and the grammar is usually right. What I still see it miss is tone, and what a reader in that market expects. A phrase comes out a notch too stiff or too chummy, or an example doesn't work in that country.
How do you judge a localization when you don't speak the language?
By asking what was changed on purpose, and why. A good localizer can explain every departure from the source text.
- Ask for a back-translation of the headings and buttons, with the reason for every departure. That way you can see which choices were made without reading the language.
- Have one native speaker from your audience read it. Not a colleague who happens to speak the language, but someone who could be your customer. Don't ask whether it's good. Ask what they think you're offering, and what they'd do next.
- Check the fixed details yourself: prices and currency, dates, phone numbers, brand names and legal terms. That's where things go wrong most often, and you don't need the language for it.
- Make sure the keywords match what people in that country actually search for.
If you're an agency, this is also how you check work that goes out under your own name.
Why does localization cost more than translation?
Because there are more decisions in it. You're paying for the choices about what has to change, and for explaining them, not just for the words.
That's why I usually work on a project basis rather than per word. Before we start, we agree on how much room there is to depart from the source and who reviews the final text. If new material keeps coming in, it can also be ongoing support. That's how I localized marketing copy for a large web hosting company for years.
Agencies can also bring me in for work under their own name. I explain how that works in the agency section of my marketing localization page.
What doesn't localization fix?
A message that doesn't convince to begin with. Localization makes a good text fit another market. If your offer doesn't work at home, it usually won't work in another country either, however good the translation.
Not sure a translation is enough?
Email me what the material is, which language it's in, which language it needs to be in and which market it's for. I'll tell you whether a translation will do or whether it needs more.
Dominique@framvekst.noYou'll hear back within three business days.
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