How to Reach U.S. Hispanics with Spanish-Languages SEM Strategies by Silvia Prado is one of the articles featured in the first annual 2010-2011 U.S. Hispanic Social Media Guide which is guide on how to reach Latinos through social media.

1. How to Reach U.S. Hispanics with
Spanish-Language SEM Strategies
By Silvia Prado Open ‘round the clock
THIS YEAR MARKS A VERY exciting year for Hispanic marketers as Your website and online marketing efforts work as your virtual
we await the results of the 2010 US Census. The outcome will surely salesperson 24/7/365.
represent significant opportunities for Hispanic communications
professionals, especially in the online space. How do marketers So, how do you get started? Here are some simple “Spanish-
effectively target this lucrative demographic? Below are a few language SEO” tips to get you going:
compelling reasons to incorporate Spanish-language search engine
optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) initiatives into Check for accurate Spanish translation. To ensure that your
your communications mix: messages hit home, make sure your website is translated by native
Spanish-speakers. Professional translators are your best bet.
Population size Review your website structure. There are many factors that
According to the last US Census, Hispanics are the largest ethnic contribute to the ranking success of your website, including: age of
minority in the US, comprised of nearly 50 million Hispanics and domain/URL, URL structure, content, internal link structure, trust,
3 million Hispanic-owned businesses. keywords, outbound links or inbound links.
Analyze your site. Not only can web analytics measure website
US Hispanics are online traffic, but it can also be used to give you insights on how to
The Hispanic online market, a diverse group, presents a unique optimize web usage and drive click-throughs. Google Analytics to
opportunity to reach one of the fastest-growing and lucrative customer improve your marketing effectiveness.
segments on the internet. According to eMarketer.com, a digital Spanish and English keyword research. There are a multitude of
marketing research firm, over 52 percent of US Hispanics are online, keyword research tools than can help you get started on optimizing
representing about 24 million internet users in 2009 and an estimated your website to address both the Spanish-speaking and English-
39 million by 2014. speaking markets. Some include: Wordtracker, KeywordDiscovery,
Compete, Hitwise, and Google Keyword Tools.
Two languages, two opportunities Optimize website copy, titles and labels. Apply steps 1-4 to improve
Many US Hispanics online are bilingual and, according to comScore, natural search results.
about 19 percent of US Hispanic internet users use Spanish as their Off-page factors – promote your site through content. Backlinks and
primary language. Search engine marketing can be an effective way inbound links originate from outside your website, but points directly
to target US Hispanics in both English and Spanish. back to it. They are used to measure the importance and popularity
Increase your visibility and marketshare of the website, establishing credibility and better ranking results.
Spanish is the third most-used language on the internet, says Some of the various ways you can create authoritative inbound links
World Internet Statistics. However, thousands of Spanish-language are:
websites are lagging because they are not effectively built, do not
include quality content and are not search-engine
optimized, among other reasons.
SEO boosts website traffic
Spanish-language SEO is an effective way to
increase website traffic and conversions. Some of
the benefits include targeted traffic from natural
search results, increased web traffic, more sales/
leads, expanded reach, boosted search-engine
rankings and established brand credibility.
Invest for the long term
Spanish-language SEO is a long-term strategy
with a high return-on-investment because it
can decrease your marketing expenditure while
providing a more efficient way to reach your target
market.
continued on page 28
2010-2011 U.S. Hispanic Social Media Guide
2010
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2. How to Reach U.S. Hispanics with Spanish-Language SEM Strategies, cont.
• Directories
• Blogs
• Articles
• Press release distribution and media outlet pick-up
• Social media sites
• Link-building from other websites that agree to point to yours
• Online advertising
• Pay-per-click marketing
Keep at it! The internet has lots of resources to help you reach your
communications goals through SEO and SEM, including:
Marketwire’s US Hispanic Newsline
SEOTOOLS
SEOmoz
AOL Hispanic Cyberstudy
Hispanic Market Overview - 2010
2010 US Hispanic Social Media & Marketing Overview
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Silvia Prado is an account executive at
Marketwire, a leading global newswire, and is based in Miami. Her
email is sprado@marketwire.com and her Twitter is @Silvia_Prado.
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2010-2011 U.S. Hispanic Social Media Guide
2010
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