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Bing Webmaster Tools – Lost in Translation

Search engine optimisation

Clumsy translations are an old favourite of ours. Over the past few months we have been working on a large localisation project in which practically every word has been weighed with great care and matched to local search volume in its field. So it is all the more amusing that the Swedish version of Bing Webmaster Tools’ page on what a meta description should look like reads as if it had been translated string by string, without context.

Bing Webmaster Tools’ recommended action in Swedish, where the code example has translated the tag name to meta name="beskrivning"
Quite apart from the translator having been given unclear instructions, I can make neither head nor tail of their example text. And no, I don’t understand what a “nyckelord-RTF” (roughly “keyword RTF”) is supposed to be either.

Neither does Google.
Google finds no results for the search phrase "nyckelord-RTF"
And I’m not sure I was much the wiser after asking Bing’s Copilot what the term meant.
The term “nyckelord-rtf” appears to be a combination of two words: “nyckelord” and “RTF”. Let’s break it down: Nyckelord: In Swedish, “nyckelord” translates to “keywords” in English. Keywords play a crucial role in various contexts, such as search engine optimization (SEO), where they are used to improve a website’s ranking in search engine results1. They are also essential for content categorization, information retrieval, and data analysis. RTF (Rich Text Format): RTF is a document file format that allows for text formatting, including font styles, colors, and other layout elements. It is commonly used for exchanging documents between different word processors and text editors. RTF files can contain various commands and keywords to specify formatting instructions within the document. Combining these two terms, “nyckelord-rtf” could refer to keywords or commands related to formatting in an RTF document. If you have a specific context or need further information, feel free to provide additional details! 😊

What example would I have suggested? Perhaps the description I wrote for this article, which in English reads: “It gets very funny when Bing Webmaster Tools tries to give tips on what a good description text should look like.”