KUALA LUMPUR: Following up on the successful SME Business Stimulus Package last December, Google is launching its first local form of payment for several thousand AdWords customers to boost the digital economy in Malaysia.

All new and existing AdWords customers, especially Small and Mediumsized Enterprises (SMEs), can now pay for their search engine marketing campaigns through online banking via MEPS FPX, a real-time online interbank payment gateway operated by Malaysian Electronic Payment System Sdn Bhd.

The six local banks participating in MEPS FPX are Bank Islam, CIMB Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Maybank, Public Bank and RHB Bank.

Google AdWords is a cost-effective search engine marketing platform that helps companies of all sizes find new customers in Malaysia and around the world.

This new AdWords payment option provides more convenience and a faster turnaround time for local businesses to set up, manage and pay for search engine marketing campaigns.

Previously for AdWords customers who did not want to use a credit card, they could only pay using international bank transfers which would take over 10 days to complete.

If an AdWords customer’s account runs out of funds during this processing time, then his/her search engine marketing campaign would stop until the bank transfer is completed, resulting in missed sales leads and business opportunities.

With MEPS FPX, AdWords customers can now pay through online banking anytime, anywhere with their account credited the next business day to minimise any interruption and quickly adjust their search engine marketing campaigns.

Derek Callow, Head of Marketing for Google Southeast Asia, said:

“We’re pleased to provide our AdWords customers with our first local payment option in Malaysia through MEPS FPX. Many of our AdWords customers are SMEs who may not have a credit card or may not be comfortable using a credit card for online transactions. They will definitely appreciate the flexibility and ease-of-use of this streamlined, secure online banking solution anytime and anywhere, as well as faster payments by cutting down the processing time from 10 days to 1 day. SMEs are an important part of the local economy, so we are happy to support them with another useful service to leverage the Internet to find new customers and grow their businesses.”

New and existing AdWords customers can sign into their account and choose “Prepay via MEPS FPX” to electronically transfer funds from their bank account to their AdWords account.

fr:mmail.com.my/content/28451-easy-payment-adwords-customers

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — Internet giant Google is offering a deal to more than 550,000 Malaysian small and medium sized businesses to help them get started with doing business on the web.

The offer includes RM200 worth of credit to conduct marketing campaigns via its search engine marketing platform, AdWords, and free tutorials on how to do online marketing.

The offer is part of a regional campaign to get more businesses onto its search based marketing platform which currently dominates the market and is also being rolled out in Thailand and Singapore.

Malaysian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have lagged behind their counterparts in more advanced Western countries in tapping the potential of the internet as a marketing and sales channel and many have yet to even establish a web presence.

Google earned roughly US$22 billion (RM74 billion) last year, 97 per cent of which came from selling advertising.

The offer to SMEs, called the SME Business Stimulus package, has gotten the official endorsement of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and involves the collaboration of two universities — Multimedia University (MMU) and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).

Google’s head of Online, South East Asia, Charif El-Ansari said that SMEs should use Google as a sales channel in order to grow their business internationally.

“The RM200 free credit should last two to four weeks depending on how big their marketing campaign is,” he said. “We also do not expect them to go straight into e-commerce but put up attractive websites where potential customers can submit request for quotations.”

Google said that those using its services could potentially reach 73 per cent of all internet users globally, including millions in Malaysia, who use the search engine to find information on products and services such as reviews and to compare prices.

SME’s that do not have a website can pay RM200 for one designed by students of MMU and UTAR and hosted on Google’s blogger website hosting service.

MITI secretary general Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Mamat said at the launch of the SME Business Stimulus package today that he welcomes the involvement of the private sector in efforts to boost the contribution of Malaysian SME’s to the country’s new economic model which stresses innovation and high value services.

The offer expires on Jan 31 next year and businesses can sign up at google.com.my/stimulus. The first one hundred sign ups are eligible to have their website built for free if they do not already have one.

from:themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/45270-google-reaches-out-to-small-malaysian-business