Website localisation is a proven method for increasing sales revenue from local customers in both the B2C and B2B space. Regardless of whether your company targets only local customers, or a combination of both local customers and national customers, you are probably leaving money on the table in the form of lost sales revenue, if you don’t invest in designing a localised website. If you are looking at website design Melbourne based companies will face common challenges with website design Sydney firms also face. But there are also some differences that will be unique to each area.
What is Website Localisation?
Website localisation is a term that covers two distinctly separate concepts. These are design localisation and content localisation. These can be defined thus:
- Design localisation – here we are talking about the actual look and feel of the website. Localised websites are physically designed to connect with local customers. When a local customer visits a localised website, they will instantly relate to the colors, graphics and overall theme of the site.
- Content localisation – here we are talking about the actual words, images and other types of content such as video that has been published on the site. This content is developed to leverage the value of localised keywords. This results in search engines such as Google returning the site higher in search results for local searches.
By combining these two concepts as part of a web development project, a company opens the door to the potential for increased local site traffic, and thus increased local revenue and better conversion.
Localised Website Design Melbourne Considerations
When considering website design Melbourne companies face a challenging situation. On the one hand, Melbourne, as the Capital City of Australia, is a targeted rich environment when it comes to seeking local customers. However, this makes it incredibly difficult to actually design a site that will be visually appealing, and connect with the entire population of Melbourne.
We can leverage certain design ideas such as incorporating well-known Melbourne landmarks as part of the graphical content of the site, such as Melbourne Cricket Ground and Melbourne City Center. However, even though these sites may be instantly recognizable to many Melbourne residents, they may not necessarily connect with everyone. The large population of Melbourne is diverse and made up of many sub-communities.
Content wise, creating localised site content for Melbourne is relatively easy. Almost every type of company will be able to find news, information, and events taking place in Melbourne that fit with their products and services. This makes coming up with localised content themes for use in content marketing campaigns very easy.
Localised Website Design Sydney Considerations
Creating a website design for Sydney companies can be used to develop a better local image is a little simpler form than Melbourne. The Sydney skyline is one of the most instantly identifiable in the world. Additionally, Sydney Harbor is central to life in Sydney, it sets the entire vibe for the city. Therefore, creating a website theme and design which connects with local Sydney residents is simpler to achieve than it is in Melbourne. Put simply, Sydney has a much more easily defined identity than Melbourne. An identity that most residents already connect with. We just need to design a local website to incorporate this identity.
Once again, creating localised content for a website designed for Sydney firms that are aimed at driving local traffic is also quite simple. As with any large city, there will be plenty of events and news occurring that almost any company will be able to find a common theme with some of them, to use as part of their ongoing content marketing efforts.
Localised Website Design. Melbourne versus Sydney. Final Thoughts
Even though website localisation has proven to be an effective way to attract more local customers, it can also have a detrimental effect for companies that also sell nationally or internationally.
In these cases, it is often considered best practice to develop separate web pages. Some that target only local customers, and some that are suitable for a much wider national or international market.
By designing and developing a website in this fashion, it gains the benefits of being optimized for the local market, but not at the exclusion of attracting visitors and potential customers from much further afield. In effect, giving the best of both worlds, with no limits or restrictions at all.
DGreat Solutions has been developing fully localised website designs for the Sydney and Melbourne areas since 2014. We have the skills needed to tackle any web development project. Our team has the internal skills that ensure that every project we tackle, results in exceptional results every time.
