Website translation is a huge feat that can sometimes seem daunting from the start, especially if your aim is to translate numerous languages with strict deadlines and achieve effective international SEO throughout all domains.

Welcome Pickups, is a provider of personalized transfer services and tailor-made experiences in 99 destinations worldwide. They also work with an international network of established partners, such as Aegean, Crowne Plaza, and Novotel. With the aim to further scale and drive bookings upwards, their Digital Marketing Manager, Nadia Anagnostopoulou, made the decision to switch from a manual translation process to a more automated, connected, and collaborative one when starting to use Smartcat. They also went back to the drawing board to strategize a new localization plan. With that, they hoped to cut down time to market, improve productivity, and save costs.

Nadia Anagnostopoulou has managed localization for the Welcome Pickups site since 2020, which, at the time, was partially translated into 12 different languages. The goal was to translate all their existing SEO content into four languages, those being French, German, Italian, and Spanish by the end of 2022 as a means to help increase organic traffic – one of the brand’s main drivers – in these key markets.

Prior to 2020, much of the processes used by the company had been manual, which, according to Nadia, caused some confusion, avoidable errors, and potential security issues. The team needed better cross-team collaboration to make the project more manageable and cost-effective.

The company took time to strategize before launching the translation process. Here’s how they did it:

1. Prioritized what website content needs translation immediately.

2. Determined translation priorities based on market sizes.

3. Measured success based on an increase in bookings from the localized pages.

4. Hired and trained two localization specialists per language to oversee the project.

5. Chose a translation tool that combines website and UI translation.

6. Built a glossary and translation memory to streamline future translations.

There were two key challenges: Welcome Pickups uses WordPress plugins and also updates its site content regularly. Therefore, they needed a tool that could accommodate both, which led them to find Smartcat, which offers many integration options, going even above and beyond WordPress.

During the third month of the project, the COVID-19 pandemic started. For a travel company, that meant budget cuts delayed the project until early 2022.

However, now that they have fully kicked off the Smartcat workflow, the company has seen their translation process cut in half, saving the company circa $32,000 in Q1, Q2, and Q3 2022 alone.

"This means that from the moment the English content is published to the moment the localized version is published, that happens in half the time than it did before," Nadia explained.

Additionally, the company's bookings coming from the localized landing pages increased 66% from pre-pandemic levels, creating a 2% increase in overall revenue. In 2023, the company will start translating into its Tier 2 languages using Smartcat.

Localizing a website is key to building your audience and growing your business. In order to “set the stage” for a multilingual audience, companies need to connect a dependable, agile, and adaptable CMS and a reliable and centralized Translation Platform. It also requires easy onboarding for staff members, continuous workflows, and integrations with many automation possibilities. With Smartcat Language Delivery Platform, it's never been easier to automate, centralize, and streamline processes. As such, Welcome Pickups was empowered with our technology and scope of services to fulfill its strategy and surpass its goals.

Join Welcome Pickups in their growth success!