Germany is commonly known for its exuberant beer festivals, sausages and different bread from each region. It’s not just food where the country excels, it is also known for its cars and castles too. Located in central-western Europe, Germany shares a number of borders with a diverse range of countries including France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland. With a population of 83 million, the country is full of potential customers, making it important to translate Swedish to German for any website.
While a large portion of the German population does speak a second language, that second language is rarely Swedish. What’s more, German is not just spoken in the home country, but in several other countries around the world adding several million more potential customers globally. This makes it very important to translate a site to German if you want to reach the German market. Keep reading and find out why you should partner with Topcontent for your translation needs.
The Online and E-Commerce market of Germany
Prior to continuing on to the importance of translating Swedish to German, let’s have a quick rundown of some important information you need to know about Germany:
- Capital: Berlin
- Official languages: German
- Population: 83 million
- Area: 357, 386 km2
- Currency: Euro
- Date format: dd/mm/yyyy
- GDP (PPP) per capita: $53,566
- Weather: Four distinct seasons with a colder winter and warmer summers. Autumn and spring seasons can vary but tend to be mild.
- Culture and interests: A huge interest in food specifically beer, bread and sausages. The country also takes a keen interest in technology and has developed a number of globally renowned car brands.
As we take a look at the data above, we can see there are some important things that stand out. Germany has a large population, with a GDP per capita that puts the country 18th in the world ranking. Given the large land area, distances between population centres and the love of technology, more and more Germans are making the move to online shopping. This makes it all the more important to translate Swedish to German on your business site.
Why you should translate from Swedish to German
Although Germans often do speak other languages, it is not often Swedish. This means it’s important to translate Swedish to German if you want to reach this new market. The top reasons are, as always, traffic and conversion.
Visibility in local organic searches
When it comes to operating an online website, it’s Google that really needs to be kept happy. In catering to its online users, Google always tries to show them what it thinks they are searching for. This means results from the local area, in the local language, will always appear high up in the rankings. So, if you plan on being visible to Google.de, you’ll need to have German keywords in your text and SEO content. You can test this out by typing something in to Google.se and seeing if anything in German pops up – fun fact – it won’t. So if German sites are invisible in Sweden, your Swedish site is invisible in Germany.
German keywords can create traffic
German speakers who use the internet are inevitably going to use German keywords when searching for products or sites using Google. If you translate your site from Swedish to German, you’re more likely to get ranked in the search engines from Germany as well. Keeping your site in Swedish will mean that the millions of potential German customers will not even know you exist, as they will only be using keywords in German rather than in Swedish. To become visible to them you will need to translate your site into German, thus increasing your visibility and therefore raising traffic from the, previously untapped, German audience.
Increase your German natural links
If you need to get noticed, you need great SEO. And what makes good SEO is having natural links to your site. If you want to get a high Google rank in the local area then you need to get local links to your site. However, you’ll only get top quality links if your site is in the local language, in this case German. Top webmasters in Germany are unlikely to link to sites in Swedish when they could link to one in German. By translating from Swedish to German, you’ll improve your chances of having German links made, thus increasing both rank and traffic.
Increase trust for improved conversion
Of course, as you will know, getting traffic to your site is just step number one. The next step is harder – keeping your clients. By translating your site from Swedish to German, you can encourage potential paying clients to actually visit your site and make a purchase. In this manner your conversion rate will rise as clients are more likely to trust you. Trust is hugely important when a customer decides whether to make a purchase or not. So, having German text on your site can go a long way to making your visitor trust your site. The result is that you’ll get higher conversion rates from Germany.
Improve your ROI for German ads
You don’t just need to get organic traffic for success in online businesses, you can generate some traffic by yourself through carefully planned ad campaigns. You probably already have successful and thoughtfully planned ad campaigns, but are they in German? By translating your site from Swedish to German you will be able to improve your conversion rates and, in so doing, your ROI or Return on Investment from your advertising, will also improve. Because of this, you will also get more money back from the money you spent on creating and distributing the advertisement in the first place, making all of this very worthwhile.
