Why Localised Content Is So Important

We live in a digital world. Today, there are far more considerations than there have ever been when it comes to marketing your business – or even reaching an audience. The internet has made the world seemingly smaller, but at the same time, it has made marketing even more challenging.

When it comes to really reaching your intended audience, you have to cultivate readership, improve customer engagement, create effective partnerships, and boost online ranking. One of the only ways to successfully achieve these goals is through localised content and it really should be your key method.

So, what is localised content and why is it used, anyway?

As you probably realise, localised content is specific to users in certain geographic locations. Localisation is a huge part of search engine optimisation (SEO). Major search engines like Bing and Google have increased the importance of localisation in their ranking algorithms. Think about it: when you do an internet search, more often than not, the results are highly influenced by where you are located – even when you don’t specify a location.

Localisation is the secret between a good website and a truly successful one. It’s a quick and easy way to add a cultural component to the material on a site, which appeals to most consumers. Furthermore, even the best marketing campaign is ineffective without good localisation – if the target audience doesn’t ‘get it’, the point of your attempt at engagement becomes moot.

The driving force behind localised content is that it is great for expanding business. Here’s a look at some of the benefits localisation can bring.

Increased loyalty from target audience. Businesses that respect and understand the local traditions and customs of their target audience are more likely to earn the loyalty and trust of those customers. When people feel respected, they typically return that sentiment.
Increase customer base and followers. When you incorporate localised content into your website’s marketing strategy, you will inevitably extend that to your social media profiles. Keeping your website, blog, and social media profiles updated, you’ll be more likely to increase engagement, build strong connections, and attract new fans, followers, and customers.
Prove local presence in a variety of regions. If you want to market your service or product in a given market, you really have to prove that you have a close relationship with your audience in other regions. Simply copying and pasting your content won’t cut it. You’ve got to focus on local events, offering local customer support, and that you are sensitive to cultural nuances, which will help you build a local brand across multiple markets.

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The goal is to provide truly valuable content to each region, which not only increases your chance of appearing in organic search results but may even help to improve conversion rates by customising the user experience. Optimising information for local markets makes the content more impactful for the targeted audience. This can be done in many ways, from localised landing pages and press releases to different marketing assets. Though localisation may have obvious benefits for industries such as retail and local services, it is effective across all industries and sectors.

Consider the journalism industry, which is the business of gathering and sharing information. Of course, there will always be news that applies to the larger global market, but often, many stories are specific to certain locales. Take Alison O’Riordan, for example. O’Riordan is a journalist that uses localised content when writing news stories for Irish websites. By including such content, her stories immediately pop up in internet searches for those that would be most interested in the subject matter. You can follow her writing on Twitter @alioriordan.

Spending time and money on content localisation is an absolute must for any business hoping to succeed and expand. However, if it isn’t done properly, the consequences could be dire and backfire significantly, but with a little effort and knowledge, content localisation isn’t complicated. Websites like oncotton.uk are great resources for branding and design of a website. With a vast base of original news, analysis, and commentary, business owners are able to gain a global perspective on brands and take their business and marketing strategies in the right direction.

Regardless of your product or service, if you want your website to appear in the search results for users in specific regions, it’s critical that you create localised content that encourages this. The idea behind this principle is to figure out what content is unique and relevant to a specific geographical area and maximise that in your content localisation efforts.