Russian Localization: Tap into a 114 Million Customer Base and Drive Global Sales Growth

Published: June 25, 2024

Written by: Pavel Polyarush

Introduction

Did you know that Russian is spoken by over 258 million people worldwide, making it the 8^th most spoken language globally? With the current geopolitical challenges, connecting directly with Russian speakers in Russia might be tricky. But here is the good news: there are 114 million Russian speakers residing outside of Russia. Imagine tapping into a market larger than the populations of many countries!

Many businesses, software and website developers, e-commerce store owners, and digital marketing professionals may choose to ignore this significant pool of potential customers, often due to perceived complexities. And it is the easiest path to take.

However, there is another option that, though more challenging and seemingly contrarian at the moment, could be far more rewarding. By engaging with this customer base, you can stand out from the competition and potentially reap significant benefits from a market that may not be fully leveraged yet.

To truly benefit, it is crucial not to overlook the nuances of communicating with this vast audience. One might think that reaching the Russian-speaking audience (or any audience, for that matter) is as easy as translating content using tools like Google Translate or DeepL.

However, this approach barely scratches the surface. Simply translating a website or a web app into another language does not ensure that it is properly localized for the intended audience, which means it won't be culturally relevant. Additionally, mere translation does not address optimization for online discoverability of content. This can result in search engines driving your translated web pages to obscurity. Clearly, in this case, relying solely on translation is a waste of both time and money. Therefore, adopting a holistic approach to communication is essential.

Understanding localization: more than just translation

Before discussing the importance of localizing content into Russian, it is worth first explaining the terminology involved.

For some, translation might seem as simple as inputting text into Google Translate, resulting in an instant translation. While machine translation can indeed accelerate the process and assist with basic translations, it often overlooks cultural nuances, making it less reliable for nuanced or sensitive content. However, for obtaining a general understanding of non-critical texts, this method, followed by thorough proofreading and revision by a human, can sometimes be adequate.

For those requiring professional-grade translation, the process involves more than simple text conversion from one language to another. It is about transforming a text from a source language into a target language while conveying the original meaning as accurately as possible. This level of precision is crucial, especially in industries where the slightest misinterpretation can lead to significant consequences.

However, when translating SaaS (Software as a Service) products, online tools, platforms that rely on web traffic, web apps, websites, online content, and landing pages that target specific audiences with commercial intent, mere translation falls short. It is not just about changing words from one language to another; you want your content to be culturally relevant and resonate deeply with your target audience to encourage conversions. This requires adapting the entire user experience, not just the text. This is where the true value of localization becomes apparent.

As you may have guessed, localization encompasses a wider spectrum. It includes a variety of factors critical for ensuring your content resonates with a new audience:

• control of date and time formats and currency presentation;
• cultural nuances like preferred colors, symbols, and music;
• adherence to specific regulations, legal requirements, and financial particulars;
• subtleties in language such as humor, slogans, emotional connections, taglines, and customer interactions;
• understanding of product features and their relevance to the new audience;
• knowledge of prevalent devices, platforms, and social media used by the target audience.

Overall, localization includes two key types of adaptation:

• Cultural adaptation: This involves more than linguistic changes. To truly resonate with the target audience, content must be adapted culturally. This includes aligning content with local customs, cultural references, societal norms, and even humor.
• Functional adaptation: In the case of products, especially digital ones like software and websites, localization also involves adapting functional aspects such as date formats, currency, and legal requirements to ensure the product is usable in the target region.

To summarize, at its core, translation is about transforming text from one language to another while preserving the original meaning. Localization, however, goes much further. It adapts the entire product or content to appear native to a new audience. The scope of localization is boundless, reaching well beyond the confines of translation.

What is remarkable about effective localization is that, when done well, it makes a program, website, or mobile app seem as though it was tailor-made for the user, creating a seamless experience that feels completely natural.

Why Russian localization matters: strategic insights

Now that we have clarified the basic terminology, let us explore why it is strategically wise for businesses to start or continue localizing their products and online content for the global Russian-speaking audience, despite the current challenges.

As mentioned in the introduction to this post, there are 114 million Russian speakers who live and work outside of Russia—a significant number that surpasses the entire populations of countries such as Germany (84.7 million), Turkey (roughly 85.4 million), France (approximately 68.0 million), the United Kingdom (about 67.6 million), etc. These comparisons highlight the immense size of the Russian-speaking population abroad. For businesses aiming to increase revenues and expand their customer base, overlooking this vast market could result in missed opportunities.

Nobody can predict the future, but it is not beyond possibility that international relations will normalize. By proactively embracing the localization of your content into Russian now, your business will be well-prepared to tap into an even larger market—potentially the entire 258 million Russian speakers globally—when the opportunity arises. Staying ahead of the curve is crucial for success.

Russian localization can also provide a competitive edge. Companies that make an effort to adapt their content specifically for Russian-speaking markets may stand out from competitors who do not, potentially capturing a larger share of the market.

