A website localization success story

LinkedIn announced today that is has expanded its website languages to include Russian, Romanian and Turkish. 100 million members strong, with 25 million users in Europe alone, LinkedIn has become the uncontested online destination for business professionals.

LinkedIn got it right from the start. Soon after their domestic launch, they realized that going global fast would cinch their victory in a competitive online space. Their global business ambitions took shape in a strategy, and that strategy led to website localization. They undertook the market research, became versed in international regulations, such as the EU’s International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, and then created a business infrastructure to support their global website. In tandem with the launch of the site in German, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian, LinkedIn rolled out multi-language customer support, locale-specific payment processing and advertising. The selection of LinkedIn.com as one of TIME‘s top websites of 2010 is proof of their success.

Thanks to their quick reaction to shifting global trends for networking, exchanging ideas and recruiting talent, the LinkedIn platform is the social medium in Europe and North America, and is gaining influence daily in the Chinese, Japanese and Indian markets. Yesterday, LinkedIn crossed a major milestone of 10 million members in India.

While competing in the global arena, LinkedIn still manages to keep up with innovation. In 2008, they launched a mobile version of their site, which is currently available in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. In 2010, they released their mobile app, boasting features specifically tailored to each individual smartphone platform.

In light of their ever-evolving features and tireless international expansion, the potential of LinkedIn’s platform seems boundless. At Acclaro, we could not agree more with their slogan:  “Relationships matter”. We are fortunate to count LinkedIn as one of our clients and key business relationships, and we wish them success in the Turkish, Romanian and Russian markets.