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Producing SEO Translations for Tekom

SEO

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. An SEO website is easily found by Google and other search engines, and is, therefore, also easily found by its target audience.

Aspects contributing to SEO include the technical aspects of the website, such as the layout and the use of links, and content aspects, such as how well the website is written, the use of unique content, how relevant and up-to-date the content is, the use of headers, and the use of keywords.

SEO translations

Translators obviously have little to contribute to the technical aspects of SEO. As far as content is concerned, there are, of course, also limits to the contribution a translator can make.

When producing SEO translations for Tekom, you will be provided with an SEO source text. That is to say, by the time we receive a SEO translation job, the source text has been brought in line with the requirements of SEO by the client.

When producing SEO translations, the primary aspects of SEO to be taken into consideration are:

  • creating a well-written, and therefore, well-translated text.
  • creating unique content. While this is mostly the responsibility of the client, translators can contribute by not taking advantage of repetition within the source text(s). This is particularly important when using a CAT tool, but it should be kept in mind even when you’re not. In practice, this means avoiding the practice of translating the same phrase in precisely the same way throughout the text.
  • using keywords in headers. Make sure during translation you reflect the use of keywords included in headers in the source text. If keywords are not included in the header in the source text, ideally you would add them to the translation.
  • using SEO keywords. This aspect is the most involved. It requires SEO research on your part. The SEO keywords in the source language will be provided by the client and included in the source text. It is then up to you to not simply translate these keywords, but to perform a keyword analysis, to ensure you choose not simply the best translations of the keywords, but rather SEO keywords for the target language.

SEO keywords

You may have already asked yourself “What are SEO keywords?” The keywords of a website are the terms most relevant to the content of the website; that is to say, how the client defines its product/service. Search terms are the terms used by the target audience when looking for these products and services. SEO keywords are the variants of the preferred keywords of the client that are most likely to be found online. The ideal SEO keyword is sought for often by users of the search engine, i.e. scores highly for the number of average monthly searches, and has little competition, i.e. there are not many websites using the same keywords.

Keyword analysis
The client performs its own market and keyword research – the keyword analysis – to produce the SEO keywords for its website. This has already been done to produce the keywords in the source text you receive for translation. Before translating, it will then be up to you to perform this same research: the keyword analysis. Tools are available for doing this research. You will use Google AdWords.

Google AdWords is a free, simple tool that we use to perform the keyword analysis. Among other things, it provides traffic estimates for keywords entered into the Keyword Planner. We use these estimates to select the best translations for the keywords provided by the client. Below is a step-by-step guide of how to use Google AdWords.

Keyword translation

Before starting the keyword analysis in Google AdWords, you should start by creating a list of proposed translations for the keywords. Produce a list of translations for each source keyword based on your own knowledge of the target language and the product/service in question; and by searching the Internet for similar products/services and noting the relevant terminology they use.

Once you have created a list of keywords in the target language, you analyze them in Google AdWords to determine which of these translations performs best and can be selected for use during the translation. Follow the step-by-step guide below.

Google AdWords – A Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Log in to Google AdWords using the Tekom account:
  • Open your preferred Internet browser in privacy/incognito mode
    • This allows the user to browse the Internet without the browser storing local data that could be retrieved later. More importantly, it also allows the user to perform the keyword analysis without it being influenced by prior browsing history, which may skew the results. For more information, consult http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_mode.
    • To open an incognito window in Google Chrome, press Crtl+Shift+N.
  • Go to www.adwords.google.com
    • Your language can be selected from the dropdown menu at the bottom right of the page.
    • Your browser may display a security warning regarding the Google AdWords website’s certificate. If this is the case, double-check the URL. If it is the one listed here, you can ignore the warning and continue. It is likely that you will be able to enter the AdWords site without problems the next time you visit it.
  • Click on “Sign in” at the top right hand corner
  • Log in using the following credentials:
    • Email: info@tekom.nl
    • Password: Tekom123

You should now be redirected to the Google AdWords welcome page.

Open the Keyword Planner:

There are a number of links at the top of this page.

  • Choose “Tools”
  • Select “Keyword Planner” from the dropdown menu

This takes you to the Keyword Planner page, where you are asked what you would like to do.

3. Enter information about the website:

  • Choose “Search for new keyword and ad group ideas” and the following will be displayed:
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