Do you check your stats?
OK, stop laughing. I couldn't even type that with a straight face.
Here's what I'm getting at. When you look at your statistics, notice where your traffic comes from.
All over, right?
If you're like me, most of your traffic is coming from Europe and North America. But a lot of traffic is coming from the rest of the world as well.
I was over at Kumowai's blog the other day and read an article she posted about the free Google Translator Widget that you'll notice I have added to my sidebar.
I was going to share this tool with you but when I started doing my research for this post I came across an interesting fact. Were you aware that, according to Internet World Statistics dot com only 31.2% of the world's internet users speak English. This means over 2/3 of internet users can't read this blog.
I found those numbers surprising. I guess I just never thought about it.
Think how many more readers you could open yourself up to with the simple addition of a translator widget. Think of it as a service you would be doing. You know, sharing your prime content with the other two thirds of the world.
I know a lot of you guys have already taken this step and, quite frankly, I feel a little bit guilty for coming to this realization so late along.
In this connected world we live in, a translator should probably be standard equipment for a website, shouldn't it?
If you enjoyed your read, grab my feed!
12 comments:
nice call with the translator. i added one to my blog as well and will test it out. ill let you know what i find out. have you seen a rise in your traffic from the different regions that speak those languages as a result of it? cheers
Griffin - Thanks for stopping in!
Honestly, I just added it before I wrote the article.
I'd love to hear how yours works out. We'll be learning together :)
Sounds like a good idea in some cases, but I think the majority of people would likely not benefit from this addition. People tend to write for people similar to them. An example of this is my current giveaway that really would not be of much use to someone outside of the USA.
Adtracker,
Great post! and thanks for helping me once again! I used to have this on my last theme. I lost it on my latest theme change. I thought that Alex just added the code into the theme. Now I have it again! Many thanks for all your help! starting with the great review of my site!!!!
@ Nick - You may be right but I'm willing to give up a little space to accomodate 2/3 of the world.
Besides, I think it would be an extreme act of selfishness to keep this awesome content only for English speakers ;)
@ Joe - Oh, Joe. You're always so nice.
See you on the radio Thursday night :)
If it was a widely seen blog, I'd hire a freelancer to cheaply translate any prominent posts and link to them from the English post. You could pick up quite a few more readers that way.
My dear adsensetracker,
I did a post about online translators on my blog the other day. You might want to check it out.
http://eurekos.blogspot.com/2007/08/online-translations-are-hilarious.html
It's a good idea, but online translators generally suck big time. Sorry :(
-Rudi
@ Todd - One day, one day!
Thanks for dropping in!
@ Rudi - Yeah, I know. I've seen a lot of posts that look like they may have been written in a native language and run through a translator into English.
Sometimes it gets pretty bad but It is better than nothing.
I really like this translation tool! I like that you can choose whether to use large or small flags, or No flags at all. Great post!
Telling - Me too!
The flags kind of give the place an international flair don't you think?
i want to add a translator to my blog i've just been too lazy. great post!
Shaun - I looked and looked for one that would translate into Canadian ehh!
I emailed Google and no one there even knew what I was talking aboot!
Hard to believe, ehh?
Bunch'a hosers!
I just want to thank you for suffering through and remaining a loyal reader even though you have to self translate it ;)
Post a Comment