How to drive more traffic to a freelance translator website
Thread poster: Hanna Sles (X)
Hanna Sles (X)
Hanna Sles (X)
United States
Local time: 03:37
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
Oct 16, 2017

Hi guys!
Acc to SEO laws we all need backlinks from the websites which are in the same industry. In other words, translators should link back to translators. In this way, Google will be able to understand that a freelance translator website belongs to Translation and Localization industry. Therefore, we have to write for freelance translators to keep the audience engaged and spend more time on our websites.

And this is the point where the things get lost. The target audience.
... See more
Hi guys!
Acc to SEO laws we all need backlinks from the websites which are in the same industry. In other words, translators should link back to translators. In this way, Google will be able to understand that a freelance translator website belongs to Translation and Localization industry. Therefore, we have to write for freelance translators to keep the audience engaged and spend more time on our websites.

And this is the point where the things get lost. The target audience. Our clients. How to engage them?

On the one hand, we need to tell Google, where we work, on the other hand, we need to attract customers.

Does it mean we have to keep two blogs / two websites?

I interviewed a few successful translators who managed to create their online presence https://www.hannasles.com/translator-website/ but still, this question is unclear.

Most SEO gurus tell us to aim translator website content on the target audience (clients), but still, Google guidance says we need to have backlinks from the same industry. What backlinking strategy do you implement? And how does it work for you?

[Edited at 2017-10-17 12:17 GMT]
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John Fossey
John Fossey  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 20:37
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Linking Oct 17, 2017

Link to your website from your Proz.com and other profiles, and link back to your profile from your website.

I have never found traffic to my website to be particularly useful on its own. What I have found, from traffic logs, is that clients who find my profile on Proz.com and similar sites will often link on to visit my own website before contacting me, either through Proz.com or from my own site's contact form.

But I have never seen traffic worth mentioning coming di
... See more
Link to your website from your Proz.com and other profiles, and link back to your profile from your website.

I have never found traffic to my website to be particularly useful on its own. What I have found, from traffic logs, is that clients who find my profile on Proz.com and similar sites will often link on to visit my own website before contacting me, either through Proz.com or from my own site's contact form.

But I have never seen traffic worth mentioning coming directly from Google to my site, even though it's been around for many years. For one thing, I think the Google snags any "translation" traffic for itself (Google Translate).
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Binod Ringania
 
Michael Wetzel
Michael Wetzel  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 01:37
German to English
Specialization Oct 17, 2017

I've never pursued backlinks in any way, but I assume links lead from ProZ, LinkedIn and XING (the German LinkedIn) to my site.

If you do not have a specialization, I do not think you can create relevant traffic through a website as a freelancer. There is too much competition and even if you somehow show up in search results, you're unlikely to be what the searcher is looking for.

If you do have a clear specialization, you can do things like buy the domain names "arttr
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I've never pursued backlinks in any way, but I assume links lead from ProZ, LinkedIn and XING (the German LinkedIn) to my site.

If you do not have a specialization, I do not think you can create relevant traffic through a website as a freelancer. There is too much competition and even if you somehow show up in search results, you're unlikely to be what the searcher is looking for.

If you do have a clear specialization, you can do things like buy the domain names "arttranslator.com" and "kunstuebersetzer.de" and load your site with normal-looking headings and copy containing a few very relevant strings of keywords likely to be searched by someone looking specifically for you. That brings in a limited number of very relevant requests for offers per year for me (maybe several dozen requests and 10+ clients). Those are also clients specifically looking for someone just like me and happy to find me. They are all direct clients and generally happy to pay high rates, but many of the inquiries are for one-off, relatively small projects, so it's not perfect. Word of mouth is better, but Google can be a relevant element in your overall strategy for generating business.

The English version of my site is hopelessly outdated, because I've concentrated on German markets, but you can get the idea. The technical side of it is certainly not rocket science, if the substance is there (a very focused business plan and cogent self-presentation based on convincing qualifications).
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Gerard de Noord
Gerard de Noord  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 01:37
Member (2003)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Use links the bots can follow Oct 17, 2017

Hanna Sles wrote:

I interviewed a few successful translators who managed to create their online presence https://www.hannasles.com/translator-website/, but still, this question is unclear.


To start, check that all your links are valid.


Gerard


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 01:37
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@John and @Gerard Oct 17, 2017

John Fossey wrote:
Link to your website from your Proz.com [profile]...


This won't do anything, because ProZ.com automatically adds the "nofollow" attribute to any hyperlink in a profile page. This is to combat spam (i.e. to prevent anyone from registering fake profiles purely in order to put links on it for SEO purposes).

Gerard de Noord wrote:

To start, check that all your links are valid.


Well, that's not Hanna's fault. It's the ProZ.com forum software that adds the comma to the hyperlink. But it's a good point: if you want people to follow links, make sure they work (i.e. take steps to avoid things like what ProZ.com's ancient forum software does to links). The forum supports BB codes, fortunately.

One thing you can get away with once (but only once) is to post an advertisement to your blog in the form of a "question to the forum" even though the question is really answered in the blog post. People will either respond to the question or visit the link, or both.


[Edited at 2017-10-17 08:37 GMT]


 
Hanna Sles (X)
Hanna Sles (X)
United States
Local time: 03:37
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
thanks Gerard :-), I deleted the comma Oct 17, 2017

Gerard de Noord wrote:

Hanna Sles wrote:

I interviewed a few successful translators who managed to create their online presence https://www.hannasles.com/translator-website/, but still, this question is unclear.


To start, check that all your links are valid.


Gerard


 
Hanna Sles (X)
Hanna Sles (X)
United States
Local time: 03:37
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Link building strategy for a translator website Oct 17, 2017

Samuel Murray wrote:

Well, that's not Hanna's fault. It's the ProZ.com forum software that adds the comma to the hyperlink. But it's a good point: if you want people to follow links, make sure they work (i.e. take steps to avoid things like what ProZ.com's ancient forum software does to links). The forum supports BB codes, fortunately.

One thing you can get away with once (but only once) is to post an advertisement to your blog in the form of a "question to the forum" even though the question is really answered in the blog post. People will either respond to the question or visit the link, or both.


[Edited at 2017-10-17 08:37 GMT]


It is still a dilemma for me. And that's the reason I asked here.
We create a website for the purpose to promote our translation services. Obviously, the target audience should be the customers. We write posts for customers to attract their attention.

But Google guidance says that we should build link strategy and create backlinks from the same industry. In other words, we should write posts for translators.

How to solve that?


 


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