A better Adwords Quality Score reduces costs
In recent years, Google has created the Google Adwords auction system, which influences the way that websites are ranked. This system checks out all of the Adwords you are using and then determines how much you should be paying when your ad is put on display. If you have good quality Adwords and, therefore, a high Adword Quality Score, you will actually pay less for your ads over the long run. This is because bounce rate is factored into your quality score. Bounce rate decreases significantly if you translate your site from Swedish to German and, as such, will see you, once again, rank higher
Germans tend not to speak Swedish
Germans are often adept at learning other languages. A large portion of them speak English for example. However, learning and understanding Swedish does not seem to be one of the top second languages. Despite this, there are a lot of similarities between these two languages such that, with a bit of patience, Germans could read and understand a Swedish website. But we don’t want people to be frustrated when they come to a site as they are unlikely to spend a long time there if they can’t quickly understand it. Because of this, we once more recommend that you translate your Swedish site to German for better ease of use.
Reach a wider market
As you will no doubt know, setting up an online business is a hard, time-consuming process.You need to get products for selling, suppliers, bank accounts, software, websites, marketing and, of course, a way to tie this all together in a cohesive and successful package. Following on from this, translating your site from Swedish to German does mean you will get bigger and better returns on the efforts you have made. You can reach a greater online customer base and market simply by getting your translations from Topcontent. Essentially, all you need to do is use the features you already have in place in order to sell more.
How a translation from Swedish to German is done
Now that you’ve seen the benefits of translating your business website into German, it’s time to have a look at the process we use to do that translation.
Step 1: Prepare source text
Before we can move ahead with any translation, we need the source text to be correctly prepared. Your Swedish text can be saved in a separate document and sent directly to us. If the source text is on your website, you can choose to export it into a document file or connect your site to our system using one of the integration tools we have available for this eventuality.
Integration methods available
We offer three separate ways that you can connect your website to our services
- WPML
- Polylang
- API
These do require WordPress. If you don’t have WordPress or API skills, then we can help you export the text that you want translated. Please contact us to get aid in exporting or connecting your site to our software to ensure content is transferred correctly.
Step 2: Translators perform phase 1
Once the complete Swedish source text has been delivered to us, we then upload it into our web-based translation system. Here we have a large pool of native German speakers who are all proficient in translation and who are ready and waiting to get started on your translation project. At this point they will then begin the process of translating your Swedish document into German.
Step 3: Proofreading and Quality Checking
As each translation is completed, we then move the text on to the next phase – a separate pool of German translators who will then proofread the text. In some instance we use a third level of translators who perform an extra quality check. If there are any mistakes found, the work is sent back to the translator along with detailed feedback. This method is perfect for ensuring excellent quality translations.
Step 4: Delivery of translated text
Once the text has gone through all the different phases and the final proofreaders have okayed the text, the translated work is then sent to you. If you are using our integration system, the translations will arrive on a continuous basis, as and when they are completed. If you sent a file, the translation will be sent to you in the same file format, just in German rather than Swedish.
How much does it cost to translate from Swedish to German?
The cost of translating text from Swedish to German is based on the number of words you wish to have translated. This means that you are charged a fixed price per word. This is usually standard practice when translating between two western languages that both use the Latin character set, which is true for both Swedish and German. The final price per word can very though, depending on different factors which can include such things as:
- The difficulty of the topic
- The number of words (discounts are available for high word volumes)
- Project urgency
- Standard versus Business quality
For instance, you may need to pay a higher price per word if your request is urgent with a very short turnaround period required. Similarly, if the topic is a more specialised one, requiring more research, the price per word might also be increased Finally though, there’s a chance for discounts on high word volumes of 100,000 words or more.
Example of a translation cost from Swedish to German
In order to make it very simple for you to see the final cost, here is a breakdown of how much a translation from Swedish to German would actually cost. We have given some simple examples as to how much a large or small translation request would cost per word. As you can see, this example only shows how much your order would cost when requested at standard quality with a normal deadline. It’s only based on the number of words, the more text you submit, the higher the cost.
Quality: Standard Quality | Quality: Standard Quality | |
Deadline: No urgency, 1-2 weeks | Deadline: No urgency, 1-2 weeks | |
Amount of words: 1200 | Amount of words: 28 000 | |
Price per word: 0.13 euros | Price per word: 0.13 euros | |
Calculation: 1200 * 0.13 = 156 euros | Calculation: 28 000 * 0.13 = 3640 euros |
How do you count words in Swedish?
The cost of every translation order is based on the word count of the original document, which in this case will be in Swedish. The word count will include everything in the text that needs translating. This includes:
- Headings
- Tables
- Quotes
- Lists
- Citations and so on
It’s also possible for us to translate HTML documents and code, but these will not count towards the word count as they will be left as is. When it comes to the deciding what constitutes a word, we define a word as the set of characters, symbols or numbers that are separated from one another by a space in the document. Prior to sending a translation project on to our German native translators, we make sure that the exact word count of the original document is calculated. You can provide us with the document in your preferred format e.g. .doc or .xslx. Price is always calculated based on the word count of the original language. Here it will be Swedish. So, you’ll know the final cost before the project begins.
