Is translating your site into multiple languages a good strategy?

[superiorword]

You don't need to get the whole site translated at once unless you can afford it. Simply start with getting only those pages translated that get most of the traffic. Rest of the pages can be done later. Many of my clients follow this strategy.

[Lobtec]

We have used, and still do, WP eariler but we have started using Drupal instead for all our new sites. Drupal is a bit more complex to get into but when you start to get the grip of it, it is really good.

We have translated some of our sites. One of them has currently nine languages and the way that Drupal handles the translations are really good. You have all the support you need in the software.

[Jeremy]

Are you the Michael Martinez from SEO Theory?

Hey Nat, yes it is. Regardless of the SEO dynamics and the wordpress issues with translation, there are some other things to consider. More than likely if you're using a plugin for translation, the translation is going to suck. I wrote an article for Igaming Business magazine a while back on this topic, I wish I could dig it up.

If your site is simply a site that gets 1 time visitors from SERPS, then I suppose shitty translation is not that big of deal. Just have good calls to action to get your traffic off those pages ASAP.

On the other hand, if your goal is to be an authority site in the industry, or drive repeat traffic through your language pages, then automated translation with plugins is a terrible choice. When I worked with PokerNews.com, we spent, and they still do, tons of money each month on translation. By doing this, they have been able to become the authority in several countries. The writers know poker lingo, and actually understand the local markets.

I just wanted to throw this out there in case any new affiliates are reading this and thinking of translating their "flagship" sites with plugins.

[Michael Martinez]

There may be more involved in the Wordpress/translation issue than I was aware of. I'm waiting for more information.

Hopefully, the problem we ran into last year has been resolved. It would make my life easier if I could use Wordpress consistently for international content.

I'll post a clarification when I know better what's up.

[NickM]

Michael, you mentioned a plugin. Are you talking about manually translating (as most here do) or using an automated translation plugin, which would result in lower quality translations?

[Michael Martinez]

Nick,

We set up a blog last year using the global-translator plug-in to automatically provide translation for the blog posts. However, we found the translated pages were not being indexed by the search engines. Upon closer inspection we learned that the plug-in had been coded to send code "400" signals to the search engines to cut down on traffic being passed through the sites to the translation tools.

So, yes, the automated translation tools do a fairly poor job of translating content. Nonetheless, we've been asked to make English-language content available to other language groups at the lowest cost possible.

I experimented with the Babelfish autotranslation tool years ago. I gave it up after a year because I received many angry emails from German Web visitors complaining my translations were gibberish.

The global-translator uses Google Translate, which seems to be better than Babelfish was (I don't know if Babelfish has even been updated).

There are ways to construct source copy so that the translations don't break the articles too badly. Use short sentences, avoid the use of metaphors, and be sure you minimize jargon words. You have to be more descriptive about things for which we now have common specific words.

BTW -- A forum member here notified me via PM that the plug-in has been fixed to query the translation service only once every five minutes. We're going to test it again.

I owe some thanks to those of you who asked me to hang around. I still don't have much time for forums but participating here may have helped me resolve a major resource bottleneck.

[NickM]

That's what we're here for Michael Let us know what you find. ps - Which specific translator plugin are you talking about?

[Nat Arem]

There's nothing inherent in WordPress that would make it bad for translation. I'm sure of that.

That being said, a certain plugin or implementation of translation (automated or not) could absolutely cause problems.

[CK]

Trying to search which one it was but I remember a member last year having security issues with their wordpress. It started after they installed a translation plugin and he ended up having hidden links emeded in the source. When I find it or if he comes on skype i will drop it here

It would be interesting to get their input. I also think doing separate installs of Wordpress for each language on subdomains (like es.mypokersite.com, fr.mypokersite.com and so on) is the best option. Also, like NickM says, the php might eat up a lot of resources if you have good traffic so WP Super Cache is essential.

I dont use subdomains for any of the languages I add. I just use the proper folders for them. I dont think it's neccessary.

Thanks Nat again for speeding up something else I am doing manually (well sort of manual)

[pheal]

Trying to search which one it was but I remember a member last year having security issues with their wordpress. It started after they installed a translation plugin and he ended up having hidden links emeded in the source. When I find it or if he comes on skype i will drop it here

I dont use subdomains for any of the languages I add. I just use the proper folders for them. I dont think it's neccessary.

Thanks Nat again for speeding up something else I am doing manually (well sort of manual)

Kaus, could you give me more info on how to set subfolders for the translations in Wordpress? I thought subdomains would be the easiest solution but if I don't have to put pressure on the server with more php processes it would be even better.