Germany is known for many things, but for many it’s their fun-filled beer festivals that stick uppermost in our minds. One of the most prosperous Western European countries, Germany is bordered by Switzerland and Austria to the south, Denmark to the North, Poland to the East and France, Belgium and Holland to the West. Germany itself has one of the larger populations in Europe – in excess of 83 million – making it vitally important that you translate English to German to reach those potential customers.
German is the country’s primary language, although English is generally widely spoken too. But German’s also the official language of six other countries in central and western Europe, like Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg. With this in mind, it’s a great idea to translate your site from English to German in order to reach a market as wide as possible. Stick with us and keep reading to find out why it’s so important and how Topcontent can help you!
The Online and E-Commerce market of Germany
Before we delve further into why translating your site from English to German is a necessity, here are some important facts about this central Western country:
- Capital: Berlin
- Official languages: German
- Population: 83,019,200
- Area: 357,386 km2
- Currency: Euro
- Date format: dd/mm/yy
- GDP (PPP) per capita: $53,566
- Weather: Four seasons with warm summers and mild to cold winters depending on location within the country
- Culture and interests: Traditionally Germany is the land of poets and thinkers and played a major role in writing and philosophical pursuits. There is a lighter side with beer festivals such as Oktoberfest taking centre stage.
As you can see from the above information, Germany has a pretty high GDP per capita, which is combined with a large population covering a sizeable land area. The population is generally concentrated in a number of large cities, spaced throughout the country. As with other countries, the distances do mean that people have turned to online shopping as an important source of purchasing, which makes it very important to translate English to German if you intend to utilise this market effectively.
Why you should translate from English to German
German’s the official language of six different European countries. If you intend to reach out to this market as a whole, it’s fundamental that you use Topcontent’s translate English to German service and have your website content translated.
Visibility in local organic searches
When it comes to the online community, Google is all about keeping its users satisfied. The aim of Google is to show users what they think they wish to see and search for. Results in a native language will show up much higher on the list when looking locally. So, if you want to feature high up for the local search engine in Germany, you will need to have web content in German. To test this, all you need to do is type in a product/keyword in your local Google search and try to find a search result in German. You’ll have a hard time finding one, because you’re invisible to the German-language market.
Increase traffic using German keywords
Following on from the previous point, if you want to get found, you need to use German keywords. German users will likely be searching online using German keywords, not English ones. If you translate your website from English to German you are much more likely to see your page rise higher in the rank of German searches. By doing so, you’ll stop being invisible to those millions of German-speaking users that right now don’t access your content. Therefore, by using German keywords you’ll not only boost the traffic of German users on your website, but will also broaden your business to a whole new market.
Get an increase in natural German links
When it comes to online markets, getting natural links is one of the most important aspects of SEO. That’s because if you want to rank high, you need local links. However, you’re not going to get these local links if your content is not in the local language. If you want to increase the likelihood of getting better German links, then you will need to translate your site from English into German. As you will understand, German webmasters are much more likely to link to German content rather than to sites in English. By translating, you will improve your rankings and drive more traffic to your site.
With trust comes increased conversion
As you will no doubt know, getting traffic to your site is just the first step in the process of becoming successful online. The next part is to convert the traffic into paying customers – a vitally important step on the road to continued success. By translating your site from English to German you will be able to increase this conversion rate. In line with this, trust is an important factor when new customers are checking out a site and deciding whether to purchase something or not. A site that is selling in German will be much more appealing to a German buyer. It will encourage them to purchase from you, increasing conversion rates.
Improve ROI on your German ad campaigns
Website success is not just about getting organic traffic. It’s also important to have really good ad campaigns that can help drive customers, although most of you probably already have these in place. Translating your site from English to German will help to improve the conversion rates of your ads and subsequently improve your return on investment, or ROI, on any advertisements that you have placed. What this will mean is that you will then get more money back from these advertising investments. This, once again demonstrates the importance of using the local language of your target customers, in this case, German.
Improved Adwords quality score reduces ad costs
It’s all about Google when you do anything online and, with businesses, the Google AdWords auction system is incredibly important. This system takes a look at your AdWords quality score and makes the decision about how much you should pay for the ad to be shown. If you are able to improve your quality score then, in the long term, you will pay much less. In this situation, the bounce rate is an important factor for the quality score as the rate goes down when you translate your site from English to German. So make sure you keep this in mind when preparing your marketing plan.
