With this week’s trade figures showing a huge UK trade deficit, new independent research highlights the spectacular failure of British businesses to make their websites accessible to overseas markets.
Independent research conducted by Common Sense Advisory has provided further evidence of UK companies’ insularity, with just two – last.fm and bp.com – making the list of the 100 best websites for global and multilingual visitors.
The in-depth research gave websites a ‘Global Web Score’ determined by a huge range of factors including the site’s ‘organisation, metanavigation paradigms and localization depth’ amongst many others. The list was topped by internet giants Google, Facebook and YouTube.
From the UK, only music website last.fm and energy behemoth BP made the top 100, ranking 92nd and 93rd in the list respectively.
The findings make uncomfortable reading for UK firms, given that English-only websites fail to reach even 25 percent of the world’s internet users. According to the Common Sense Advisory, websites need to be translated into 11 languages to reach 80 percent of the world’s population.
Next week’s UK ONS trade figures – due for publication on Tuesday 12 April – are likely to show a growing UK trade deficit. With this in mind, the Common Sense Advisory’s findings have led some business leaders to question why British businesses are failing to open their websites to global audiences.
“I knew the UK was falling behind in the international race to dominate the Foreign Language Internet,” says Christian Arno, MD of translation and localisation company Lingo24. “But I didn’t think things were as bad as this. It’s a national disgrace that we’re not competing internationally online. UK businesses need to wake up and start communicating across the language barrier. In the internet age, business websites simply must be multilingual.
“The government is constantly urging businesses to export and trade internationally – it’s considered key to our economic recovery. However, most UK businesses are failing to open their websites to international markets by taking the simple first step of having them translated.
“For businesses large and small, translating websites is very simple and very cost-effective – businesses can dip their toes in the water for less than £200. It’s also easier to top search engine rankings in overseas versions of Google, so it has big search marketing benefits too.
“Common Sense Advisory’s findings are a shocking indictment of UK businesses’ insularity. It will hopefully serve as a wake-up call. If the economy is going to get back on track and start competing with big exporting nations like Germany, British businesses need to start opening themselves to overseas markets and making the most of the Foreign Language Internet. The most simple and cost-effective way to begin this process is by translating your website.”
Top Ten Global Websites
1. google.com
2. facebook.com
3. youtube.com
4. wikipedia.com
5. mozilla.com
6. blogger.com
7. imagebam.com
8. samsung.com
9. blackberry.com
10. booking.com
Sources:
www.lingo24.com/
http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com/