Google visit points to Scotland’s hi-tech future

Do not underestimate the significance of the day when Google and Gartner dropped in on Hillington Park Innovation Centre to participate in an event staged by Wireless Innovation.

The tech heavyweights descending on Scotland acted as a signifier of just how much the digital media landscape is set to change over the next couple of years.

At Hillington a leading panel of global mobile and internet experts combined to debate the issues and challenges facing applications and software developers. We're talking about a 70-strong collection of Scotland's brightest tech designers, developers, marketeers, entrepreneurs, technologists and business strategists.

Immediately after the morning session Google's Robert Swerling who, as principal, heads up its EMEA new business development team, elaborated on what they expect to achieve from signing up to a number of Scots business partnerships.

Make no mistake, the global internet search engine giant, with a market capitalisation of around $120bn (£82bn), is running the rule over likely partners - if not acquisitions - coming out of Scotland.

Swerling explains: "We're currently engaging, as widely as we can, to strengthen and develop relationships with innovative firms in Scotland."

The online search engine world leader is also interested in third party licensing deals and exploring the potential for a series of early stage distribution partnerships. Google is keeping an open mind and nothing is closed off, when it comes to the way forward with any particular tech enterprise.

"In our search we will take it one company at a time," Swerling explains.

Google has made one or two marketing forays in Scotland, but it is the first time it has gone on the partnership/acquisition trail. Martin Currie, the £10bn global investment firm, has singled out Google as a "flyer".

Jamie Mariani, who runs the Edinburgh-based finance house's new media and telecoms (TMT) international fund, said they have a "significant holding" in the internet-based company.

"We invest in industry winners and survivors and Google is definitely one of those. It is helping the TMT sector to grow faster than other sectors, despite the effects of a recessionary economic downturn."

Alisdair Gunn is senior manager of Wireless Innovation, a national initiative for mobile technologies funded by Scottish Enterprise. He says attracting Google to Scotland serves as further confirmation of Scotland's growing reputation in the field of digital media, a big landscape rapidly undergoing significant change.

360 Innovate, an e-commerce and digital marketing expert and heavily into Google, operates a little further along the Hillington innovation estate boulevard. The firm's marketing co-ordinator Laura Davis reports that working with numerous SMEs means they fully understand the challenges facing both online and offline businesses.

360 Innovate's advice is quite invaluable, especially coming at a time when everyone is feeling the strain of the recession. Being a digital agency, they get streams of queries about the various opportunities the Internet has to offer.

What's clear is that increasing your website's position in the search engine optimisation rankings, through various techniques such as link building and article submission, can really pay off. Also, when it comes to social media optimisation, the process of generating publicity and traffic through such websites, like Bebo, Facebook and Linkedin can lead to getting vital customer feedback on your product, increasing your firm's image and "linkability" and generally generating a buzz about your brand.

However, while internet marketing is a useful tool to help drive business, there exist a multitude of channels and the choice can sometimes be confusing.

It's clear that not all channels work for all industries. So take time to learn about your particular business situation, to get a bespoke online marketing strategy that works for you.

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