16% of Germans have proficient English
We touched upon the fact that Germans often speak a second language. In fact the number of Germans speaking a second language is a whopping 78%, but is it English? Well, it turns out that 16% can speak English at a proficient level, 34% admit to good English, while a large 50% say their English is only fair. With this in mind, it’s quite clear to all that your original English website is not going to be understood, or seen, by a large proportion of the German market. This is why it is so important to translate your site from English to German and reach them all.
Reach a wider audience
Starting a business is always hard and takes a lot of time and effort to do successfully. There are so many aspects to think about such as the products to sell, accounting, software, suppliers, employees, creating websites, marketing and so much more. You then need to be able to combine this into one cohesive product if you are aiming for success. If you translate your site from English to German you will then get a better return on the efforts you have made so far. By doing so, you will reach a wider audience simply by ordering translations through Topcontent. You’ll be selling more by using what you have already.
How a translation from English to German is done
We’ve given you all the benefits of translating your website into German. It’s easy to get it done. we have a simple process for translating English to German.
Step 1: Prepare source text
The first element for translating English to German is preparing the original file of English text. If you have the text in a single document, you can just send it to us. If the text is on a website, you will need to export it or connect your website to our system using one of our easy-to-use integration tools. We can offer these tools for nearly very occasion.
Integration methods
There are three different ways for you to connect your website to our translation system.
- WPML which requires WordPress
- Polylang through our WordPress Plugin
- Connecting via API
For those of you without a WordPress-based website or the skills to connect via API, we can actually help you successfully export your text. Please contact us to get help connecting your site or exporting your documents to us so that everything works smoothly.
Step 2: Translators perform Phase 1
Once we have received the English text we will then put it into our web-based translation service. Here the content will be seen by all of our German translators. At this time we have a large pool of native German speaking translators. They will begin the process of translating your English content into German, all at an expert level and with high quality and speed.
Step 3: Proofreading and Quality Checking in Phases 2 and 3
As the translations are completed, they are sent to a separate pool of native German speakers for phase 2 – the proofreading phase. In some cases the text will go through a third pool of translators during the next level which is called the quality check phase. Overall, this process ensures everything is translated perfectly. If any mistakes are found, then the text will be sent back to the previous phase for correction.
Step 4: Text delivery
Once both proofreaders and quality checkers have completed their work, the translated text is then sent on to you. If you are using our integrated tools system, then you will be sent the work continuously as each task is completed. For those sending in a file, you’ll receive the translated text in the same file format you sent to us, just in German! You can always give feedback so we can improve.
How much does it cost to translate from English to German?
The price of English to German translation is calculated on the basis of the number of words you wish to be translated. You will be charged a fixed price per word. This is standard practice for translations between western languages that are both using Latin characters, which both English and German do. However, please note that the final price will also be dependent on any additional factors that you may wish to add and can include things like:
- Complexity of topic
- Number of words (discounts are given for high volumes)
- Project urgency
For instance, you will need to pay a higher price if you are requesting a very tight turnaround for your text. If the topic is also more complex or specialised, requiring extra knowledge, then you will also be charged more. There is a discount for large orders, i.e orders that have more than 100,000 words.
Example of a translation cost from English to German
To clarify how much it would cost to translate English to German, we have set up some examples of how much both a small and a large translation order would come to. This is given with an example of the cost per word for these translations. This example gives an indication of how much it would cost for an English to German translation with a general deadline, and of a standard quality. It does not include any of the features that would increase the price.
| Quality: Standard Quality | Quality: Standard Quality | |
| Deadline: No urgency, 1-2 weeks | Deadline: No urgency, 1-2 weeks | |
| Amount of words: 1250 | Amount of words: 25 000 | |
| Price per word: 0.08 euros | Price per word: 0.08 euros | |
| Calculation: 1250 * 0.10 = 100 euros | Calculation: 25 000 * 0.10 = 2000 euros |
How do you count words in German?
