The U.S. Government has gone bilingual with the recent launch of its Spanish-language site, GobiernoUSA.gov . It’s a very informative and thorough site with sections dedicated to the general public, newcomers to the U.S., visitors, and businesses.

Not only is this a smart way to tap into a growing constituency, but more importantly it’s a way to be relevant. According to a recent Forrester study, 43% of Hispanics in the U.S. are Spanish dominate, another 35% speak more Spanish than English at home or both equally. The same study found that there are 12 million Hispanic adults online of which 4 million are reliant on Spanish. While the number is small, 80% of this group wishes there was more Spanish-language content on the Internet.

As marketers we should take note for future communications strategies. As the Hispanic population continues to grow in the U.S., online Hispanics will also continue to grow. Depending on the product or service, a Hispanic client base can very well be Spanish-reliant, and /or find Spanish-language content more relevant. Evaluating a Spanish-language strategy for Hispanic audiences is a worthwhile exercise.