Si, hablan español. UDR says adios to multifamily Web site competition with the adoption of TransMotion English-to-Spanish translating technology from Coconut Creek, Fla.-based MotionPoint, the outfit providing dynamic Spanish language Web site translation for BestBuy, Victoria’s Secret, Delta Airlines, Mazda, and Sears.

FAST FACTS

Technology: TransMotion English-to-Spanish Web site translation

Company: UDR
Live Launch: June 2007
Initial Investment: $75,000
Internal Benefits: Recoup of personnel and capital resource investment costs
No. of Translated Web Pages: 4,000
Current Visitors Per Month: 10,000
 Lead to Lease Conversion: Approximately 15 percent

Highlands Ranch, Colo.-based UDR first decided to appeal to the Hispanic renter market through the use of the REIT’s Web site back in 2004, says company vice president of marketing Steve Taraborelli. “We hired a translator and just translated the static pages on the corporate side of the Web site like our vision statement and the ‘About UDR’ page,” Taraborelli says. “We focused on things we knew were not likely to change over longer periods of time.” That’s because the translation process was time-consuming and expensive, requiring a duplication of the English Web site dynamic structure; a translation of content; and then the hosting of two distinct-but-parallel Web sites in English and Spanish.

So in 2008 UDR dropped a cool $75,000 for MotionPoint’s services, including translation of all of the REIT’s 4,000-plus dynamic Web pages, imbedded text graphics, RSS feeds, PDFs, and style sheets, plus the hosting of all UDR sites on the MotionPoint server. Javascipt embedded on each Web component alerts MotionPoint when specific code or content has been changed, and live Spanish-American translators make the appropriate changes, typically within 48 hours.

The use of an outside technology provider is a smart move here, and the visitor traffic and lead conversions speak to its success. —Dave Woodward, CEO and managing partner, Laramar Communities

The results? Since going live, UDR’s Spanish site has grown from 96 visitors per month to more than 10,000 visitors per month. Plus, the REIT has converted more than 2,250 Spanish Web site leads into 335-plus leases. That’s muy bien.