How to Select Content for Localization: A Strategic Framework

Updated June 2025

In recent years, the process of localizing your website has become significantly easier and more accessible for businesses of all sizes. With translation solutions becoming more widely available and affordable, more and more businesses can now produce content for global audiences. But once you've selected your solution, how do you know which content you should translate first?

While it's tempting to just say "translate all of it!" this approach often leads to wasted resources and missed opportunities. Research shows that 65% of consumers prefer content in their own language, but this doesn't mean every piece of content needs the same level of attention. The key is developing a strategic approach to content selection.

The Problem with Ad-Hoc Content Selection

Many organizations struggle with localization because they treat all content equally. Without clear prioritization, companies often experience:

• Wasted resources: Translation budgets spread inefficiently across content types
• Missed opportunities: Critical revenue-driving content gets delayed while less important content gets prioritized
• Inefficient processes: Teams reinvent decision-making for each localization project

A Strategic Framework for Content Selection

The most effective approach is to evaluate content based on two key dimensions:

1. Business Impact

Ask yourself: How directly does this content influence your business goals?

High Business Impact Content:

• Directly drives conversions or revenue
• Influences purchase decisions
• Supports key strategic initiatives
• Reaches large, engaged audiences
• Has long-term value (evergreen content)

Examples: Homepage, product pages, key landing pages, pricing information, ad copy, case studies

Lower Business Impact Content:

• Supports but doesn't directly drive conversions
• Informational or compliance-focused
• Limited audience reach
• Frequently changing content

Examples: Blog posts, help documentation, legal disclaimers, FAQ pages

2. Localization Effort Required

Consider: How much work is needed to adapt this content effectively?

Higher Effort Content:

• Requires cultural nuance or emotional messaging
• Includes visuals, design elements, or complex formatting
• Needs market-specific adaptation beyond translation
• Brand-sensitive or creative content

Lower Effort Content:

• Straightforward, factual information
• Text-based without design complexity
• Templated or standardized content
• Technical specifications or documentation

Four Content Categories for Localization

Combining these dimensions creates four distinct approaches:

Deep Localization (High Value + High Localization Effort)

What it is: Content that directly drives revenue/engagement AND requires significant localization effort
Examples: Homepage & key landing pages, ad copy & CTAs, social media campaigns, creative copy, rich media content
Budget allocation: 40-50% of localization budget
Why prioritize: Directly impacts revenue and brand perception

Recommended approach: For this content, ensure that all stakeholders, project managers and translators are empowered with the resources and tools that enable them to move faster and with more accuracy:

• A unified environment that brings all collaborators together and integrates with their existing tools
• Workflows that can be customized to your exact project requirements
• Tools that empower translators with visual context, brand-specific suggestions, translation memory
• Streamlined project management - tracking, automated notifications, job routing

How to implement with Transifex:

• Use professional translator teams with subject matter expertise and review workflows
• Enable visual context features so translators can see how content appears in your app or website
• Leverage Transifex Live for in-context translation of websites
• Apply custom translation memories, glossaries, and brand-specific style guides
• Set up approval workflows with automated notifications and stakeholder review cycles
• Use tags to prioritize urgent or high-impact content within projects

Discover how Transifex can maximize your content's ROI

Efficient Scaling (High Value + Low Localization Effort)

What it is: Content that directly drives revenue results but requires minimal localization effort
Examples: Product & pricing pages, case studies, feature callouts, nurture emails
Budget allocation: 23-35% of localization budget
Why prioritize: High ROI with efficient resource use

Recommended approach: For this content, we recommend a hybrid approach that leverages AI technology for efficiency while maintaining quality through strategic human intervention:

• Generate LLM-powered translations dynamically tailored to your brand specific context, leveraging fuzzy matches from past translations, glossaries and style guides
• AI quality checks that eliminate unnecessary manual reviews when content risk is low
• Automated publishing based on tailored translation quality thresholds

How to implement with Transifex:

• Deploy Transifex AI for initial high-quality translations that maintain brand voice and context
• Use TQI (Translation Quality Index) for automated intelligent scoring of translations and streamlined QA
• Configure TQI-based workflow automation to automatically review and approve translations meeting quality thresholds
• Set up bulk operations and automated publishing to CMS once translations pass quality checks
• Leverage continuous localization workflows integrated with CI/CD pipelines for real-time updates

Discover how Transifex can maximize your content's ROI

Selective Adaptation (Low Value + High Localization Effort)

What it is: Content with lower business impact that requires significant effort to be accurately adapted
Examples: Long-form gated content, webinars & on-demand recordings, newsletters, blog content
Budget allocation: 15-20% of localization budget
Why deprioritize: Resource-intensive with limited immediate business impact

Recommended approach: The key here is to leverage accumulated translation knowledge to progressively drive down costs and automate processes:

