English to Italian SEO localization of an article about how to wash and take care of waterproof jacket.
The Goal
This project aimed at delivering educational how-to content on waterproof gear maintenance to build brand trust through expert advice that helps users maintain their gear, and drive traffic to product pages.
Main challenges
- Balancing the main intent (informational) with the secondary intent (transactional)
- Balancing SEO performance and brand alignment: staying true to the brand's Tone of Voice, values, storytelling and respecting linguistic-specific guidelines
- Using keywords naturally throughout the text, while prioritizing readability
Now, let's dive in and take a look at the most interesting parts:
1. PB&J VS Chocolate: a sweet example
Source text:
Dirt, body oil, sunscreen, smoke and peanut butter smears can all degrade durable water repellent (DWR) performance
Target text:
A lungo andare, terra, sporcizia, crema solare, polvere e macchie riducono l’efficacia del trattamento idrorepellente (DWR, da durable water repellent in inglese)
Well, where did the peanut butter go? While PB&J is common in the English-speaking world, the majority of Italians can't relate to it. It would be easier for them to relate to chocolate, for example (who doesn't bring some chocolate on their outdoor adventures?), in this case, I chose to be more generic and avoided forcing it. Instead of translating word-for-word, I opted for a list of common things that can damage waterproof gear.
2. Little touches: the layout makes the difference
In this case, the original article jumps to the images and steps after the H2. I added a short intro to improve readability and provide context before diving into the steps. This approach enhances the flow and avoids abrupt interruptions, while improving SEO by adding body text between headers.
3. The audience wants to know!
Here, I expanded the topic to be as relevant as possible to the Italian audience. This information is not present in the source, but it's extremely important for the reader. Telling the audience to put their jacket in the washing machine is not enough. Adding information about the maximum temperatures and rounds per minute is precious advice
What is SEO localization?
Simply put, SEO localization is a full adaptation of content to the local market to help improve a website's visibility and ranking in search engine results. It's different from regular translation because it usually involves:
- Using keywords that are relevant for the target market
- Adapting content to local search behaviors
- Maintaining the intent and message from the original content
- Rearranging and adding content if needed or if it makes sense for the target market
- Localizing links, images and SEO elements (meta descriptions, alt text, etc.)
