4 Things You Need To Know When Handling Russian Website Localization

According to Visual Capitalist, Russian is the second most common online language used worldwide, and the official language of several nations that were once a part of the Soviet Union. So if you are thinking about expanding your online business in Russia, one of the most attractive markets in the world, you have to know these four characteristics of Russian website localization to firmly gain success.

What You Should Know About Russian Website Localization

The process of translating a Russian website has its own unique set of difficulties, including the Cyrillic script, the various tastes, expectations of Russian speakers, etc. Localizing a website may be quite difficult in general. Here are some typical pieces of advice that every l10n manager should follow.

Adapt To The Quirks Of The Russian Language

Although you don’t have to be familiar with all of the Russian language’s nuances, the following peculiarities can negatively impact your Russian website localization if you overlook them.

Dates and Numbers

You should avoid any misunderstandings and make sure that the Month/Date/Year form, the number presentation or any Russian punctuation rules won’t confuse Russian-speaking visitors.

If you’ve selected “variable + s” for all values greater than 1, be aware that there are three possible plural endings in Russian. It could be beneficial for Russian website localization providers to adopt Russian plural rules and keep them consistent in every step. If your website doesn’t include many numbers, you could want to keep things straightforward and handle everything by hand.

Different Capitalization Format

Only two places are capitalized in Russian: at the start of a phrase and when spelling a proper name.

However, there are still a number of restrictions governing the use of capital letters in longer, more complicated phrases, such as when a whole sentence is cited within another sentence when writing out abbreviations or the titles of works of art, and many more.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that Russian capitalization conventions differ from those of English. For instance, Russian does not capitalize the names of the days of the week, nations, or months. So don’t forget to mention this fact in the style guide that you prepare for translators.

The Font for Cyrillic Script

The Russian alphabet, using the Cyrillic script, consists of 33 characters, including 21 consonants, 2 unpronounceable signs (hard and soft), and 10 vowels. Make sure there is a comparable Cyrillic font for the Latin typeface you are using on your website.

Take Advantage Of Social Media

It’s interesting to note that virtually every Russian utilizes social media. The average daily time spent on social media in Russia in 2020 was about 2.5 hours per person. On the dominant VKontakte (Russian online social media) and Telegram, activity significantly increased when Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were blocked in Russia on March 2022.

Not only carefully conducting the Russian website localization with translation, but business owners and l10n managers should also focus heavily on social media when trying to enter the Russian market. Here are some valuable suggestions.

• Since Instagram users save their preferred goods. You must collaborate with regional bloggers and influencers who are highly trusted by Russians in addition to launch Russian conventional advertising. You will save a lot of money if you choose a number of lesser-known blogs over one well-known one.
• The greatest native advertising platforms for leveraging periodic articles and special services with chatbot assistance are Telegram channels.
• YouTube is a fantastic tool for luring in new clients. When you pick the correct channel to collaborate with, program sponsorships and product evaluations are successful.

SEO In Russian Website Localization Is Different

If you want your Russian website localization to get success, one little detail that you must keep in mind is that Yandex is still a significant player in Russian SEO. Because Yandex was developed especially for the Russian language, it is worthwhile to pay more attention to this search engine.

Here are 10 elements that influence your website’s Yandex position:

• Content

The adage “content is king” likely applies to every location in the world as well as every search engine. This is also the norm for Russian SEO. The quality of the material itself is more significant than the choice of keywords and how they are cleverly incorporated into the website’s content.

• Business aspects

The Yandex search engine robots would welcome your Russian website localization if you provide information about the business, payment or delivery options, and rates. Furthermore, comments and viewpoints from clients or users have an impact on Yandex’s degree of trust.

• Website technical optimization

The major goal is to make the website accessible to robots so they may look over the information.

• Website design

Although it doesn’t directly influence how search engine robots view a page, it is significant when we take into account how consumers actually utilize the site.

• Behavioral traits

Robots concentrate on user behavior and time spent on the page. This is especially important when thinking about SEO for Russian website localization.

• Location

Yandex places a lot of focus on local SEO, thus it’s important to know where the region of Runet the inquiry originates from as the search engine prioritizes inquiries from that area.

• Website navigation

Similar to Google, Yandex favors a straightforward, hierarchical structure that is easy for both consumers and search engine robots to understand. Additionally, website navigation affects internal links noticeably and aids in Yandex indexing.

• Hyperlinks

In order to assess both the amount and the caliber of backlinks, Yandex has created its own VITS index, a significant citation index.

• Keyword density

6% is the maximum amount of content that should contain keywords, according to Yandex.

• Domain age

Similar to Google, Yandex will give more trust to a domain that has been run long before.

Overall, to get a high-quality Russian website localization, you need to conduct careful research about SEO in this country and choose the best translation agency to partner with.

Different Product Localization For Different Regions

Russia is a big nation with lots of different areas, therefore the main objective of your Russian website localization is to concentrate on picking the right target. You can choose a few significant cities to export your business and expand the reach of your website’s content.

For instance, in Siberia and Vladivostok, towns with lower temperatures, sales of Finnish shawls and Ugg boots have been greater, but in Krasnodar and Sochi, locations with higher temperatures, demand for Italian handcrafted fabrics is enormous.

Seasonality is a further crucial element that will define your performance right away. You must comprehend and evaluate which public holidays are celebrated most frequently in Russia, as well as when individuals are most likely to take vacations or are busiest at work.

Work With GTE Localize For The Best Russian Website Localization Project

Whether you are a startup or running an international business, expanding your reach to Russia always requires website localization. If you’re looking for a reputable Russian website localization provider, who can handle all the unique challenges with multiple translation tools (Crowdin, Weglot, etc.), GTE Localize is one of your top choices.

Our native speakers and dedicated project managers are able to provide accurate, effective, and economical solutions. Our ISO certification and other affiliations allow us to ensure that we will provide each client with Russian translation services that are of the highest caliber.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you want the best quote and a free test straight away!