Professional Translator and SEO | Michael Bastin

Why Mike Bastin?

My name is actually Michaël Bastin, with the diaeresis (the two dots) over the “e”, which is how we spell Michael in French. When I was 18, I was an Exchange Student with Rotary International and spent a year learning English in the US state of Wisconsin. As nicknames are pretty common in the US, I was quickly called “Mike” and it has stuck with me ever since. The main advantage of of 4-letter name is obvious when you sign your name. As translators, we do type a lot and just those 3 letters saved by typing “Mike” instead of “Michael” or “Michaël” tally up to a significant amount of keystrokes every day.

Professional Translator and SEO

I am a French speaking Belgian with a BA in translation from the École d’Interprètes Internationaux (School of International Interpreters), Belgium. I have lived and studied in multilingual Belgium and in the Netherlands, USA, Costa Rica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. I have also traveled extensively throughout Europe and Central America. I have always been drawn to discovering new things or “l’aventure” as we say in French, and I was quite sure early on in my life that I would not stay in my native Belgium for long after I got my degree. When the Internet phenomenon gained momentum at the end of the 90′s, I found a job in a start-up translation company working as a translator, project manager, insides sales agent and later, as an Internet marketing manager. This experience was very valuable and taught me a lot of things that I could use later in my career. I have now been living full-time on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic since 2002, where I can practice my new passion for windsurfing and kiteboarding.

I specialize in English to French translations, and translations from Dutch and Spanish.

Translation Subject Matters

• IT: Website translation, software and website localization, translation of user guides, manuals, how-to’s, software help documentation
• Telecommunications: Translation of PowerPoint presentations, mobile user guides, etc.
• Geopolitics: Country guides, human rights subjects, educational materials.
• Marketing: Events, tourism, press releases, marketing communication, incentives, user guides

Language Skills and SEO = Multilingual SEO

Although I would not call myself a webmaster by 2011 standards, I have created and updated quite a few websites throughout my professional career. However, it is in the field of language and SEO that I feel most at ease, combining my passion for languages and my lifelong passion for computers and communication at large.

I have broad experience managing multilingual websites, either my own or that of BeTranslated, a company which is basically a larger version of me and what I do. Combining translation and SEO skills, I can help my customers achieve higher search engine rankings in different languages and countries.

And finally, I am passionate about languages; French is my mother tongue but I also speak English, Spanish and Dutch fluently and have a sound understanding of Italian and German which I currently study in my spare time.