GOOGLE OFFERS FREE ADVERTISING TO SMALL INDIAN BUSINESSES

Bangalore: World's leading search engine Google would offer free advertising coupons for small and medium businesses (SMBs) across the country, the global firm's Indian subsidiary said.

"All SMBs with online presence will be able to avail our advertising coupons worth Rs.2,500 by calling toll free number 1860 266 6622 and registering their websites with our AdWords platform," Google India online sales head Sridhar Seshadri said in a statement here.

As part of this novel initiative, Google India also launched a new service JumpStart to offer free expert support to help SMBs build an online advertising campaign for attracting new customers.

"The AdWords programme provides marketers a cost-effective platform where-in they can measure RoI (return on investment), monitor and optimise their campaign. SMBs can start advertising online with a budget as low as Rs.200 a day and grow it as per their business demand, thus having control over their ad-spends and flexibility," Seshadri pointed out.

The new service will provide a quick-and-easy way to SMBs to get their advertising campaign off to a good start. Google India specialists will work with SMBs to set up their AdWords account and build a customised campaign suitable to their business and budget.

The initiative received a good response when it was launched as a pilot project in Chandigarh recently.

The SMBs sector, which constitutes 80 percent of the country's industrial enterprises faces an uphill task for advertising due to prohibitive costs involved.

"Recognising this roadblock and the huge potential for SMBs to grow, the company launched offline and online initiatives to partner with them and educate these businesses about the power of internet advertising," Seshadri noted.

Google AdWords enables SMBs to target precisely, pay only for results, and stay firmly in charge of costs.

"We foresee a vast opportunity in the small businesses sector and are committed to extend support to all SMB advertisers to help them gain from the internet medium," Seshadri added.