Most enquiries are driven by a requirement rather than a preference: a document that must be translated by somebody with specific credentials, by a date. Stating which certifications you hold, your rate basis, and your turnaround answers nearly the whole enquiry.

The two kinds of buyer

The individual with a requirement. A document needed for an application, a registration, a court matter, or an academic process. They did not choose to buy translation; an institution told them to. They need to know whether your translation will be accepted.

The business buyer. Marketing material, a website, contracts, or technical documentation. Deciding on quality, subject expertise, turnaround, and price, usually with a budget.

The first group is larger by volume and decides almost entirely on credentials and speed. The second is worth more per project and decides on expertise.

Certification, which decides most enquiries

The single most important thing on the site, and it is frequently vague.

Which professional body you are certified by, in which language pairs and in which direction, since certification is generally directional rather than general. Whether you can provide a certified or sworn translation, an affidavit, or notarisation, and what each of those actually is.

Requirements differ by the institution receiving the document and by province, so the useful framing is what you provide and what accompanies it, rather than a claim about what will be accepted. Telling somebody to confirm the exact requirement with the receiving institution is honest and saves both parties a rejected document.

A page listing the common document types and what is usually required for each is genuinely useful and is what these buyers search for.

Language pairs, stated precisely

Directional, not general.

A translator certified for one direction may not be certified for the reverse, and a buyer needs to know which they are getting. Listing pairs as directional removes an enquiry that would have ended in a no.

Where you work with a network of translators rather than personally covering every pair, say so. Buyers do not object to it and they do object to discovering it later.

Pricing

More publishable in this trade than most, because the units are standard.

The basis first: per word, per page, per hour, or a minimum charge. Per-word is standard for documents and per-page is common for certified personal documents, and buyers frequently do not know which applies.

Then a rate or range, a minimum charge, what certification adds, what rush work adds, and whether notarisation is billed separately.

The minimum charge is the number individual buyers most need. Somebody with a one-page birth certificate is trying to work out whether this costs thirty dollars or three hundred, and a stated minimum answers it.

Turnaround

The second filter, and frequently the deciding one.

Standard turnaround by document size, what rush options exist and what they cost, and whether you work weekends. A buyer with a Friday deadline is choosing on this before price.

Also worth stating: how delivery works, whether a physical copy with a stamp is posted or collected, and how long that adds. For certified work the physical copy is frequently the actual constraint and nobody mentions it.

Subject expertise for business buyers

Where the higher-value work is won.

Legal, medical, technical, financial, and marketing translation are different skills, and a business buyer with a technical manual is looking for somebody who understands the subject rather than merely the language.

Naming your fields, and being honest about what you decline, positions you above a general service. So does explaining your process for terminology, review, and whether a second linguist checks the work.

For marketing material specifically, the distinction between translation and adaptation is worth explaining, since a business expecting a literal rendering of its slogan is usually not expecting what it needs.

Confidentiality

A real concern that goes unaddressed on most sites in this trade.

Documents in this category include medical records, legal matters, financial statements, and personal identification. Buyers are handing over sensitive material to a stranger.

Saying how documents are transmitted, how long they are retained, whether they are deleted afterwards, and whether translators are bound by confidentiality terms is straightforward reassurance almost nobody offers.

Interpretation, if you offer it

A different service that needs its own page rather than a mention.

Whether it is consecutive or simultaneous, in person, by phone, or by video, how it is billed, minimum booking periods, travel arrangements, and how far ahead to book.

The billing basis matters most, since hourly with a minimum is standard and buyers frequently expect to pay for the actual duration.

The rest

A quote route that accepts an uploaded document, since word count decides the price and nobody can estimate it. A stated response time. And plain descriptions throughout, since a buyer who does not know whether they need a certified translation or a notarised one is exactly the buyer to explain it to, which follows the same argument as writing about price without committing.

Frequently asked questions

What decides most translation enquiries?

Certification and turnaround. Most individual buyers were told by an institution that a document must be translated, so they need to know your credentials and whether you can meet the date.

How should certification be presented?

The professional body, the language pairs, and the direction, since certification is generally directional. Also what a certified translation, affidavit, and notarisation each actually are.

Should I say what will be accepted?

Better to state what you provide and advise confirming the exact requirement with the receiving institution, since requirements differ by institution and province.

What pricing should be published?

The basis first, whether per word, per page, or per hour, then a rate or range, the minimum charge, what certification and rush work add, and whether notarisation is separate.

What do business buyers look for?

Subject expertise. Legal, medical, technical, and marketing translation are different skills, and naming your fields positions you above a general service.

What is usually missing from these sites?

Confidentiality. Buyers hand over medical records, legal matters, and identification, and few sites say how documents are transmitted, retained, or deleted.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Enquiries that end when somebody asks whether you are certified for their document?

We put the credentials, the minimum charge, and the turnaround where they answer the whole enquiry.

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