It is Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15), and this week plenty of Florida businesses will post something in Spanish. Some will also add a small "Español" button to their site. It takes five minutes, the whole site switches language in a second, and it looks like the job is done: a bilingual website for a Florida business, just like that.
Then a customer in Kissimmee reads "puesta a punto de su unidad de CA" and wonders who wrote it. The page is technically in Spanish. It just does not sound like anyone they would call.
How many of your customers read in Spanish
Enough that this is not a side project. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 29.2% of Floridians are Hispanic or Latino (QuickFacts, estimate for July 1, 2025). That is close to 3 in every 10 people in the state.
Not every Hispanic customer prefers Spanish, and many switch between both languages all day. But in markets like Orlando, Kissimmee, or Miami, a large share of the people who need an AC repair, a dentist, or a cleaning service read more comfortably in Spanish. Some only fully trust a business when they read about it in Spanish.
Translating your site is not writing for Spanish searchers
A translation tool takes your English sentence and returns the closest Spanish sentence. That is useful. It is also the problem, because your English sentence was written for a different customer.
People who search in Spanish often:
- Use different words. Not the literal translation of your service names, but the words they grew up with, and those change depending on whether someone is from Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, or Mexico.
- Ask different questions. Does someone on the phone speak Spanish? Is the estimate really free? Does the price include everything, or will there be surprises?
- Trust different signals. A real phone number where someone answers in Spanish. Reviews written in Spanish. A real person's name and face, not a stock photo.
A machine can translate the page you have. It cannot tell you which page you should have.
Same need, different words: what people type in each language
Here is how the same need can sound in each language for a few common service businesses. These are examples of real phrasing, not search volume data, and your own customers will have their own versions.
| Business | What they search in English | What they search in Spanish | What a literal translation might say |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | "AC not cooling" | "el aire no enfría" | "el acondicionador de aire no está enfriando" |
| HVAC | "AC tune-up" | "mantenimiento del aire acondicionado" | "puesta a punto de CA" |
| HVAC | "free estimate" | "estimado gratis" or "cotización gratis" | "estimación gratuita" |
| Dental | "emergency dentist near me" | "dentista de emergencia cerca de mí" | Usually fine, but the page around it may not be |
| Dental | "braces for adults" | "frenos para adultos" | "aparatos ortopédicos para adultos" |
| Cleaning | "move-out cleaning" | "limpieza de mudanza" | "limpieza de salida" |
| Cleaning | "house cleaning service" | "limpieza de casas" | "servicio de limpieza de la casa" |
The last column is not wrong Spanish. It is Spanish nobody types into Google. That is the difference between a page Google can match to a search and a page that simply exists.
Answer the questions Spanish-speaking customers ask before they call
This is where knowing the customer matters more than knowing the language. Ask yourself, or ask your team, what Spanish-speaking customers want to know before they book, and why some of them never do. Then put the answers on the page.
| What the customer wonders | Where the answer goes on the site |
|---|---|
| "Will someone answer me in Spanish?" | Next to the phone number: who speaks Spanish and when |
| "Is the estimate really free?" | On each service page, in plain words, with what is and is not included |
| "Can I trust them in my home?" | Photos of the real team, license information, reviews written in Spanish |
| "What happens after I fill out the form?" | A short line under the form: who contacts you, how, and in which language |
| "Do they understand my situation?" | Service descriptions written in the customer's words, not industry terms |
None of these answers comes from a translator. They come from listening to customers, the same work behind every good page, in any language.
Make sure Google can actually see your Spanish pages
Even well-written Spanish can stay invisible if the site is built the wrong way. Google Search Central is clear on a few points:
- One URL per language. Google recommends a different URL for each language version, rather than cookies or browser settings that switch the language on the same page.
- Visible content decides the language. Google says it uses the visible content of your page to determine its language, not code-level tags. If the page loads in English and only changes after a click, Google may only see English.
- Tell Google which pages are pairs. With hreflang annotations, Google can send people to the right language version. Each language version must list itself and all the other versions.
- Let people choose. Google advises against automatically redirecting visitors based on what you assume their language is. A clear link to the other language works better.
- Translate the content, not just the menu. Google warns that translating only the boilerplate, while the main content stays in one language, can create a bad experience.
None of this guarantees a position in search results; nobody can promise that. It only makes sure Google can find, read, and show the Spanish pages you worked on.
Keep the whole customer path in Spanish
A bilingual website is more than its pages. Walk through every step a customer takes:
- The contact form: are the field labels and error messages in Spanish?
- The confirmation email or text: does it switch back to English?
- The phone: does whoever answers know a call in Spanish may come in?
- Your Google Business Profile and social profiles: do they say the same thing, in the same words?
If the Spanish stops at the home page, the customer notices. Usually at the exact moment they were about to book.
Where AI helps, and where a person decides
We use AI every day, including for Spanish. It produces a fast first draft, spots inconsistencies between pages, and helps compare how different competitors describe the same service. It saves hours.
What it cannot do alone is decide what to say. It does not know that your customers call it "el aire," that they always ask whether the technician speaks Spanish, or that your best reviews mention the same person by name. Someone who knows the business makes those calls, and a native Spanish speaker reads every page before it goes live. AI brings the speed. People bring the judgment.
Questions to ask any agency or freelancer before you hire them
- Who writes the Spanish pages: a person, a tool, or a tool reviewed by a person?
- Is that person a native Spanish speaker who knows how people in Florida talk?
- How will you learn what my Spanish-speaking customers ask, and why some of them do not book?
- Will each Spanish page have its own URL, with hreflang pointing to its English pair?
- What happens to the forms, emails, and messages after someone clicks in Spanish?
- How will you keep the Spanish pages up to date when my services or offers change?
If the answer to the first question is "the translate button does it," you already know what you are getting.
The short version
Nearly 3 in 10 Floridians are Hispanic or Latino. A translate button hands them your English words in Spanish. A bilingual website answers their own questions, in the words they actually search, on pages Google can read. Machine translation is fast, and it has its place. But the person who decides what to say should be someone who knows your customers.