MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas

In the third and final installment of our series, our team fields questions about SEO, AdSense, and mirror sites stemming from our March 25th clinic, Optimizing Spanish-language landing pages. (Did you miss part one or part two of this series?)

Q: You suggest working on SEO and mentioned meta tags and keywords. Why? Google does not look at the keyword tag. I am confused.

A: To clarify the answer, while it’s true that Google and most other engines ignore keyword meta tags, the description meta tag still has value with search results. Keywords used not in meta tags, but in page titles and copy, URL strings, links, and other areas should correlate to the meta description whenever feasible. This not only benefits the organic search results, but in tying these areas together, you can see if the content on your pages is framed properly and consistently. That is, if certain keywords seem like a stretch, you might reconsider your copy, call-to-action links, and so on. This can be particularly useful when dealing with pages that feature more than one language, or in the case of Spanish-language pages, where grammar and usage issues may abound.

Q: Does Google Adsense allow you to display ads in a specific language?

A: If you look at the Google AdSense support page, you’ll notice that AdSense will serve relevant ads to pages based on the primary site language, even if the site contains multiple supported languages. This is based on the site’s primary language selected during the application process.

Additionally, users from WebmasterWorld note that ad language also depends heavily on the country of the visitor. Empirically, they report that Dutch language pages attract 50% Dutch and 50% English ads when visited from Holland, and 70% English, 20% German and 10% Russian ads when visited from Kazakhstan.

Q: We have English and Spanish sites that mirror each other except for language. When we modify content on the Spanish site to better target our Hispanic customers we get complaints from the Spanish speaking audience that they are not getting the same content. They perceive that they are receiving different offers and information (they are not). They want the same as what they see in English. Can you speak to this?

A: We would encourage you to investigate thoroughly before making drastic changes in response to a vocal, yet small, segment of the audience. We’ve seen a major online retailer phase out a major site feature because, as it turned out, one person made a lot of noise on the phone with an impressionable customer service supervisor. At the same time, of course, you don’t want to miss the boat and let negative publicity propagate. In fact, a JupiterResearch survey suggested that Hispanic Internet users are more likely than non-Hispanics to use social media for purchasing recommendations.

Your site should try to communicate clearly that the content is modified from the English version for language only, not offers. If you modify the site beyond just the language, you could test offering a link to an “exact Spanish translation” of the English-language site, right next to the link to the English-language site itself. That way, before a visitor ventures to check up on your English-language version, he/she will immediately recognize that there is an exact translation available. (To test this idea before investing in a major site revamp, link to a translated version of the site, as provided by a free translation service, then review the analytics data to see if there is sufficient demand to warrant a full translation.)

When we say during our clinics that we read every comment, we stand by our word. We hope you find these answers helpful and that they might generate further discussion about effective ways to optimize pages for Spanish-language markets. Comments? Additional questions? You know what to do …

The most useful phrase I ever learned in Spanish class was “Como se dice?” (Translation: “How do you say that?”). That question opens the door to expressing any idea, including the ideas marketers connecting with Spanish-language audiences need to express, like “Pruebalo gratis!” or “Free Trial.”

This is the second in a three-part series of posts with answers to some of the questions from our March 25th clinic on optimizing Spanish-language landing pages. (Part one is here.) The answers were provided by our team of analysts, including Ana Diaz, Arturo Silva, and Boris Grinkot, along with research where cited.

Q: When do I use Contactenos and when do I use Contactanos? I have seen both spellings on websites.

A: This is a great question and tricky one. The answer is not simple as they can be interpreted differently by every Spanish-speaking country. Both versions are grammatically correct. However, I interpret “Contáctenos” as the formal version of “Contáctanos”. The first one is addressing the visitor in a formal, professional way as if you were addressing the visitor as “Usted” (formal “You”) and the second one is an informal way as if you were addressing the visitor as “Tú” (informal “You”).

Q: How can we accommodate all the different varieties of Spanish around the world? This has been our challenge.

A: As with any other segmentation decision, you will need to do the math to decide whether it’s worth the investment.

While there are indeed cultural and language differences among different Spanish-speaking countries, the decision about the language should be no different than other content segmentation decisions. If your value proposition needs to be expressed differently in each country, it would make sense to create a country-specific version of your page. I would recommend testing your value proposition in your PPC ad copy, especially since the top search engines let you target your ads geographically. This, of course, requires that you possess copywriting talent with linguistic, cultural, and marketing expertise specific to the target geography.

The mechanics of switching among different geographies or dialect preferences can be straightforward. Typically, websites have been successful in using flags to allow the user to indicate country/language preference. Adding geotargeting will allow you to pre-select the locale based on the user’s IP address, although the geotargeting data is still not 100% reliable and you have to be careful to make it easy for the visitor that was mis-targeted to change the preference. All this necessarily increases the friction on your site, ultimately leading to increased confusion and lower conversion rates.

As with the investment into targeted translations, you will need to weigh the pros of this site modification (giving visitors access to preferred language format) against the cons (mis-guessing their preference based on IP data and asking them to make a selection—an additional friction element—where otherwise they would’ve been content with a “default” Spanish version or with the English-language original).

The most economical and simplest solution is to have a single Spanish-language version of your site, written and/or proofed by copywriting professionals that understand the differences among Spanish dialects and cultures. Their expertise will help you avoid the often popularized faux pas of using words that are benign in one dialect and obscene in another. If your company is targeting a global audience, having a “Spain” Spanish version (and indicating so) may suffice. If you are targeting U.S. Hispanics, you likely don’t need to have a version for every country of origin. Yet again, you should consider your ROI. While there are 21 Spanish-speaking countries, only three account for over 75% of U.S. Hispanic population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau (64% Mexico, 9% Puerto Rico, and 3.4% Cuba).

