Around 1,500 businesses in the city are set to receive one-to-one advice during the pilot scheme. Businesses will be advised on building a successful website and how they can maximise their Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
If the pilot scheme is a success, the initiative will then be launched across the UK.
Google UK’s head of small business initiatives, Raj Saggi, said that this would be the first time Google has focused a great deal of time on one city’s internet economy. And there were also reasons as to why Liverpool businesses were chosen to test out the initiative.
“With Liverpool's strong business networks and sense of community, we believe this is the best city to run such an initiative,” he said.
Matt Brittin, managing director of Google UK, said small businesses were put off because they thought launching online was “too complex and complicated”.
“What we’re trying to do now is go a bit deeper, to try to understand what businesses are doing and how best to aid their growth. We’re coming to spend a significant amount of time working with people in a community and helping people make the most of the internet,” he said.
"It's all about developing the ecosystem. We care about the internet's potential to do good and we think that if we can make it a better place for businesses and consumers, the rest will follow. The UK is good at this stuff. It is the worldwide leader in e-commerce, but it is time to start thinking bigger.
"This is the first time we’ve done this – we’re looking to see what we can learn from it."
Following allegations that Google has become too powerful and predatory, the web search giant is launching various initiatives to shake off the image with Google chairman Eric Schmidt even declaring that the company “loved” Britain. He said that the company would be willing to pay more tax into Great Britain if our tax laws were not so weak.
It will be interesting to see how successful the scheme is in Liverpool and to see if Google will offer their advice to small businesses across the UK.
For more information, please visit www.milsted-langdon.co.uk
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