Google urges business to raise visibility on the Internet

MANILA, Philippines - Businesses are advised to invest in improving their visibility on the Internet to take advantage of the growing online community and increase their sales.

Google Philippines country manager Narciso Reyes said in an email that as Filipino consumers have moved online, businesses would do well if they spend more to increase their presence in the Internet.

He noted that the country currently has over 33 million Internet users, and the number is seen to double in the next three years.

“Businesses here still spend less money online than they should, considering that 57 percent of Filipinos access the web multiple times a day,” he said.

“Closing that gap and making digital a part of an overall business strategy will allow Filipino businesses to reach a wider audience,” he said further.

By spending more to improve their online presence, businesses will have the opportunity to find new customers which means higher revenues and bigger return on investment.

At present, the Internet search giant has relationships with businesses in the country, from major players to start-ups to help them grow.

Reyes said one of the main priorities of Google is to help businesses grow through tools such as AdWords.

AdWords allows a business to show advertisements to individuals who type in keywords related to the products or services it offers.

The advertising platform allows advertisers to create their ad campaigns, choose which search keywords to advertise against as well as set a daily budget to control their costs.

The platform likewise provides up-to-date measurement of the campaign performance and lets the advertisers tweak their campaigns instantly.

“We want to help provide a platform for Philippine businesses and the government to reach out to new markets overseas. We can do this through helping people around the world find Philippine businesses and transact with them,” Reyes said.

As many small and medium enterprises do not have their own websites, the first step is to take advantage of the online growing community, he said.

Google has been holding various programs like the Google Days conducted last year  where entrepreneurs, marketers, developers and webmasters are given a chance to learn how different Google tools such as YouTube, Search and Analytics can help businesses reach new audiences and grow online.

“We plan to continue hosting Google Days and engaging with our clients to help them maximize Google tools for their businesses,” he said.

Earlier this year, Google opened an office in the country to better serve Filipino users and advertisers.