It’s what we’ve been saying all along. The internet is a goldmine for companies seeking to find new business in international markets.

Sheffield tyre company Longstone noticed an increasing number of orders arriving in from abroad and, more specifically, Italy. So what did they do? Well, to enhance the communications process and circumvent the language barrier, they translated their website into Italian. And it makes perfect sense.

Longstone are now reaping the rewards, with an increase in Italian orders and favourable search results on Google’s Italian search engine. The report in the Sheffield Telegraph suggests their fully translated and localised website will have paid for itself within 12 months.

Website localisation is a simple but effective means for businesses to increase their revenue. After all, over half of all Google searches are in a language other than English, but most of the content on the Web is in English. This disparity means that, in theory, it's possible to rise far quicker in foreign search engines, simply because there's less competition for key search terms in languages other than English.

tags: Foreign Language Internet