Q: Do I have to use Correro Electronico or can I use email in my forms?

A: Email has become a common word used in Spanish and many other languages. I think you can use email, it’s shorter and simpler, and most will know it. However, for the rest of the fields in your form make sure to use “Nombre” instead of “Name” and “Teléfono” instead of “Phone”. Also, for your sub-headline “Liberte Tarjeta de Llamamiento” I would suggest using something like “Recibe tu tarjeta de llamadas gratis”.

To emphasize the variety of expression possible in any language, when I asked our bilingual team how to say “7-day free trial,” they gave me three different answers: “Pruebalo gratis,” “Pruebalo gratis por 7 dias,” or “Membresia gratuita por 7 dias”. Each way of phrasing the offer has a particular connotation; marketers who want to present their offers most effectively will consider the nuances of language as they’re developing copy for their pages and sites.

Many thanks to the marketers who asked these questions — they heighten everyone’s awareness that translating ideas from English to Spanish is a complex process.

Check back for the third post in our series, addressing the clinic audience’s questions about technical issues such as meta keywords and mirroring sites.

One of our favorite things about our clinics is the quality questions from our audiences. Many times those questions go on to become the inspiration for future clinics, or even blog posts. Like this one.

This is the first in a three-part series of posts with answers to some of the most frequently asked and challenging questions from our March 25th clinic on optimizing Spanish-language landing pages.

Spanish-language statistics

Q: What percentage of the Hispanic population in the US looks for content in Spanish?

A: According to a recent Marketing Vox article that quoted an Ipsos Omnibus study, almost 40% of U.S. Hispanics ages 18-34, 42% of all Hispanic women, and 29% of all Hispanic men prefer Spanish-language websites. Another study from Florida State University published in MediaPost indicates that among social networking site users, about 43% of U.S. Hispanics that visit social networking sites more than two or three times per month (as well as those that visit MySpace or Facebook regularly) prefer Spanish. Interestingly, the same study finds that among Hispanic respondents over 35 who visit social networking sites more than two or three times per month, the language preference is almost evenly split between English and Spanish.

Q: Are there Spanish language search engines we need to be aware of? Where do Hispanics search on the web? What are the top 5 visited sites? What about B2B?

A: Best Spanish Language Sites offers curious marketers a chance to explore the features of search engines targeted directly to Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. The focus of these engines seems to be to promote local or regional businesses or highlight sites that are storehouses of cultural information for specific countries.

The question “where do Hispanics search on the web?” could be interpreted in two ways. The first is an inquiry as to which search engines Hispanics use.

Recently, the homepage of HispanicMarket Weekly was dominated by a banner proclaiming that Yahoo is the number one search engine for Hispanics, visited by 75% of Hispanic users. However, according to a 2008 Advertising Age study, Google is the preferred search tool for 82% of the 14 million Spanish-speakers currently online.

That same study identifies the top five websites for Hispanic viewers as YahooTelemundo.com, Univision.com, StarMedia.com, Batanga.com, and MSNLatino.com. It also reported that Hispanics make up 19% of the population on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook and more than 20% of the blogosphere (readers and writers).

Where Hispanics search on the web could also be interpreted as an inquiry about what products and services Hispanics are looking to purchase. A recent Experian study suggests that one future area of growth is banking and financial planning. Hispanics, possibly in congruence with their increasing affluence, are beginning to do more long-term planning for expensive purchases and express an interest in developing more financial savvy.

Big box stores like Walmart and Sam’s Club have Hispanic-focused initiatives that may inspire smaller businesses to try and capture their share of the Hispanic interest in lifestyle purchases such as electronics, cars, and organic foodstuffs. In addition, Vista Latino reports the median age of Hispanic shoppers online is 26, an age where people are often transitioning to a more family-oriented lifestyle. Marketers who focus on products geared toward children and families might begin their preparations for Spanish-language pages now in order to ride the rising tide of interest in family-friendly products.

B2B industries that want to reach the Hispanic market would do well to stay on top of news and trends relating to Hispanic leadership and Hispanic owned businesses. Publications like HispanicBusiness.com and Hispanic Market Weekly provide weekly updates. The long sales cycles of B2B offer plenty of opportunity for relationship building. In that scenario, a strong cultural awareness could be a key building block in establishing a positive client-provider relationship.

Join us for the next post in our series, addressing the clinic audience’s questions about grammar, usage, and dialect.

In a fast-paced online community where customer loyalty can be sealed or shattered by an inaccurate landing page or a poorly worded email, “Habla espanol?” isn’t a simple question. It’s a direct challenge for marketers.

If you’re operating outside the U.S., Spanish is the first language of over 330 million people.

If you’re doing business in the U.S., Spanish-language optimization gives you the opportunity to reach the more than 40 million Hispanics in the United States (and at least 14 million of them are online). As this graph from Terra.com shows, internet surfing is one of the top information-gathering channels used by this growing population.

And those Spanish speakers who aren’t online? According to an AOL/Roper ASW study, they’ll be connected in the next two years.

It takes knowledge and finesse to grow strong customer relationships in this diverse, complex, and rapidly expanding market. Arturo Silva, MarketingExperiments analyst, suggests that the key to Spanish-language optimization is “creating a cultural context people can connect to.”

Join Arturo, analyst Ana Gabriela Diaz, and the rest of the MarketingExperiments team at 11:00 a.m. on March 25th for a special live optimization clinic focusing on Spanish-language landing pages. Whether you already have a Spanish-language initiative in the works or are preparing the ground to begin one, this clinic will help you move beyond the level of targeting and customer surveys to create pages that connect with this powerful audience.

Please take note of this clinic’s special time.