Add a Second Language (and Value) to Your Website

By Sandra McNally

To some businesses, it is an emerging trend, to others a commercial necessity – whatever “language” you attach to it, the growing market for Spanish-speaking websites cannot be denied.

Statistics show an estimated 10 million U.S. Hispanics are online, a number that is expected to grow by double digits annually for the next several years.  Eye-opening data indeed, but those figures should come as no surprise since according to the US Census Bureau an estimated 40 million native Spanish speaking individuals currently live in this country, a figure that is expected to increase to 50 million by the year 2010.

Additional data indicates that Hispanics own nearly one-half of all minority-owned businesses, generating $200 million in sales annually and that one in three Hispanic households has and use the Internet. These growing numbers are increasingly harder to ignore, with response to this fast-moving development now gaining momentum.

Several large service-oriented corporations have for some time provided Spanish translation websites for their constantly growing numbers of Hispanic clients. Nearly two years ago, Southwest Airlines became the first major airline to offer a Spanish-language website, followed by other major players within the consumer industry, including Verizon Wireless and Home Depot.  Government organizations, medical facilities, retailers and even the Girl Scouts have added Spanish versions to their websites, underscoring the very real fact that diversity is vital to E-commerce and E-marketing. 

Real estate professionals have likewise recognized that a rising Hispanic population equals an evolving residential and commercial market.  Moreover the hospitality industry has identified the need to cater to diverse populations, as have automobile makers. Driven by an expanding Hispanic market, more and more of these large ticket industries are rethinking marketing strategies, including bilingual website visibility aimed at accommodating a sector increasingly critical to this country’s economy.

The transformation of web-based economy will continue on the fast track, ultimately making it imperative for businesses of all sizes to consider making their websites at the very least, bilingual.

Although the present and future market for other-than-English-language websites is vast, surprisingly still less than 1% of all US websites are offered in Spanish … and the percentages are even smaller for other languages.

So what’s holding a majority of companies back from offering Spanish counterparts to their sites? Some may not have yet recognized the number of advantages a bilingual site generates.  Others may think the cost associated with translation will be prohibitive.

In short, the advantages are many, while the cost can be minimal – and well worth the price if additional traffic is brought to the business owner’s site.

A second language version of a website will not only bring additional potential customers, it will also get a businness increased exposure in search engines, providing for more flexibility with “pay per click” marketing.  Google and Yahoo have had Spanish language search engines in place for some time, targeted toward a Spanish-speaking audience living in the US.

As a business owner, you will also have the ability to obtain an entirely new sector for innovative market ideas and products when you go bilingual.  The appeal factor of product lines can be vastly different among different cultural groups, opening up fresh territories for business.   

Translating a website into another language is an art unto itself, with content at the focus of attention.  Consistency rules when it comes to disseminating information.  If an English language site encompasses several pages of content, then its Spanish-speaking counterpart should offer the same amount of information.  Website translation is an investment in a company’s present and future, so it’s probably wiser to go the entire distance and offer a comprehensive website in Spanish, as opposed to a cut-rate version that may only provide a home page or price list in Spanish.

By integrating Spanish into its Internet marketing, a business will, without question, increase customers and sales.  The size and importance of an emerging and constantly growing Hispanic audience cannot be ignored … business owners who recognize the value of providing culturally diverse websites will reap benefits in many ways.

(Sandra McNally is a principal at Interactive Palette, a W. Bridgewater, MA web design firm. www.interactivepalette.com)