Tripling your Traffic with

Translation

London Facebook Developer

Garage,
February 11th 2009
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Introduction
- What a translated application looks
like
- Why it’s worth doing
- How it works
- How to implement it
- Pros and cons
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
A translated application – Six
Degrees English
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
A translated application – Six
Degrees English

French
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
A translated application – Six
Degrees English

French

Spanish
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
A translated application – Six
Degrees English

French

Spanish

Danish
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
A translated application – Six
Degrees English

French

Spanish

Danish

Catalan

…plus dozens others

Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Why bother? – Facebook’s
international growth
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Why bother? – Six Degrees users
now
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Why bother? – Six Degrees users
now
45.00
1. 45,395
Spain %
12.65
2. 12,764
Argentina %

3. 8,695 8.62%
United States

4. 3,958 3.92%
Mexico

5. 3,448 3.42%
Chile

6. 3,296 3.27%
Australia

7. 3,289 3.26%
United Kingdom

8. 2,366 2.35%
Italy

9. 1,805 1.79%
France

10. 1,743 1.73%

Venezuela
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Why bother? – Six Degrees
growth,
All 12Junemonths
users – growth from 2008

US English – relatively steady

The majority of the growth is Spanish speaking

Facebook Translation -
Introduction
How does it work?
Users with the translation tool

Submit translations as they find them

Facebook Translation -
Introduction
How does it work?
Users with the translation tool

Submit translations as they find them

Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Technical setup
In your FBML, where you had:
<h2>Welcome to my app</h2>

you put
<h2><fb:intl>Welcome to my app</fb:intl></h2>

That’s pretty much it

Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Technical setup
You can also have translations for
HTML or FBML attribute values:
<fb:fbml-attribute name="title">
<fb:intl desc="Name of tab for contacting the
application developer.">Contact</fb:intl>
</fb:fbml-attribute>
(With an optional description to help the
translator.)
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Technical setup
Enable translation in your application:
Monitor translations as they come in
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Downsides
- You need user volume
- Translation will be patchy
- Some languages may never be
translated
- Only works for FBML applications
- No access to the translated text
- Possible customer support issues
Facebook Translation -
Introduction
Why it’s great
- More traffic
- Users do the work for you
- The least satisfying form of
vandalism
- An advantage for the small player
with a loyal audience
Facebook Translation

Thanks
Karl Bunyan, karl.bunyan@exponetic.com