I spent Saturday at the Association of Language Companies conference in Pasadena and gave a talk on Web globalization. I'm glad I went. I'm seeing more and more agencies trying to grab a share of the rapidly growing Web globalization industry. My presentation was on the "Web globalization opportunity (and risk)."

Because I had so many requests for the presentation, I've posted it online here: www.bytelevel.com/global.

The key takeaways from the presentation are:

1. Web globalization is inevitable for most companies and, as a result, a huge opportunity for translation agenices.
2. Many translation agencies avoid Web globalization because they think they don't have the skills or tools. And yet many Web globalization projects are surprisingly easy to manage.
3. If you want to hone your Web globalization skills, start by globalizing your own agency Web site. Doing so sends a message to prospects that you are skilled at Web globalization. You don't have to translate your entire Web site - a "brochure" Web site in a few languages will do the trick. Be sure to include Chinese or Japanese (or both); Arabic is a hot language these days as well.
4. When selling Web globalization services, remember that your buyer may be new to translation. They may not know the difference between internationalization and localization and they may not appreciate it if you assume that they should know it. That's why I use the term Web globalization or web site globalization. People get it. When selling Web globalization services, you're going to have to invest the time to educate your clients. So many companies are just dipping their toes into these waters.
5. Just because you are already the "agency of record" for a company does not mean you'll also get the Web globalization account. It's important that you stay in touch with the marketing and Web teams so they know to include you in the RFP.
6. Along these lines, Web globalization is often the "back door" for aggressive vendors into new accounts. The danger of ignoring Web globalization opportunities is that you allow competitors to develop a relationship with your clients. And, since so much content is moving toward to the Web, you risk being marginalized down the road.
7. If you think you're too late to the Web globalization game, think again. Most companies are just getting started localizing their Web sites. Opportunities are enormous.