Enhancing your translations and adding value through search engine optimization

Andrea Shah, Boca Raton, FL, USA

This presentation will introduce tools and techniques that translators working on web copy of any kind can use to optimize their texts for search engines without sacrificing accuracy or style.

Using slides with examples from my own practice as a copywriter and translator, I'll go over the basics of present-day search engine optimization (SEO) and address common misconceptions, introduce the tools marketers use to optimize content for positioning in search results, and explain how translators can integrate them into their own translation practice.

From a business perspective, I'll also explore how SEO knowledge can help translators add value for their clients and how to promote that asset – and why the nuances of Google’s algorithm give human translations an advantage over MT when it comes to SEO.

Lastly, I’ll discuss how SEO changes regularly and what translators need to do to stay updated on the changes so that they can remain conversant when talking with clients.

Any translator or editor who works with web copy of any kind, from product descriptions to landing pages, would benefit from learning more about SEO tactics. Editors who work with this type of copy may also benefit, especially since the presentation will address the importance of localizing for a given target market (e.g. UK vs. US).

About the presenter

Andrea Shah is a marketing translator and copywriter based in sunny South Florida. Her experience includes 6+ years working in-house at a firm specialized in website translation. She now specializes in translated and original copy for the tourism, SaaS and wellness sectors, as well as literary translation.