SEO in Brazil – Everything You Need To Know
Most of us associate Brazil with a land of Samba, the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, coffee and a rich market. However, there is much more than these stereotypical and characteristic aspects. Let’s go a little bit further and discuss… SEO in Brazil. Considering the rich and well developed market of goods and services, it’s worth making every effort to be noticed in e-commerce and to think about factors that need to be taken into account when doing SEO in Brazil. After reading this article you won’t have even a shadow of a doubt when it comes to e-commerce and SEO on the Brazilian market. Keep reading!
America covers a vast part of the world and it’s located in the West. It’s divided into two continents and on our blog, we’ve already discussed SEO in the USA and in Canada. The latter blog post should put you in the picture when it comes to SEO in North America. Today we’re going to focus on Search Engine Optimization and e-commerce in South America or, to be more precise, SEO in Brazil. Want to learn more? Let’s get it started!
SEO in Brazil – A few characteristics of the Brazilian market
The Brazilian market is very attractive for many manufacturers, contractors, and service providers. How is it possible? Brazil is a country covering an area of 8,515,767 km² with an extremely huge population reaching 207,679,000 people. We need to mention that exporting goods to the countries of South America can be a little bit complex and difficult.
Another country equals another language, legal regulations, mentality, negotiation styles, and above all, complicated procedures and bureaucracy. These are the basic obstacles that discourage foreigners from entering the Brazilian market. Although it may sound trivial – don’t get disheartened or prejudiced. The Brazilian market can be considered as one of the most developing markets in the world. People living there are full of joy, hospitality, and energy. Sounds a little bit more optimistic? These advantages should definitely overbalance the impediments.
What’s worth investing in on the Brazilian market?
Everyone who considers entering the Brazilian market should get to know its needs and preferences. It’s a good idea to review ready lists and reports issued by Brazilian institutions. If there is no demand for given products, there is no use in trying your hand at it. Here’s the piece of advice for investors who are just beginning their adventure – start your activities in the southern part of Brazil and cities such as Rio De Janeiro, Santa Catarina, or São Paulo. These are cities with huge potential and their inhabitants have high purchasing power.
Brazil is a real tycoon among food producers. It’s the world’s first coffee producer and exporter. Moreover, the country dominates in the production of soya, sugar cane, beans, cocoa, manioc, rice, and bananas. Brazil is also very rich in natural resources – among the most popular ones we need to mention iron, bauxite, manganese, nickel, and tin ores. The country is the largest supplier of semi-precious stones in the global market. And last but not least, Brazil has its own oil and gas reserves which make it the second-largest producer of these raw materials in South America.
There is an unemployment tax in Brazil and it’s paid by everyone exporting goods to the country. Hence, the unemployment rate in the country is comparably low.
Brazil SEO – The importance of GDP in Brazil
The Gross Domestic Product shows the total value of all services and goods that were manufactured in Brazil in a given year. This indicator perfectly illustrates the economic strength of the country. Check the chart below to see how the country’s GDP has changed over the years. There was a decrease and a slight crisis between 2015 and 2016, however, this means that the country was spending a lot of money to boost its economy. From 2018 it’s been expected that the country’s GDP will grow.
E-commerce in Brazil
A considerable part of Brazilians shops online with the use of mobile devices. If that’s not enough reason to invest in proper digital marketing in that market let’s check some data. In 2017, 31% of all e-commerce transactions were made via tablets or smartphones and the trend is still growing. In 2018, the revenue from e-commerce sales amounted to USD 28 billion. It’s predicted that in 2022 the sales volume will amount to USD 39 billion.
Data in the e-Ebit Webshoppers report indicate that e-commerce in Brazil is growing year by year. In 2017 it was registered that 55 million consumers bought something online at least once. The products most frequently purchased online include mobile and electronic devices, computers, furniture, clothes, and cosmetics.
Paying in installments became very popular in Brazil – half of the value of the transaction is paid right after the purchase and the other half is paid in installments. Payment methods in Brazil are rather complex and varied. In 2017 64% of consumers using their credit cards, 16% went for PayPal and 20% chose debit cards. When it comes to the most popular stores in Brazil which are also known worldwide, we need to mention: Submarino.com.br, Americanas.com.br, Netshoes.com.br, Magazineluiza.com.br, and Saraiva.com.br.
In Brazil there is a growing trend in the number of e-commerce users.
SEO in Brazil – how to be noticed on the Brazilian Internet?
The vast majority of Brazilians use the Internet on an everyday basis. They’re active on various social media platforms and they shop online. According to the Statista report, Brazil constitutes the fourth largest Internet market in the world. Already today nearly 68% of the country’s inhabitants are active Internet users and so are exposed to digital marketing.
Every year the number of Internet users in Brazil increases. It’s estimated that in 2023 as many as 78% of the Brazilian people will be taking advantage of online services. Currently, the Statista report says that there are about 141 million e-commerce users in Brazil.
What language to use when doing SEO in Brazil – let’s talk Portuguese
Portuguese is the official language in Brazil and people use it to communicate on an everyday basis. Note that this is the only South American country where inhabitants don’t speak Spanish.
