If your business operates globally, having a multilingual site becomes a necessity.
There is a strong link between the content language and the likelihood of purchase.
Precisely, as many as 72.4% of shoppers prefer buying from websites that provide information in their local language.
Therefore, one thing is to have translated content in different languages. But what about the search?
Is it possible to provide a smooth multilingual site search experience?
Why does multilingual site search matter?
Multilingual site search enables shoppers to find relevant and accurate products regardless of the language the user typed in the search query.
For example, if your website has English and French versions, you want your site search to return results that match the language of the user’s query and not mix up results from different languages.
Therefore, multilingual site search matters for several reasons:
It improves user experience and satisfaction, as the users can easily find products in their local language.
It increases engagement and conversion rates, as users are more likely to stay longer, browse more pages, and take action on your site if they can access the content they perfectly understand.
It builds trust and loyalty with your brand since you speak the same language the user does.
And yet, if multilingual site search is so beneficial, why not everyone has it?
Challenges associated with multilingual site search
Integrating and maintaining a multilingual site search is easier said than done. There are many areas things can go wrong.
For instance, it might be tricky to detect the language of the user’s query and return results in the same language, especially if the query is ambiguous, contains words from multiple languages, or uses slang or dialects.
Also, some linguistic nuances complicate the processes. For example, the word “color” can be spelled as “colour” in British English or “couleur” in French.
The effective site search has to recognize these variations and return relevant results for each one.
So, is it possible to make a multilingual site search smooth?
Smooth multilingual site search: The best practices
The good news is that it is possible to offer a smooth multilingual site search experience. All you need is an ecommerce search tool that supports multiple languages (like LupaSearch).
A multilingual ecommerce search tool can detect the language of the query and return relevant results, regardless of the language of the website content.
This can be achieved through language detection algorithms that can recognize the language of the query based on various linguistic features such as word morphology and syntax.
Specifically, LupaSearch allows you to specify where to run the search - product title only, descriptions, or categories.
Case Study - a global multilingual apparel brand
In the case of one of LupaSearch’s global clients, they needed a solution that could seamlessly support English, Lithuanian, and Russian languages.
To make this happen, we programmed to run a search only on product categories (described in product fields) in different languages.
If the search could not find the exact word or its direct translation in the product field, we have added search synonyms for frequently used phrases.
Now, whenever a user searches for ‘šortai’ (shorts in Lithuanian), the search returns all shorts.
Make the most out of site search, regardless of the language
If you are an ecommerce brand, make the most out of site search, even if (and especially if) your users speak a different language.
Disregarding demographical differences between users and failing to meet non-English-speaking shoppers’ needs can drastically impact your sales potential. And not for good.
Introduce a multilingual site search, improve user satisfaction, and raise income. Contact LupaSearch and schedule a free demo now.