Formal differences between Swedish and German
Although they have some similar roots, it is a mistake to assume that German and Swedish are entirely similar. Often it seems that both can read the other language, but this does not mean it’s easy for everyone. Here are some common grammatical differences between the two:
- Swedish grammar is more simple when compared to German grammar
- Germans use three genders (male, female and neuter), whereas Swedish has one
Why you should use a native to translate Swedish to German
While there are a lot of bilingual Germans, and many find that there is an overlap in understanding between German and Swedish, it is still important to hire a native German speaker to translate Swedish to German. This is because the quality of the text will always be greater when you use a native speaker for the final text. During our translation process, we always make sure that our Swedish to German translations are done by a translator who is a native German speaker and in this way we ensure that you always have nothing but the very best translation work from us at Topcontent.
Common mistakes translating from Swedish to German
One of the most common translation errors made when translating Swedish to German is that these translations are too direct, particularly when it comes to word order and grammar. Whilst there is a similar vocabulary between the two languages, the grammar is entirely different. Swedish is much more similar to English in format. Too direct translations to German sound unnatural and do not read in a native manner. Non-professional translators tend to keep the same word order found in the Swedish original unlike a professional who will ensure that the order is changed to the standard German grammar format. This will keep the text sounding more natural.
How length of text differs between Swedish and German
When it comes to final translation output, you will often find that there is some variation in the number of words that comes out at the other end. What tends to happen is that while the amount of overall text might be longer in the German translation when compared to the original Swedish, the number of words is actually less. This is because German tends to combine words to create new, mega words. So, while there are often fewer words after a Swedish to German translation, the text itself may still take up the same amount of space (or more) as the original Swedish text did.
Swedish – 24 words | German – 27 words |
Casinot erbjuder 1000+ olika spel och tillhandahåller dessutom Sveriges största utbud av casinospel för mobilen, vilket gör det ännu enklare att spela ditt favoritspel. | Das Casino bietet mehr als 1000 verschiedene Spiele, inklusive einer großen Auswahl an Spielen, die mobil gespielt werden können. Die Lieblingsspiele sind so noch einfacher zu finden. |
Most common terms translated from Swedish to German
We have now given you a lot of information about translating Swedish to German. You’ve also learned why you should use a native German speaking freelance translator from Topcontent to do the translation. But to get you started, here are some of the most commonly seen Swedish terms that are frequently used in online businesses along with their German translation:
SV | DE | SV | DE |
Om oss | Über uns | Online casino | Online-Casino |
Lägg till | Zum Warenkorb hinzufügen | Integritetspolicy | Datenschutzerklärung |
Boka nu | Jetzt buchen | Läs mer | Mehr lesen |
Kampanjer | Kampagnen | Registrera dig | Registrieren |
Kontakta oss | Uns kontaktieren | Erbjudande | Angebot |
Kundservice | Kundendienst | Skaffa konto | Ein Konto erstellen |
Free Spin | Freispiel | Spelautomater | Slotspiele |
Hemsida | Homepage | Bordsspel | Tischspiele |
Endast begränsad tid! | Nur begrenzte Zeit verfügbar! | Regler och villkor | Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen |
Live casino | Live-Casino | Säga upp | Konto löschen |
How to calculate ROI on translations from Swedish to German
Making the choice to translate your site from Swedish to German is purely a business decision, so you should only do it when you are financially able to do so. As we have demonstrated, there are numerous reasons why it is a good idea to translate from Swedish to German. There are also many ROI benefits to it too. If you want to see how much impact a translation can have on your ROI, just contact us and we can help.
Summary
When you make the move to translate Swedish to German, you can start to really grow your online business. By doing this translation you can get ahead of your competitors and offer a much more friendly, trustworthy experience for your potential customers. You’ll gain traffic and your website will rank higher on Google in Germany. And it all makes sense as there is a large online population in that country, just waiting to be tapped into.
When you make the decision to translate your site to German, you should choose Topcontent to do the work for you. We are perfectly at home with the business side of online translating, the necessity for a good ROI and we’re also expert translators. We have a top group of excellent native-speaker translators who ensure a speedy work process coupled with easy to understand pricing systems. By choosing our services you are guaranteed top quality Swedish to German translations, so contact us now!