All translation orders are priced using the word count of the original English source text, not the completed translation into German. The word count includes everything in the document you have sent to be translated:
- Headings
- Tables
- Quotes
- Lists
- Citations
We are also able to translate HTML and programming code. However, neither of these will be added to the cost of the translation as these will not be counted as words since the code itself should not be translated. A single word is counted as a set of characters, symbols or numbers that are separated by a space within the original text. Prior to sending any translation project through our system to our native German translators, we take an exact word count of the document. The document can be sent in whichever format you prefer i.e. xlsx or doc, with the price calculated from the original English word count. In this manner you will always be informed of the word count and cost prior to the project beginning.
Formal differences between English and German
Though English stems from German and the two languages share a lot of roots, there are still major differences between the two. In fact, there are some very different grammar rules, making these two languages rather different from each other. We have listed a few examples for you:
- In German nouns have genders, English nouns don’t
- German has three genders
- German articles change based on case
- The language has no silent letters when writing, unlike English which does
- German has some seriously long words!
- Not all similar words between the two languages have the same meaning
Why you should use a native to translate English to German
There are many bilingual German speakers out there, and there are also a lot of English speakers who know some German. But when translating English to German it’s still important to choose a native German translator. This is because the quality of the translation will always be better, as the translator will be great in their own language, which in this case is also the target language. Through our step-by-step 3 phase process, we make sure that all translations from English to German are done by translators that are native German speakers to ensure that you’re offered nothing but the very best translation work.
Common mistakes translating from English to German
One of the biggest mistakes with any translation, and this goes for English to German too, is that often these translations are done as direct translations following the original word order. Both English and German have very fixed word orders and sentence structures, they just happen to be very different from each other. For instance, in English the verb comes near the start of the sentence, but in German, it’s at the end. With a translation too direct, the result does not sound natural. This type of mistake is commonly made by new translators. It’s something we avoid by only using professional native speakers who can make the text flow.
How length of text differs between English and German
The number of words in the output of an English to German translation can vary a lot. In some cases, the German text will have fewer actual words than the English version due to the German habit of combining words into one long one. However, this does not necessarily mean that the overall text is shorter – it might still take up the same amount of space on your website, it’s just that there are fewer words doing so. Bizarrely, while these crazy long German words have combined words from other languages, they often tend to be more brief, so much so that English has actually borrowed a few for themselves too!
| English – 24 words | German – 27 words |
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Most common terms translated from English to German
We’ve given you a lot of info about translating English to German. You should also have learned why you should have your website translated by a native German freelance translator at Topcontent. To get you started on your translation, we have listed a few common English terms used in online businesses and coupled them with their German translation.
| EN | DE | EN | DE |
| About us | Über uns | Online casino | Online-Casino |
| Add to cart | Zum Warenkorb hinzufügen | Privacy policy | Datenschutzerklärung |
| Book now | Jetzt buchen | Read more | Mehr lesen |
| Campaigns | Kampagnen | Register | Registrieren |
| Contact us | Uns kontaktieren | Sale | Angebot |
| Customer service | Kundendienst | Create an account | Ein Konto erstellen |
| Free spin | Freispiel | Slot games | Slotspiele |
| Homepage | Homepage | Table game | Tischspiele |
| Limited time only! | Nur begrenzte Zeit verfügbar! | Terms and conditions | Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen |
| Live casino | Live-Casino | Unsubscribe | Konto löschen |
Calculating ROI on English to German translations
When you finally make that business decision to translate your website from English to German, you should do so only when it’s financially viable. As we have outlined with the many reasons above, translating has numerous benefits. What’s more getting an ROI for translating from English to German is simple. If you would like help calculating the exact ROI for your business, then we can help you. Contact us now for help in calculating your ROI.
Translate English to German with Topcontent
When you translate English to German on your site, you can increase your traffic, grow your business and even get ahead of your competitors. Translating your site gives any visitors you might have a much better experience, increases trust and also builds on your conversions rates, pushing them ever higher. With such a large population in Germany and many more German speaking potential customers, it would be a shame to miss out on utilising this large market.
Once you decide you’d like to translate your site from English to German, you should think of Topcontent as your partner. We’re adept at the business side of the process, the importance of ROI, not to mention offering expert translators. Our skilled native translators coupled with the smooth, step-by-step, working process, clear pricing and high quality English to German translations, means you can get started instantly on reaching the German market. Contact us today and get a quote for our translation services.