A recent study showed that more than 66% of the world’s population is now online—making internet users a “supermajority” compared to those who don’t have digital access.
At the same time, while there are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world, just 17 of those dominate the digital landscape.
So, what do these numbers mean for your global content?
1. You can’t rely on English
More than half of all websites are in English, making it the most widely used language on the internet. Yet only 20% of internet users—around 1.4 billion people—actually speak English.
This means that if you want to market your products globally, an English-only approach won’t cut it. After all, we know 3 out of 4 people prefer buying products in their own language.
What’s more, many people using English online are non-native speakers. If you’re creating English-language content targeted at non-native speakers think about the implications: it should be easy for your audience to understand, keeping jargon, slang, and regional expressions to a minimum.
2. Localize wisely
So, how do you communicate with the 80% of internet users who don’t speak English?
That all depends on your markets. 34% of users access online content in the other 16 dominant digital languages, including Mandarin Chinese, Standard Arabic, Spanish, and French.
Do your research to identify the most relevant and profitable languages for your brand.
3. Look out for “up-and-coming” languages
Worldwide, internet penetration rates vary significantly: from 99% in the United States and Northern Europe, down to 25% or below in parts of Africa. However, rising connectivity and smartphone adoption are broadening access, with notable growth in Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia and Malaysia.
It’s worth keeping an eye on these emerging markets, so you can seize the opportunity to localize for them when the time is right.
Take India, for example—the world’s most populous country. While around 680 million Indians aren’t yet online, digital access is soaring as the economy grows and a young population embraces technology. But this is far from a homogenous market. Besides the official languages of English and Hindi, there are 22 languages recognized in India, and vast cultural differences.
If India is a key market for you, investing the time to understand these variations and localize your content effectively will pay dividends.
4. Take social media seriously
Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. With over 5 billion users worldwide and climbing, this is a marketing channel you can’t afford to ignore.
And with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea among the countries with the highest rates of social media use, there’s a clear need to localize your content for different languages and cultures in order to access these markets.
Your social posts may be short and snappy, but localizing them is quite the opposite. Think beyond the words to culturally appropriate images, authentic video, and even translated hashtags. On TikTok, leading non-English hashtags rack up views in the trillions: examples include #parati (“for you” in Spanish) and #xuhuong (meaning “trend” in Vietnamese and used across Southeast Asia).
All of which makes going viral more complex than you might think!
5. Mind the AI gap
AI has numerous benefits for global content creators, from source content optimization to rapid translation and regional adaptation.
But here’s the problem: AI models are overwhelmingly trained in English. That’s due in part to the high volume of English-language content available, but also to US dominance in AI research and development.
As a result, English-speaking users tend to get better results when using AI: not only can they create more effective prompts, but the tools have more data to draw on for high-quality outputs.
This means that relying on AI to create and localize content for non-English-speaking markets—particularly those that are underrepresented online—can be a risky strategy. Incorporating the human touch, as we do at Rubric, will improve the experience for your global customers.
Where do you go from here?
While it may seem that the English language rules online, it would be a mistake to assume it works for all your customers. You could be closing the door on 80% of web users who are unable to engage with your content.
Partnering with a global content localization specialist can help you identify the markets for your business to focus on, both now and in the future, and create an effective strategy to localize your content for each one.
By speaking your customers’ language, you show them you care and unlock a truly global opportunity.