Google bets big on SMEs; sets up call centre in Hyd

Focussed on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), search engine giant Google today said it has set up a call centre in Hyderabad to expand its reach for offering advertising solutions across the country.

Google, which offers online advertising solutions under 'AdWords', already has a call centre in Delhi.

"The idea is to help them (SMEs) learn how to manage advertising campaigns online and grow their businesses by using our platform," Google India Head (Online Sales) Sridhar Seshadri told reporters here.

The new call centre in Hyderabad will provide regional language support in Telegu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam, he added.

The centre would help customers set up their advertisements on Google and provide assistance on various aspects in the said languages, including payment plans.

Google will also add Bengali, Oriya, Gujarati and Marathi language capabilities over the next few months.

In Q3 earnings, Google reported $4.83 billion revenue globally from Google-owned sites, which includes ads on google.Com and local domains.

Though Seshadri declined to comment on the revenue contribution from the SMEs, he said about two-thirds of the growth was being driven by this segment.

The company has also launched a new training program 'Google Engage', which is designed to help individuals and businesses engaged in offering web-related services to customers locally.

"We will partner with businesses which specialise in providing online services to train people on setting up their online presence," he said.

Seshadri said there are over 35 million SMEs in the country.

"India is a strategic market for Google. We are looking to significantly invest in our efforts to maximise our reach and educate the Indian SMEs to gain from the benefits of online advertising," he added.