Google India to put 50,000 Gujarat SMEs online by 2014 year end

Google India today announced its plan to get 50,000 SMEs in Gujarat online by end of 2014. The initiative is part of Google’s national campaign titled ‘India, get your business online’ which offers free websites and hosting to SMEs in India. The campaign is aimed at bringing down the barrier that prevents SMEs to get on the Internet.

Giving a head start to this project, Google also unveiled the details of a special project wherein Google India & HostGator went to popular traditional markets in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot and built websites for 5,000 small businesses making them accessible to the world.

In addition to creating the websites, Google India also created Google maps listings and Google+ business pages for these businesses. All these 5,000 businesses can also use 24X7 customer support to manage their websites and get free online advertising credit that can be used on Google search to promote their business online.

Announcing the initiative, Suryanarayana K, Head- SMB Sales, Google India said, “Gujarat houses the largest number of SMEs in the country. These can benefit greatly by having a website for their businesses which will open up new markets for them. We aim to get 50,000 SMEs online, which will dramatically change the business landscape and opportunities for SMEs in Gujarat.”

“Our research has shown that SMEs, who use Internet, see revenue growth of 51% and raise in profits by 49%. Gujarat already represents 10% of the total Internet population in the country and houses many export oriented businesses, by being present on the Internet, they can make the world their market and continue to boost the economy of the country,” he added.

Nakul Makker, a furniture-maker based in Ahmedabad said “We get a lot of customers who always ask us about our website as nowadays the customers expect us to put our catalogue online. We have been thinking about making one but we did not know how to go about it. With Google offering to set up a website for us, our business is now accessible online to anyone and everyone in Ahmedabad.”

In addition to this initiative, Google will host several workshops through its 200 Google partners in Gujarat, who will provide local support to SMEs and help them to get online and grow their business through online marketing.

The campaign will also be supported by an aggressive marketing campaign that will focus on improving the awareness on the benefits of Internet for SMEs.