geotargeted don't always make you more money

[u-Bob]

I noticed that almost all sponsors with geo-targeted tours address surfers from Belgium in French even though the majority of Belgians doesn't speak French but Dutch. A lot of them even find it offensive to be addressed in French.

makes me wonder how many other countries they got wrong... :/

(edit: forgot 'tours' in the title )

[JOKER]

Especially if they are badly translated.

I can't stress enough how crucial it is to use the best translators that money can buy you when going international, or targeting a foreign country

And the sad part is, most companies don't even realize when their translations are way off and hurt the native eyes/head while reading.

If you plan on marketing a foreign country, ALWAYS double check with a few people from that country, (native speakers) to re-assure that you have the best translation that money can buy.

If you have a bad one, then leaving the site in English in the first place would be a better idea

Steve

[xmas13]

Originally Posted by u-Bob

I noticed that almost all sponsors with geo-targeted tours address surfers from Belgium in French even though the majority of Belgians doesn't speak French but Dutch. A lot of them even find it offensive to be addressed in French.

Vlaams Blok voters?

Belgians know what to expect, many French end up on Flemish sites, and Flemish surfers on French ones, it's no big deal.

It's sending them to Arabic language pages that could upset them

[scottybuzz]

i thought the majority of belgians spoke french... not dutch

[ClickBuster]

3 words: DEFAULT BROWSER LANGUAGE

I'm just gonna start selling this Geo Redirect software I have ready for 2 years... anybody interested - hit me up

[xmas13]

I think some porn sites could re-direct BE traffic to French because French don't like English, while Flemish/Dutch are much more English friendly.

A Dutch speaker just click ENG, while a French will leave the site.

Well, just trying to find an explanation.

[Odin]

Originally Posted by xmas13

Vlaams Blok voters?

Belgians know what to expect, many French end up on Flemish sites, and Flemish surfers on French ones, it's no big deal.

It's sending them to Arabic language pages that could upset them

You mean Vlaams Belang? lol. But you're right, though you may as well translate stuff into Arabic for certain European cities now days.

[u-Bob]

Originally Posted by scottybuzz

i thought the majority of belgians spoke french... not dutch

59%: speaks dutch.
39%: speaks french.

[xmas13]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium

An estimated 59% of the Belgian population speaks Dutch (often referred to as Flemish), and French is spoken by 40%.

Total Dutch speakers are 6.23 million, concentrated in the northern Flanders region, while French speakers comprise 3.32 million in Wallonia and an estimated 0.87 million or 85% of the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region

[xmas13]

Originally Posted by Chief

You mean Vlaams Belang? lol. But you're right, though you may as well translate stuff into Arabic for certain European cities now days.

My bad. Vlaams Blok is not used anymore.

On November 14, 2004, the party was dissolved and a new party was created under the name Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest). It was since its creation in 1978 the least moderate and notably militant right wing of the Flemish movement.

[u-Bob]

Originally Posted by xmas13

I think some porn sites could re-direct BE traffic to French because French don't like English, while Flemish/Dutch are much more English friendly.

doesn't make sense, imho.