How is it possible? In the 15th century, there was a treaty signed in Vatican City. By its virtue, the newly discovered areas of the world were divided in half. The eastern part included Africa and these areas were allocated to Portugal. Meanwhile, the western part included both the Americas and belonged to Spain. Subsequent expeditions to the shores of America proved that a part of the continent slightly sticks out to the east. The Portuguese benefited from this fact and decided to use these areas to create a new country – Brazil. That’s how we have a country in South America where people speak Portuguese. Brazil is the most populous Portuguese-speaking country with over 207 million inhabitants. Up to 97.9% of the Brazilian population speak Portuguese.
Note that there are differences between Brazilian Portuguese and Portuguese used in Portugal, however, both of them are mutually understandable. 1.9% of the Brazilian population speaks German. This group includes immigrants from Germany who came to Brazil in the 1940s. 0.2% speak native languages such as Ticuna, Kaingang, and Kaiwá Guarani that have survived the European colonization. Interestingly, most Brazilians understand Spanish – it’s due to the fact that Spanish-speaking countries are located close to Brazil. In many schools, English is taught as a second language, yet it isn’t used by many inhabitants.
The Portuguese spoken in Brazil differs from the one spoken in Portugal (mostly in terms of vocabulary and spelling). It’s particularly important when it comes to translating websites and documents into the Brazilian variation of this language.
Websites should be designed in Portuguese but you need to consider a few issues. First of all – hreflangs. They’re necessary if you want to have different language versions available on your site. When it comes to online shops, you shouldn’t target your Portuguese website in Brazil and Portugal at the same time. Why? Think about various currencies, delivery time, and other similar aspects. Many Brazilian websites have Portuguese landing pages. However, it’s also worth providing users with various language versions of the site. Keep in mind the design of your website because changing the language version from Portuguese to English may affect the layout of the page as the words in these two languages have noticeably different lengths.
Brazilian social media users
The number of Brazilians using social media increases year by year. Therefore, it’s a signal for companies to promote their brands and become more recognizable thanks to these platforms. In 2017 it was noted that Brazil is the fourth greatest Internet market in the world and the users’ share amounts to 66%. According to the, We Are Social report, in 2017 over 87% of Brazilians were active social media users. Moreover, it was also noted that an average Brazilian person spends on social media more than 3 hours a day.
Unsurprisingly, Facebook is the most popular social media platform in Brazil (over 64%). YouTube is second in the ranking – Brazilians are fans of videos, 44% of the Internet users in this country watch at least one video a day. Below you can check the percentage distribution of the popularity of particular social media platforms. Whatsapp is another very popular application in Brazil.
It might be quite striking that 96% of mobile phone users in the discussed country communicate via this app. Why? SIM cards in Brazil can cost an arm and a leg, hence the idea of taking advantage of Whatsapp.
Networking with Brazilian consumers can be much more effective if your brand is present in social media. Regular publishing on social media platforms and interacting with users help in building your brand trust. This, on the other hand, is beneficial for SEO because Google has access to various sources providing information about the company. Then, it’ll be more probable that your landing page will be displayed in the search results.
Search engines in Brazil – Google knocks out the competition
Google is the leading search engine in most countries of the world. However, Brazil is a place where Google knocks out its competition. Its share amounts to 99% and it’s rather an unusual phenomenon. Therefore, in Brazil there is no point to even consider doing SEO for other search engines – Google wins unanimously. Bing, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, Yandex RU and Baidu didn’t manage to reach the remaining 1%.
Therefore, any company that wants to enter the Brazilian e-commerce market should adjust their SEO activities to Google because only such actions guarantee success.
Which domain to choose for SEO in Brazil?
There are two domains in Brazil: .COM.BR (for commercial entities) and NET.BR (for Internet infrastructure). They’re secondary.BR domains. If you want to register a domain in Brazil, you need to have a local company representative. Then, you’ll be asked to provide local contact details and configure DNS. What’s important – it isn’t mandatory to have your business registered in Brazil.
Brazil is a country with free markets and open and competitive industries. By registering a domain in Brazil, the company owner proves its legitimacy which helps in local marketing, digital marketing, and promotion of the brand. Such a brand will be much more recognizable by the inhabitants of Brazil.
Brazil SEO Must-Haves
SEO in Brazil is based on being active on social media platforms. It’s a great way to improve both brand recognition and trust. Content marketing is another aspect. All your texts should be unique, diverse, and more importantly – attractive for the users. Remember about the proper translation of your content. In Brazil, numerous companies support their SEO activities with paid search results. It’s a perfect solution that speeds up promotional activities. As we’ve already written in the article, more and more Brazilians shop online via their smartphones. Therefore, it’s worth investing in responsive web designs. Local keyword research is also a must in the Brazilian SEO.
Brazil is an extremely appealing country perfect for investors and manufacturers therefore it’s worth entering the local e-commerce market. Remember that Brazilians are very fond of shopping online. If you want to make your company more popular, focus on social media – it’s a great way to improve the visibility of your website in the search results. Pay attention to the language, customs, and preferences of the inhabitants if you want to stand out from other companies in Brazilian e-commerce. In order to outdo your rivals on the market, you need to develop a digital marketing strategy that will attract the attention of Brazilian consumers.
