Google increases focus on SME sector for ad sales

Google India has stepped up its focus on local advertisers with the announcement of new initiatives for the SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) segment. The search giant has set up a new call center in Hyderabad that will provide regional language support for its AdWords platform. 

The new center will offer support in Telgu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam and will manage both inbound and out bound calls to help entrepreneurs to learn - how to manage advertising campaigns online and grow their businesses by using Google’s advertising platform ‘AdWords’. With this new additional facility, Google India will now provide support in 6 languages including Hindi and English.

Speaking on the occasion, Sridhar Seshadri, Head of Online Sales, Google India, said, “With over 35 million SMBs in the country, India is a strategic market for Google. We are looking to significantly invest in our efforts to maximize our reach and educate the Indian SMBs to gain from the benefits of online advertising. Our self service model saw instant adoption from the technically savvy Indian Businesses but  - most Indian SMBs still need some handholding to get them started and initiatives like Google Engage are a step in that direction.” 

“In India, we’re committed to partner SMEs by offering localized support and help them to manage their campaigns online free of cost. We have seen phenomenal success from our call center initiative, where our experts offer tailor made solution to businesses of all types. This localized approach has received phenomenal response in India and we have recorded over 95% YoY growth. By investing in additional capacity and providing more local language support we’re extremely confident of continuing our momentum in India,” he added. 

As part of its outreach plan, Google also announced the launch of a new learning and training program called ‘Google Engage’, which is designed to help individuals and businesses engaged in offering web-related services to customers locally. As part of this program, Google will provide invitations to events and in-person training sessions to members who sign up for this initiative. 

In addition to the Google Engage initiative, Google India plans to host over hundred direct engagement events and workshops for SMEs and empower them with the knowledge to gain from Google’s AdWords platform.