Product description translation: what are the advantages?

Translating product descriptions for Amazon is essential for all retailers who want to sell their merchandise to international customers via the platform.
Due to its global scale, texts written for Amazon must be accompanied by professional translations if retailers want to directly reach as many customers as possible.

The domain of Amazon

Amazon's profits have increased significantly in recent years due to the rise in online purchases facilitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A growing number of customers now rely on this platform to purchase goods.
Throughout its history and thanks to its ever-growing success, the US e-commerce company has demonstrated that an online shop can break down all geographical barriers, allowing people to purchase and sell products from all four corners of the world.

Translations for Amazon: what are we referring to?

When we talk about translating texts for Amazon, we are referring to product descriptions and the micro-copy that accompanies users through the purchase process.
The correct use of measurement units, currencies, and date formats forms part of the translation and content localisation process and should not be overlooked.

Why is it so important to translate product descriptions for Amazon?

Product descriptions are key to getting good results in terms of sales on Amazon. They are the first point of contact between potential customers and sellers. If written correctly, they are a tool that convinces users to make a purchase.

Due to the platform’s global scale, texts generated for Amazon must be accompanied by high-quality translations if retailers intend to reach as many customers as possible.

We do not recommend relying on machine translation. Although it can produce satisfactory results between similar or widely spoken languages, such as Italian and Spanish or English and German, machine translated texts will not meet the required standards in many cases. If you are dealing with two distant languages, machine-generated translations will not be understandable or easy to read.

Texts that are not perceived as ‘native’ will not be viewed as reliable by potential customers. By extension, users will also start to question the reliability of the seller. In the worst-case scenario, this could cause users to halt their purchase and opt to buy a similar product accompanied by fluent, error-free, and effectively written descriptive texts in their native language.

Studies have shown that users looking to buy products and services online are more likely to make purchases from websites that display texts in their native language. If users are able to read about the features of the product they want to buy, the conditions of service, and the terms and conditions of sale, they will feel more aware and less exposed to scams or the risk of making a dud purchase.

Ultimately, uploading well-written texts in several languages is an essential investment to make if your company sells products on Amazon. Doing so will allow you to easily win the trust of your users and stand out from the thousands of other companies selling similar products on the same platform.

Translating product specifications for Amazon: templates

To ensure the content featured on its product pages is standardised, Amazon provides a dedicated template to use when generating (and thus also translating) texts to be published on its platform.

Headings

Generally speaking, headings for Amazon product specifications must contain the following:

• the name of the retailer or manufacturer
• the item’s brand name
• a brief description of the item for sale

You can’t use full stops or bullet points in headings. Still, you can use commas to separate adjectives and help your customers better identify your product.

Bullet points

Bullet points placed immediately after headings serve to summarise the main product characteristics clearly and effectively. Amazon's guidelines for bullet points include the following:

• the use of uppercase letters at the beginning of each bullet point
• the use of punctuation at the end of each bullet point
• measurement units that are consistent with the language in use

As for what’s not allowed, you cannot refer to other products sold by the same retailer, as they may not be available for some markets. A classic example involves cosmetic retailers, who sell different colour shades in different markets.

Product descriptions

Product descriptions are the most discursive, free-flowing, and least structured part of Amazon product listings.

This section describes products in more detail, explaining the characteristics referred to in the bullet points above. Product descriptions also provide sellers with plenty of marketing opportunities because Amazon allows you to address users directly. This allows you to use the persuasive language typically employed in marketing and advertising texts.

If you need to translate your product descriptions into another language, you should ensure your core message remains unchanged. To achieve this, we recommend relying on an agency specialised in producing advertising translations, translations for e-commerce sites, and technical translations. Translators who produce commercial translations know how to make target texts as persuasive and effective as the source text.

Amazon also uses a keyword system that allows its website’s search engine to locate and catalogue items. Using the right keywords in your product descriptions will increase your chances of being suggested by the system to users interested in making a purchase, thus boosting your sales

When translating Amazon descriptions, translators must be familiar with the SEO strategies employed to use keywords organically and effectively within a text.  At Eurotrad, we have over twenty-five years of experience producing translations, and we collaborate with professionals who are well-versed in creating SEO translations for multilingual businesses.

Eurotrad’s Amazon translation services

Amazon translations are one of our most popular services.

Our translators work with different language combinations and consistently produce quick, high-quality, and effective translations. Get in touch for a free quote!