Avoid these Four Website Translation Mistakes that Could Harm your Law Firm

A potential customer’s first contact with professional services, such as law firms, is often through a website. In professions that rely on trust, credibility, and technical expertise, it is crucial that the website accurately conveys this information in different languages.

The way information is displayed in all languages is paramount to the success of winning the trust of a global audience and creating a good impression. Consider a law firm specializing in translating patents and patent litigation. Effectively conveying their services, which innately pertain to translation, requires a localized website for reaching potential clients most effectively.

Below are four of the most common mistakes made by law firms, along with advice to prevent such occurrences from damaging your reputation.

Using Machine Translations

The low cost and instant delivery of machine translations tempt many firms into using these services. However, the poor quality of grammar, syntax, and word use can damage your credibility and leave potential foreign language clients with a bad first impression. While translated landing pages will ensure your website is visible to a wider demographic, the message must be clear and succinct in order to convert them.

Hiring a professional legal translation firm is the simplest and easiest way to avoid this pitfall. Experienced legal translators will not only be subject matter experts (SMEs) in the legal field, but also have the website translation skills to optimize your web presence. They understand the importance of localized content in marketing your services to the target demographic.

Failing to Communicate Through Emails and Newsletters

Take the time to translate marketing assets, such as email communications and newsletters. Using email and newsletters to connect and communicate with clients (both current and prospective) is part of a marketer’s essential arsenal. Thus, the quality of their translations must be of the highest quality as they are often the first point of contact. For example, sending translated newsletters and emails that arrive on national holidays relevant to your audience demonstrates a clear understanding of them, builds credibility, and helps to develop trust.

Forgetting to Translate Your Automatic Responses

All steps of the conversion funnel need to be tailored to your audience. It is not enough to begin your conversation with perfectly translated copy for each webpage and contact form only to reply in a language that is unintelligible to the prospect. With sensitive, technical, and urgent legal issues that rely on clear and concise understanding, it is imperative that the user’s journey is seamlessly translated to ensure business is not lost.

Make your Profiles Accessible

Visitors to your website will often have been directed there by colleagues, friends, or family recommendations. They will be looking for a law firm to aid in their litigation pursuits, and your site’s profiles and descriptions will help them make that decision. Ensuring your firm’s profiles are accessible to foreign prospects will ensure these warm leads don’t bounce or exit your site in search of an easier to understand firm.

Google Analytics will allow you to see which lawyers profiles receive the highest inbound traffic, and can then be used to prioritize which profiles to translate. This will give you the biggest impact in the least amount of time, supplying a quick win for your firm’s website.

Demonstrating a clear understanding of your audience by speaking their language at all points of their decisionmaking process will allow you to establish trust and build credibility and confidence. These are essential to convince clients that your firm is able to tailor its services to their specific needs.