Marketing in English and Spanish in Belize
English is Belize’s official language and Spanish is widely spoken. How to decide what to publish in each language, and how to do it so both versions work.
By Tide & Co.
English is the official language of Belize, and Spanish is spoken widely across the country and by many of the visitors, residents and buyers a Belize business wants to reach. Many Belizeans also speak Kriol and other languages. For most business marketing, the practical question is how to use English and Spanish well, and where it is worth doing both.
Decide by audience, not by habit
Start by listing who you are trying to reach and which language each group is most comfortable in:
- Residents and local customers.
- Visitors and tourists planning a trip.
- Buyers, investors and partners overseas.
- Spanish-speaking customers in Belize and in the wider region.
Some businesses will need both languages everywhere. Others only need Spanish on the pages that serve a Spanish-speaking audience. Either is a legitimate choice if it is deliberate.
Translate for meaning, not word for word
A literal translation reads as a translation. Good Spanish marketing copy keeps the same facts and the same tone but is written the way a Spanish speaker would say it. Keep names, places and technical terms consistent, and have someone who uses the language every day read it before it goes live.
Video: caption and subtitle it
Much social video is watched without sound. Captions make a film usable in either language, and subtitles can open a film recorded in one language to the other audience. Our own social films are captioned for this reason. Decide early which language the spoken audio will be in and plan the captions as part of the edit, not as an afterthought.
Search: give each language its own page
Search engines work best when each language has its own address, its own title and description, and a clear signal linking the two versions. This site is published in English and Spanish, with every page available at its own address in each language, and the versions point to each other so search engines can show the right one. Avoid automatic translation widgets that change the page without giving the translation a page of its own. Our websites and SEO work covers how we set this up.
Make contact work in both languages
If a visitor reads your Spanish page, the contact form, the WhatsApp message and the first reply should also be in Spanish. A Spanish page that leads to an English-only enquiry path loses the visitor at the last step.
Keep the versions in step
Two languages mean two things to maintain. When a fact changes, such as an address, an offer or the status of a project, it needs to change in both. Decide who owns each version, and prefer fewer pages kept accurate over many pages that drift apart.
Start small
You do not need to translate everything at once. Begin with the pages that matter most: the home page, the main service or product pages, the contact page and the content you are driving traffic to. Add the rest as the audience shows up.
We work in person in Belize and publish our own site in both languages, so we know the day-to-day work involved. If you are planning a bilingual website or campaign, read about our approach to marketing in Belize, or talk to us.
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