Mirela
Wait! Before you start localization, ask yourself if localizing everything right out of the gate is the way to go. It eats up time, burns through budget, and often delivers very little value. Content prioritization means figuring out what actually needs to be localized first. Because not everything actually needs to be localized at the same time.
Not all content deserves equal attention
Let’s be blunt: most companies have way too much content. Product pages, blog posts, onboarding flows, support articles, email sequences, legal disclaimers… it’s a lot. Your new audience doesn’t need it all on day one. Content prioritization forces you to ask yourself what content will actually help a user in this market understand what you have to offer, start using the product, and trust the brand. That’s the stuff you localize first.
Content tends to have a shelf life
Plus, a lot of the content you have right now might not be useful in six months. If you’re translating everything at once, chances are you’re localizing content that will be outdated soon. That’s why you need to prioritize, to avoid translating content that’s about to expire. You focus first on the stuff that’s either evergreen or tied to an active product cycle.
The data shows what you need to know
Sometimes, it’s hard to decide what to prioritize, so a good way to start is by looking at the data. Look at analytics from your existing markets, see what content drives conversions, gets repeat traffic, or reduces support tickets. If it performs well in one market, there’s a good chance it will in others, too.
You can also look at behavioral data from your target regions (if you have any early users there), or even just mimic patterns from similar markets. Customer journey maps help here. You can identify the points where users make decisions, and make sure those touchpoints are localized.
Localization can get expensive
You might think using AI or machine translation cuts the cost, and sometimes it does. However, localization also involves reviews, cultural adaptation, UI adjustments, QA testing, developer time, and so on. All of that adds up. If you localize content no one reads, you’re throwing money away. So start prioritizing and spend your budget where it counts.
Your content should match your business goals
Your localization priorities should line up with what you’re trying to achieve in a market. Maybe you’re trying to acquire new users. Then your landing pages, ad copy, and signup flow should come first. But if you’re focusing on retention, then prioritize help docs, community content, and lifecycle emails. If a piece of content doesn’t support your goals, it shouldn’t be prioritized… at least not yet.
Wrapping up
Content prioritization keeps things focused. It helps you translate the content that actually matters, at the right time, for the right users. So before you send your entire website to be translated, wait a sec and examine if the content you want to translate will make you successful in the new markets you’re targeting. If the answer isn’t a clear yes, it can wait.