Ryan Buddenhagen, April 9, 2012
I haven't spent that much time discussing the internet and the potential for internet marketing and SEO in Latin American -yet. It has been an area that just hasn't received great attention. This is largely due to the fact that internet penetration in Latin America has been slow and the market for building an optimized online presence is not fully developed. Thus is the nature of developing markets, they hold great potential, but each country's situation is different - it depends on whether they are three years, six years, or more from entering a space where they have the infrastructure, support, business presence, and computing public to push for all the benefits the internet brings. A developed internet landscape not only brings a market for internet advertising and SEO, but it also brings marked social and economic benefits in terms of international development and progress. A McKinsey study interestingly addresses this very point.
With this context, we turn our attention to a leader in internet in Latin America - Mexico. The country has seen significant growth in the internet during the last six years and the government is making it a priority to continue to advance in this realm. From a business perspective, the Mexican market, although being the third most connected in Latin America, is largely underdeveloped in terms of marketing. But as the internet advances in the country, the growth will spell great opportunity for many companies who serve the Mexican market to utilize SEO and optimize their web properties and essentially be ahead of the curve.
The Mexican Market
The Mexican government has unveiled its National Digital Agenda affirming the goals of the government as it outlines its ICT strategy for the years to come. In broad terms the plan sets out to "reduce the digital gap and make a positive impact on the telecommunications markets in Mexico," according to Mexico's secretary of communications and transport, Dionisio Pérez Jácome. The stats offered are significant, the number of internet users has doubled since 2006, now reaching 40 million, and in terms of broadband connections, there were 13 million fixed and 7.8 million mobile at the conclusion of 2011. A leading issue is access, as it is far from universal.
Check back tomorrow for the rest of my thoughts on internet in Mexico and how specifically businesses and SEOs can benefit from its advance. For more information on internet use in foreign markets or how international SEO services can benefit your business, reach out to me directly at rbuddenhagen@webimax.com.