• Identify and align existing translations, expanding your translation assets without manual effort
• Automatically extract and build terminology databases
• Use your established translation patterns to generate increasingly accurate AI translations
• Multiple machine translation engines that can be selected based on their strengths for specific language pairs or subject matter domains
• Implement different approval paths for different markets, or use market-specific style guides and brand voice documents

How to implement with Transifex:

• Use project templates and workflow automation to standardize processes when tackling this content
• Leverage accumulated translation memories and terminology databases for cost reduction
• Apply TQI insights to identify which content performs best before expanding to additional markets
• Set up content scheduling and batch processing during slower periods
• Use multiple MT engines available through Transifex for optimal language pair performance

Discover how Transifex can maximize your content's ROI

Automation-First (Low Value + Low Localization Effort)

What it is: Content that can be easily localized with low business impact
Examples: Help center/documentation, FAQ pages, legal disclaimers & cookie banners, technical specifications
Budget allocation: 5-10% of localization budget
Why automate: Necessary for completeness but not worth heavy investment

Recommended approach: For this category, fully automated pipelines deliver the best balance of quality, speed, and cost-effectiveness:

• End-to-end localization workflow automation
• Raw MT translations with intelligent quality assurance for baseline standards
• System integration for seamless content flow and instant publishing
• API connections to content management systems, knowledge bases, and help desk platforms
• Automated content extraction, translation, and reintegration to maintain near-real-time synchronization across languages

How to implement with Transifex:

• Set up fully automated machine translation with TQI-based quality thresholds for baseline standards
• Use API integrations and connectors to sync content from CMS, help desk, or knowledge base systems
• Configure continuous localization for real-time content synchronization across languages
• Implement pseudo-localization testing to catch UI and formatting issues early in development
• Use bulk upload features and file format support for large documentation sets

Discover how Transifex can maximize your content's ROI

Practical Steps for Content Selection

Step 1: Inventory Your Content

List all content types across your digital presence and categorize them using the framework above. Focus on content sections rather than individual pages for simpler management.

• Use automatic file detection and content connectors to identify translatable content across platforms
• Set up resource organization with tags and custom fields to categorize content by business impact and effort
• Leverage integrations with development tools (GitHub, GitLab, Figma, Jira) to map content sources
• Create project templates for different content types to standardize evaluation processes

Step 2: Evaluate Business Impact

Use your analytics data to identify which content actually drives results:

• Check conversion rates and traffic data
• Review customer journey touchpoints
• Consider content lifespan and update frequency
• Assess strategic importance to business goals

Step 3: Assess Localization Requirements

For each content type, determine:

• Does it require cultural adaptation beyond translation?
• Are there visual or design elements to consider?
• What's the risk if localization isn't perfect?
• How often does this content change?

Step 4: Prioritize Based on Your Goals

For market entry: Focus on Deep Localization and Efficient Scaling content to establish credibility and drive initial conversions

For scaling existing markets: Add Automation-First content for comprehensive user experience

For exploring new markets: Start with Deep Localization content only to test market response efficiently

Key Considerations for Content Selection

Start with Business Goals

Whether you're launching a product, attracting new customers, or expanding market presence, let your business objectives guide content selection. Revenue-driving content should always take precedence.

Consider Your Resources

Evaluate not just budget but also time, team capacity, and coordination requirements. High-effort content requires more project management and review cycles.

Think in Content Sections

Make translate/no-translate decisions at the section level (e.g., entire product catalog, all landing pages) rather than page-by-page for more efficient management.

Learn from Your Industry

Research how competitors and industry leaders approach localization to identify content patterns that drive success in your target markets.

Keep Customer Experience Central

Remember that localization exists to serve your customers better. Prioritize content that most directly impacts their experience and decision-making process.

Making Localization Selection Scalable

The beauty of this framework is that it creates repeatable decision-making processes. Instead of debating content selection for each project, teams can quickly categorize new content and apply the appropriate localization approach.

This strategic approach helps you launch in new markets faster by focusing on what matters most, while ensuring you're investing localization resources where they'll deliver the greatest business impact.

Ready to implement strategic content selection for your localization projects? Contact Transifex to learn how our platform can support prioritized, efficient localization workflows.

Explore the Full #TranslationMustKnows Series

This post is part of the #translationmustknows series, built to equip everyone in your localization process – from developers to localization managers – with the knowledge and resources necessary for achieving translation and localization success.

Explore the full #translationmustknows series to catch up on other posts and learn everything you need to know for translation success:

• 2 Simple Ways to Calculate Your Translation Budget
• How to Easily Automate Your Localization Efforts
• 3 Steps to Successfully Maintain Your Global Websites
• 3 Ways to Build an International URL Structure
• 5 Resources for Translating & Localizing Your Content