To summarize, localizing your products, websites, and content into Russian at this time offers several advantages:

1. capitalizing on a large customer base now;
2. increasing your market share by distinguishing your offerings in a competitive landscape;
3. staying ahead of the curve by preparing for potential improvements in international relations that could open access to an even larger market;
4. standing out from competitors.

How to benefit: consider the nuances of communication

If you have chosen the challenging yet potentially more rewarding path of engaging with the Russian-speaking audience worldwide, it is crucial to consider the nuances of communication with this diverse group. To truly benefit, understanding and addressing these nuances can make a significant difference in how your message is received.

No matter the nature of your product—be it desktop software, an industrial application, a web app, a website, a landing page, or any online content targeting a specific audience with commercial intent—localization is essential. Effective localization ensures that the benefits of your products or services are communicated clearly and that they are convenient to use. Ideally, you want your content to be culturally relevant and resonate with your target audience.

If the primary goal is merely to make content understandable or to ensure that a product functions correctly in a new market, localization may suffice. This approach is typically adequate for internal documents, legal papers, user manuals, or certain types of software, such as internal tools, where online discoverability via search engines is not a concern.

However, for any content or product intended to be discovered online, excluding Search Engine Optimization (SEO) from the localization process could significantly undermine its effectiveness. Without SEO, even well-localized content might not reach the intended audience, reducing its impact and ROI, as search engines drive your translated and localized web content down the rankings toward page 100 obscurity.

You may wonder how SEO relates to communicating with your target audience. The connection is direct. For instance, by implementing an SEO strategy for the Russian language, you can analyze and predict the search intent of your audience. This allows you to use primary, secondary, and long-tail keywords on your web pages that your audience is most likely to use in their native language when searching for relevant content, products, or services. In this way, SEO serves as a form of inbound communication, helping potential customers find you online.

Localization and SEO: a vital duo for global engagement

Of course, you already know this if you have built your own website or landing page. When you create a website in your native language, such as English, the work does not stop there. It must be optimized for SEO; otherwise, it will struggle to be found in search engines. Thus, you begin the process of optimization, which involves several key steps. It is important to note that there are many nuances to each step that are beyond the scope of this article. The purpose here is to provide a general overview of the process:

1. Keyword research: Conduct keyword research to identify target keywords that real people use when searching for information;
2. Competitor analysis: Perform competitor analysis to examine websites of similar businesses for keyword ideas, content gaps, and backlink strategies;
3. On-page optimization:
• Craft unique, compelling meta titles and meta descriptions for each page, targeting primary keywords;
• Ensure each page has a unique H1 tag with primary keywords;
• Organize subheadings with H2-H6 tags, using secondary keywords naturally;
• Ensure each page has comprehensive, original, and keyword-rich content;
• Use keywords naturally to avoid keyword stuffing;
• Use descriptive alt text with relevant keywords;
• Link to other relevant pages or services within your site.
4. Technical SEO:

a) Page speed optimization:

• Minimize CSS and JavaScript files;
• Enable browser caching;
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN).

b) Mobile optimization:

• Ensure your site is mobile-friendly by using Google's Mobile-Friendly Test;

c) Structured data markup:

• Implement structured data for services, reviews, and blog posts using Schema.org;

d) Sitemap and Robots.txt:

• Create and submit a sitemap to Google Search Console;
• Ensure robots.txt allows crawling of important pages.
5. Analytics and monitoring setup:
• Set up Google Analytics to track user behavior;
• Monitor site performance and indexing issues via Google Search Console;
6. Off-page SEO:
• Backlink Building: Create shareable content such as blogs and infographics;
• Reach out to relevant blogs for guest posting opportunities;
• Submit your website to relevant business directories.
7. Local SEO:
• Google My Business: Claim and optimize your Google My Business listing. Add accurate NAP (Name, Address, Phone) details and specify your service area;
• Local citations: Ensure consistency in NAP across local directories.

Similar to how you optimize web pages in your native language, it is recommended that you apply the same SEO principles to your localized content. This ensures that your content is discoverable online when users search with keywords in their native language. However, it is important to conduct keyword research using the target language.

Simply localizing your website, web apps, and landing pages into Russian without comprehensive SEO efforts is unlikely to improve your website traffic or attract a new audience. To achieve significant online visibility, it is essential to conduct keyword research and implement other critical optimizations, such as meta tags, structured data, and semantic consistency in Russian.

By leveraging SEO, you can target more clients, provide a better user experience, build credibility and reputation, and significantly increase website traffic and conversions. Importantly, as an organic channel, SEO—while not always inexpensive—is significantly cheaper over time compared to paid strategies.

Russian localization alone can meet basic functional and communicative needs, but for digital content aimed at public or commercial audiences, integrating SEO is crucial to fully leverage the advantages of localization. SEO maximizes the benefits of localization by ensuring that the content is both discoverable and relevant to the local audience, thereby reinforcing the purpose of localization.

Thus, if and when you decide to tap into the 114 million Russian-speaking customer base to drive your global sales growth, it is wise to adopt a holistic approach. This approach should be based on nuanced and thoughtful communication through translation, localization, and SEO.