WebProNews

Since I've been covering the search engine industry, one of my "mentors," Nacho Hernandez, has guided me in the area of search engine marketing toward the Hispanic community, a subject some feel isn't worth the effort.

Well. Now there's evidence to support Nacho's position that the Hispanic community is in fact taking to the Internet in increasing numbers and they are looking for goods to purchase, which sounds an awful lot like a perfect opportunity for enterprising search marketers. According to a report from iMedia, which is being covered by MarketingVOX.com, Hispanics are going online in record numbers, and are actually adopting broadband capabilities at a higher rate (52%) than the national average (50%).

The report indicates that the majority of Hispanic users get more information about products and goods by going online than they do using the television medium. However, the key piece of data for the SEM community discovered by iMedia's study is:But, Hispanics noted that they would spend more time online, and pay more attention to ads, if the content were in Spanish...Something Nacho has been saying since we've first met. A quote in iMedia's report from Mark Lpez, publisher of AOL Latino further supports Nacho's claim:"This year's study shows that there is an incredible opportunity for marketers to reach the estimated 14 million Hispanics who are online -- by providing them with the language options they desire."As you can see, if you have been contemplating using search marketing to target the Hispanic online population with things sold on your web site, now as good a time as any to start.

For information on how you should approach such a strategy, please read our report about optimizing for the Hispanic community. It should have everything you need to initiate an effective SEM campaign, including tips on how to adjust your site to accommodate Hispanic visitors. If you have any other questions or need further information, please visit Nacho's iHispanic site.

Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest search news.