Localization

What is localization?

Localization is when online businesses adapt their content, products, and digital experiences to the language, cultural, and functional needs of a specific geographic market or audience. This is not just about translation, it goes beyond words to understand the target audience and integrate cultural nuances and unique specificities. 

Localization would involve adjusting imagery, formats, design elements, and messaging to feel natural and relevant to local users.

In other words, localization ensures that content not only speaks the language of your audience but also resonates with their culture, preferences, and expectations.

Why is localization important?

When brands enter a new market it is important to respect and understand the culture of such market. By doing research and localizing marketing and content initiatives, brands have higher chances to connect with the local audience. Localization helps businesses:

  • Build trust with international audiences
  • Increase engagement and conversions by delivering culturally relevant content
  • Improve brand perception in new markets
  • Comply with local standards and expectations
  • Outperform competitors who only use generic or machine-translated content

For marketers, localization makes campaigns more effective and helps turn global strategies into local successes.

The Difference Between Translation and Localization

While translation is the process of converting text from one language to another, localization is broader. It also includes:

  • Adapting images and visuals
  • Adjusting tone of voice for different cultures
  • Formatting dates, currencies, and measurements
  • Considering local customs, idioms, and social norms
  • Modifying layout or design to fit text length differences or right-to-left reading languages

Example: A holiday sale campaign in the U.S. mentioning Thanksgiving wouldn’t resonate in Europe. Localization means replacing that reference with an appropriate seasonal event in each market.

Key components of localization

  1. Language Adaptation: Translation combined with cultural adjustments to ensure messaging feels native.
  2. Visual Adaptation: Changing imagery, graphics, and color schemes to fit local preferences or avoid cultural missteps.
  3. Regulatory Compliance: Adhering to local legal requirements, privacy laws, and accessibility standards.
  4. Technical Localization: Adjusting website structures, app interfaces, and product functionality for local compatibility (For example left to right for arabic).
  5. Content Strategy Alignment: Ensuring local content aligns with regional marketing goals, customer behaviors, and purchasing habits.

Benefits of localization features in a CMS and eCommerce platforms:

  • Localized product descriptions that increase conversion rates in different markets.
  • Geo-targeted landing pages that improve search rankings and organic visibility.
  • Multi-currency support to enable smoother transactions and reduce cart abandonment.
  • Localized promotions and seasonal campaigns to match local holidays and events.
  • Improved accessibility for global teams managing content across different regions.

How Core dna supports localization

At Core dna, we understand that global brands need the flexibility to deliver tailored experiences to different markets — sometimes across multiple websites, languages, and customer segments. 

That’s why our CMS and eCommerce platform comes with built-in localization and multi-site management capabilities, allowing marketers and content teams to easily create, manage, and scale localized content and digital experiences.

Core dna’s localization features include:

  • Multi-language content authoring with intuitive language toggles
  • Language-specific URLs and SEO controls to help localized content rank in each market
  • Automated fallback logic, displaying the next best language version if specific content is missing
  • Integrated workflows for translation review and localization approvals
  • Dynamic content delivery based on the user’s region or language preference
  • Localized product catalog support for eCommerce
  • Multi-site management, enabling brands to manage multiple websites — each with its own localization settings, content variations, and regional targeting — from a single dashboard

With Core dna, marketing teams can maintain consistent global messaging while adapting content and promotions to local audiences. 

Whether you’re managing a content strategy for two markets or twenty, the platform’s multisite management and localization tools empower you to scale efficiently and deliver personalized experiences everywhere your customers are.

Best Practices for Localization

  • Think beyond text translation — consider tone, visuals, and user experience.
  • Involve native speakers to review content and ensure cultural accuracy.
  • Create geo-targeted landing pages with optimized metadata and URLs.
  • Localize calls-to-action (CTAs) to match buying behavior and language nuances.
  • Review localized content regularly to stay current with market trends and evolving customer expectations.
  • Plan for scalability — choose tools and platforms that can manage localization for multiple regions without complexity.

Localization is essential for brands that want to connect meaningfully with audiences around the world. It’s more than just translating text — it’s about delivering tailored, culturally relevant experiences that inspire trust and action. 

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