Yahoo Expands Reach to U.S. Hispanics with Search Distribution Deal

Yahoo will supply both Web search and sponsored search listings to Hispanic Digital Network (HDN), a group of more then 70 Spanish-language Web sites, under an exclusive multi-year distribution agreement.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

HDN develops Web sites and sells ads for the digital editions of Spanish-language traditional media companies, including Miami’s Diario Las Americas, Chicago’s La Raza, Houston’s Semana and San Diego’s El Latino. The company’s Web site says it reaches more than 14 million U.S. Hispanics.

Many of the HDN sites also display ads from Google’s contextual network.

Peter Celeste, regional general manager for the Americas for Yahoo Search and Search Marketing, told ClickZ the new distribution agreement was designed in part to complement the portal’s recent tie-up with Telemundo. That partnership gives Yahoo 12.8 million U.S. Hispanic visitors per month, according to comScore Media Metrix numbers from May 2006.

“I think there are two classes of advertiser [we’re trying to attract],” Celeste said. “One is the pure-play Hispanic advertisers…the second group is getting mainstream U.S. advertisers to try to create Web sites in Spanish and focus on the U.S. Hispanic demographic.”

Search results and ads will be served in both Spanish and English, said Celeste, depending on which language the query is in. Because of the growth of the U.S. Hispanic population, the nation’s largest minority is increasingly becoming an attractive target for advertisers.