Google UK was surprised to find that 40% of small firms in the United Kingdom did not have a web presence in any form. They took it upon themselves to encourage the small businesses to leverage the strength of the web to promote their business. They started looking around for small firms who were using the web most innovatively and effectively. The exercise was started in May and the results are out now. Luxury cottage specialist sheepskinlife.com has been named Google’s first travel industry Best of British Web winner.
The final selection was made from a list of hundreds of hopefuls. Helen Shaw, co-founder of Sheepskin was thrilled to be declared the best in travel category. She believed it was their hard work to deliver what their customer wants online resulted in their winning the Best of the British Web competition. The reach of the web is enormous and they have managed to zero in on the right audience through research and social media. Very often small changes to the site impacts results to a great extent. Sheepskin swears by their website as it is vital to their business.
Research has shown that small businesses with a website are growing four times as quickly as those without one. Google wants to demonstrate to the business community that web is an effective channel to market, particularly for small businesses. Matt Brittin, managing director, Google UK hopes that this competition and the winners will inspire others to make a more effective use of the internet to promote their businesses. The inaugural edition of the competition covered seven industry sectors including travel, transport, professional services and B2B, health & beauty, hospitality, retail and trade and manufacturing.
Via: travolution
