These guides are written for owners who want to understand multilingual marketing well enough to make their own decisions. Each one answers a single practical question, uses Richmond's real figures where they exist, and ends with steps you can take this week, whether or not you ever hire us.
-
Richmond's language numbers: what they tell a marketer, and what they don't
Census mother-tongue figures show that Cantonese and Mandarin together rival English in Richmond, but they don't tell you which language a customer searches in, so use them to pick tests, not to set budgets.
-
Traditional or Simplified Chinese: choosing a script for Richmond customers
Choose the script your target customers learned to read in, test it on one service first, and let a qualified translator confirm the choice; when two groups matter, give each its own page rather than mixing scripts.
-
Getting translated marketing right: a seven-step review workflow
Most translation problems start before the translator sees the text, so fix the English first, brief the translator properly, add an independent second reader, and check the finished page on a real phone before it goes live.
Reading Richmond's census language data
Richmond's language numbers: what they tell a marketer, and what they don't starts with the 2021 Census mother-tongue figures, which show Cantonese and Mandarin together rivalling English in Richmond.
It explains why mother tongue is not the same as search language, why households and individuals differ, and why city averages don't describe your customers. It then gives a five-step method for choosing which language to test, and a worked budget example for a renovation business that you can rerun with your own average job value, margin and close rate.
Read it first if you are deciding whether a second language is worth paying for at all.
Choosing Traditional or Simplified Chinese
Traditional or Simplified Chinese: choosing a script for Richmond customers tackles the decision that trips up most Richmond campaigns aimed at Chinese-speaking customers.
It explains the difference between spoken language and written script, why "Traditional for Cantonese, Simplified for Mandarin" is only partly true, and how to pick a script from your own customer evidence. Three illustrative scenarios show how the choice changes for a renovation firm, a tutoring centre and a cleaning company. It closes with the page and ad structure Google's own guidance supports.
Read it once you have decided Chinese-language marketing is worth testing.
A translation review workflow
Getting translated marketing right: a seven-step review workflow covers the process that separates good translated copy from embarrassing copy.
The seven steps run from cleaning up the English source text, through briefing a qualified translator and building a glossary, to an independent second review, testing on real phones, and keeping translated pages in sync with English changes. A timeline and budget template helps you plan the work and see what each language costs.
Read it before you commission any translation, even a single ad.
How the guides connect to our services
Each guide stands on its own, but together they mirror how we work:
| Guide | Related service |
|---|---|
| Census language data | Language and audience planning |
| Chinese scripts | Multilingual Google Ads and multilingual websites |
| Translation workflow | Multilingual websites |
None of the guides covers basic local search, because the principles there are the same in any language. For that, see local search across Richmond, and the areas page for how Richmond's planning areas shape targeting.
Which guide to read first
If you are short on time, use this order:
- Not sure a second language is worth it? Start with the census guide and run its budget test on your own numbers.
- Already decided on Chinese-language marketing? Go to the script guide, then brief your translator.
- About to commission translation? Read the workflow guide before you send anything to a translator, because most of the savings come from steps one and two.
Each guide takes around ten minutes to read and has a short list of questions at the end, answered in plain language, for owners who want the summary first.
Sources and honesty
Every statistic in these guides comes from an official or clearly cited source, linked in the text and listed at the end of each guide with the date we checked it. Where Google has changed how a product works, as with the removal of campaign-level language settings for Search campaigns from September 2026, we say "as of October 2026" and recommend you confirm the current position on Google's help pages.
Worked examples use illustrative figures, labelled as such. They are there to show the method, not to predict your results.
If a guide raises a question it doesn't answer, call, text or email. Questions from owners often become the next update.
Frequently asked questions
Are these guides free to use?
Yes. They are written so you can apply them yourself, with or without us. If you use them with another agency or your own staff, that is fine.
How often are the guides updated?
We review them when an official source they rely on changes, such as Google's help pages or new census data. Each guide shows the date it was last updated.
Do the guides apply outside Richmond?
The methods do. The figures and examples are specific to Richmond, so check your own city's census data and customer records before relying on them elsewhere.