How to translate product descriptions with the PIM?

In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, the importance of translation in e-commerce cannot be underestimated. Indeed, delivering a seamless, consistent experience to customers in different regions requires much more than simple translations. Effective management of product translations goes beyond the simple conversion of words, and involves a deep understanding of cultural specificities, consumer habits and local needs. 

Today, with the multiplication of online sales channels and the diversity of audiences, companies need to adopt integrated solutions to ensure fast, accurate and consistent multilingual management. Translation then becomes a strategic lever that directly influences conversion, natural referencing and brand reputation. 

This is where tools such as PIM (Product Information Management) come into their own, automating and centralizing the management of product translations to deliver an optimal customer experience.

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The strategic importance of translation

A decisive factor in conversion

Consumers tend to trust sites that address them in their own language. A CSA Research study reveals that 76% of Internet users prefer to buy products presented in their native language. Even if they speak a foreign language, their engagement and conversion rate will be significantly higher when faced with localized content. Clearly, a well-translated product sheet has a direct influence on the purchasing decision.

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A requirement for natural search engine optimization (SEO)

Translations also have an impact on online visibility. Search engines like Google favor quality localized content in international search results. 

A poor translation or lack of localized content can therefore hamper a site's SEO in foreign markets. Conversely, a well thought-out multilingual strategy, with translations adapted to local keywords, considerably improves the organic reach of the product catalog.

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Multi-channel consistency is essential

In an omnichannel logic, product data sheets are not only found on an e-commerce site. They also feed marketplaces, social networks, PDF catalogs, newsletters and even mobile applications. Each channel becomes a showcase for the brand. If there are linguistic inconsistencies between these contact points, the brand's credibility suffers. 

Rigorous, centralized translation management is therefore essential to guarantee a smooth, seamless experience, whatever the channel used.

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Translation that goes beyond word-for-word

Translating a product sheet involves more than simply replacing words from one language to another. It's about adapting content to cultural specificities, consumer habits and local regulations. A cosmetics product, for example, is not presented in the same way in France, Japan or Brazil. 

A good translation must therefore combine precision, commercial sense and cultural sensitivity.

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The translation challenge in product management

In a context of international trade and market diversification, the translation of product data sheets represents a real headache for marketing and e-commerce teams. When a company manages hundreds or even thousands of product references, each product sheet must be accurately translated into several languages to meet the requirements of local markets. This time-consuming and complex task quickly becomes unmanageable without the right strategy and tools.

The risks of human error are numerous: overlooking fields to be translated, inconsistencies in terminology between languages, syntax or grammatical errors, or even cultural maladjustment of content. These errors, often seemingly innocuous, can have a direct impact on brand image and sales performance, by confusing customers or harming natural search engine optimization (SEO) in foreign markets.

Moreover, traditional translation processes, based on back-and-forth email exchanges or shared Excel spreadsheets, are both slow and costly. They mobilize significant resources and considerably slow down product launches.

A simple screenshot of a "before" multilingual Excel spreadsheet is enough to illustrate this complexity: infinite rows and columns, empty cells, duplicates, manual annotations, etc. These are all signs of a system that's out of breath, and in urgent need of modernization thanks to tools like PIM, capable of centralizing, automating and making translation management more reliable.

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How Quable PIM is transforming product translation

In an environment where reactivity and consistency are essential, Quable is revolutionizing the way companies manage their product translations. With PIM integration (Product Information Management), translation is no longer a constraint but becomes a driver of organizational efficiency and performance.

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Centralization of multilingual content in the PIM

With Quable, all product information - titles, descriptions, attributes, visuals - is centralized in a single space, including all necessary languages. This centralization avoids the dispersal of information and enables all teams (marketing, e-commerce, export, etc.) to work on a common, structured and always up-to-date basis.

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Flexible translations tailored to your needs

Quable adapts to each company's translation strategy, offering several options to choose from or complement each other:

• Manual translation: teams can directly modify or enrich multilingual content in the Quable interface, language by language.
• Machine translation: an instantaneous translation function, based on Google Translate, is integrated for a first level of rapid localization.
• Translation via import/export: for companies wishing to work with external agencies or freelance translators, Quable lets you export the content to be translated in the form of files (Excel, CSV, etc.), then easily reintegrate it once translated.
• Translation via specialized partners: Quable is compatible with third-party solutions such as TextMaster, to delegate translation to native experts directly from the platform, with seamless, integrated follow-up.

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Simplified translation management

From Quable's intuitive interface, users can trigger and track translations in just a few clicks, directly on the relevant files. This integrated management system saves considerable time, while guaranteeing the consistency and quality of multilingual content across all distribution channels.