Clearly you see the advantages of localizing your website, or business materials for a foreign target market, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this article right now.

You have gone through many translators, and some have produced excellent works, while others produced junk you wouldn't even put through your shredder to conserve electricity. Well in the first case, all you need to do is put the best translators on retainer or hire them outright as a full employee depending on your needs.

Yes folks, like most hiring decisions whether outsourcing or in-company hiring, it's hit and miss. However here are a few ways you can reduce the chances that the translator you hire will not disappoint you too much.

1. Do cross references. Common sense right? Well do it for freelancers as well, perhaps even more so when it comes to important matters such as business translation. You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Call previous clients, employers, etc.

2. Review their portfolio. OK, clearly you cannot read anything they write, but at first glance see if they've translated for related target markets that you yourself are aiming for. If you feel you've caught a lead then hire someone else to review the material and see if it's up to par.

3. Tying along with the portfolio point, see if they've been responsible for translating larger scope and scale projects. Have they translated something that was put into mass circulation, made available to the mass airwaves, viewable on TV, won any awards, etc. That is a big selling point.