The many facets of Dutch part 2

Professional Dutch

Compared to other languages the linguistic distinctions between Dutch and Flemish might seem small and negligible, however, in professional business settings and for example (online) marketing they can actually make a big difference.

Brands and companies should take into account that terminology can play a significant role when they are advertising products and services. Therefore they should adapt their strategies and approaches accordingly when targeting audiences in the Netherlands and Belgium.

SEO & PPC

Certain terms, product names and expressions are very specific to certain parts of the Netherlands or certain parts of Belgium and cannot be used interchangeably:

• “Shorts”
  – NL: “korte broek”
  – BE-NL: “short”

Search volume in the Netherlands:

Search volume in Belgium:

• “I love you”
  – NL: “ik hou van je”
  – BE-NL: “Ik zie je graag”

Search volume in the Netherlands:

Search volume in Belgium:

• “Dress”
  – NL: “jurk(je)”
  – BE-NL: “kleed(je)”

  In Dutch “kleed” refers to a carpet, table cloth or plain piece of textile. In Flemish “kleedje” is the typical term used for a dress.

Search volume in the Netherlands:

Search volume in Belgium:

Sales

In Belgium it is not allowed to use the term “solden” (“sale(s)”) and advertise sales outside the officially designated sale periods (January and July). This can be tricky when running PPC campaigns in Belgium. Luckily, this can easily be solved by using alternative terms such as “promoties” (promotions), “aanbiedingen” (offers) or “kortingen” (discounts).

In the Netherlands, contrary to Belgium, there are no restrictions for using the terms “sale” or “sales”.

Sources:
http://www.translationartwork.com/differences-between-flemish-and-dutch/
https://www.thetranslationpeople.com/2005/05/46/
https://www.altaverba.be/en-dutch-or-flemish.htm
https://undutchables.nl/about-us/blog/the-dutch-and-flemish-language-and-the-underlying-misconceptions