Frequently asked questions on the localization of frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions on the localization of frequently asked questions

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They can be found on almost any public website, whether it's for users, customers, travelers or any other kind of visitor: frequently asked questions. Whatever you do, if you have a target audience, chances are you're going to get questions and some of those questions will be more common. The Frequently Asked Questions page or section is a proven way to deal with that challenge: many people find the answer to their question on their own, because many problems turn out to have a simple solution. A good FAQ immediately saves a lot of time for customer service agents, who thus do not have to answer the same questions over and over again.

We hope this collection of frequently asked questions not only contains the answers you're looking for, but also inspires you to reflect on your own experiences with FAQs and customer support more broadly. And be sure to contact us if this FAQ raises new questions that are not covered in the list. After all, we'll be happy to search for the answer together. And who knows, maybe we'll find ways to help your target audience even better!

Do you have questions about your frequently asked questions, or want them translated? No problem!

For translating your FAQ or any other part of your website, Scriptware Translations is the right place. Contact us now or request an immediate non-binding quote.

What?

Just to be sure, mind you, but what exactly is an FAQ again?

An FAQ is a collection of frequently asked questions about your product or service, along with concise, clear answers to those questions. The FAQ page is actually a standard page for a business website, as are the contact page and privacy policy. With this page, you can share additional information about your organization and product or service and improve customer experience and satisfaction.

Ok, how do I write a good FAQ page?

What is important when writing FAQs is that your content is short, clearly laid out and SEO-ready. Customers are looking for quick, simple solutions. So write clear, concise answers and use internal links to more information where appropriate. Group your questions into different categories to make it easier for users to search your Frequently Asked Questions. It is also often recommended to align your FAQ content with the keywords your customers use. That way, your answers will be found better and you'll rank better in organic search results.

What kind of questions should I include in my FAQ?

The bland answer: questions that are asked often. In practice, the best questions for an FAQ are those that your customer service reps get frequently, but that are easy to solve without help. Customer questions can be broadly divided into three groups: problems that really need help, questions about how things work, and problems that people can solve themselves. The last two groups are ideal to include on the "Frequently Asked Questions" page, because it saves your staff a lot of time, allowing them to better help people in the first group.

Why?

Why does my website need a FAQ?

To answer questions your organization often gets, of course. No matter how clearly you describe a product or service, there are always people with questions. They could find the answers to some of those questions by reading your website a little more closely, but who takes the time to do that? By answering frequently asked questions in a central place, you make your customers' lives a little easier.

Helping customers is all well and good, but what do I gain? Do FAQs have any benefits for my business?

Sure! For example, you can save money on customer support because your staff won't have to answer the same questions over and over again, and you can increase organic traffic to your website by answering questions that people search for online. A well-written FAQ page with relevant CTAs can even generate additional conversions. For example, if potential customers often ask us if we have experience translating apps, we can include that in our FAQ. We could then simply put down "Yes." as the answer. But we could also direct customers to our page on software and app translation and encourage them to especially contact us or request a quote.

Why should I offer my FAQ in multiple languages?

Because of the same arguments for building a multilingual website. It's all about the numbers. Online, customers prefer to read content in their own language, and that doesn't just apply to user interface and product descriptions. 75% of customers are more likely to return if customer service is available in their own language.

Where?

How do I know which languages to choose from?

A good start is to take a look at what languages your website is currently available in. Ideally, in fact, FAQs should be available in every language used for website content: these will be the languages spoken in your target audience. If your customer database shows that some languages are much more popular than others, however, you might consider redirecting customers who speak less popular languages to, say, your English-language FAQ.

Ah, I can just see what countries I have customers in, right?

Not so fast. Multiple languages are spoken in some countries, so some parts of the population prefer to use a different language than others. That's why it's important to research your customers' preferences first and tailor your language options accordingly, rather than just looking at the list of billing addresses.

But that's exactly what I did for my product pages and then I got all kinds of questions about sizes, legal issues and shipping options. How about that?

Hey, good going, with your multilingual website! But while some countries have multiple languages, things get even more complicated when you consider that some languages are also spoken in multiple countries. If you get a lot of those kinds of questions, consider offering your website visitors a drop-down screen where they can choose a language as well as a location. Have you ever noticed that some URLs contain bits like "/en-us/" or "/pt-br/"? Those are language and country codes that adapt website content to user preferences (English in the U.S. and Portuguese in Brazil, in this case). That way you can not only provide customers with an even better, and smoother shopping experience, but also content on the 'Frequently Asked Questions' page that is tailored to their location, so your customers need even less help!

How?

And how does that work, translating an FAQ?

We won't bore you with all the details of the specialized translation software we use or how we find the most suitable translators for each job. If you provide us with your content, indicate which languages you would like it translated into and possibly include some background information (such as previously translated content, information about your product or service, terminology preferences, etc.), we can provide translated FAQs in an appropriate format. In addition, we can save the translations so that future maintenance on your FAQ page is as efficient as possible.

Wait a minute, maintenance? After creating that FAQ page, isn't it just done, then?

No, it is better if an FAQ is not a static document. Run this page every time processes change, an update is released or your product offerings change, and rewrite pieces as needed. It's very easy to let your FAQ maintenance become a mess. We really don't recommend copying and pasting separate pieces or sending separate updates to your translation partner. Just send the complete updated FAQ: our software can detect the changes, so you don't have to pay again for previously translated content. After all, we saved those translations last time.

Can't I just use free machine translations for my FAQ?

You can, but we wouldn't recommend it. We understand that large amounts of content can sometimes challenge a translation budget, but it's important to allocate that budget to the most valuable pages. The Frequently Asked Questions page, which allows you to save on your customer service costs while boosting organic website traffic and conversions, is one of those pages. Your huge Help database, on the other hand, would be a good candidate for machine translation with an editing session by a professional translator.

Who?

Who or what is Scriptware Translations?

Scriptware Translations is a professional translation agency in Haarlem with an in-house team of specialists and a global network of experienced language wizards. We provide quality translations for numerous industries, combining the latest tools and technology with human creativity and expertise.

And you specialize in translating frequently asked questions?

Well, not only in that, but we have translated a lot of it! We know where things often go wrong and use our proven workflows to make everything a little easier for you. You can trust us to deliver accurate FAQ translations to support all your international clients.

Ok, so what if I am convinced, what do I do now?

Please get in touch if you would like more information or an appointment. Or send us an email with your content and the desired target languages, and we will send you a free quote.

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