Web-savvy Nelson named as New Zealand’s top Google eTown

Super web-savvy Nelson has beaten out New Zealand’s biggest cities to claim the title of New Zealand’s top Google eTown, it was announced today.

Nelson topped fellow finalists Auckland City, Wellington, Tauranga and Queenstown, in the award launched by Google to celebrate the towns and cities where small to medium businesses (SMEs) are making the best use of the web to connect with customers and grow.

Nelson Mayor, Aldo Miccio said he was delighted with the accolade, attributing the city’s success to its “passionate creative people who have found clever ways of doing business, taking advantage of technology and the business opportunities it brings.”

Bill Findlater, Chief Executive of Nelson Regional Economic Development Agency (EDA), said that Nelson was a region of SMEs with many entrepreneurs who had recognised they could run a successful business in a fabulous lifestyle location, thanks to the opportunities offered by the web.

“This is a very special place to live and we have had fibre optic in the ground for a lot longer than many other areas,” said Mr Findlater.

“Entrepreneurs from all over New Zealand and the world have chosen to move here because the internet means they can run their businesses from this amazing city. There are people living here who have their offices in London.”
“Businesses are doing great things here - such as O2B Healthy, which specialises in the manufacture and retail of high-strength natural health supplements, and HealthPost which is now the biggest online supplier of health products in New Zealand.”

Tony Keusgen, Country Manager, Google New Zealand, said that Nelson’s success demonstrated that towns and regions outside of main metropolitan areas can reap the rewards of the web.

“The web means that small businesses can look as big and professional as large corporations, and local corner stores can export to the whole world thanks to e-commerce and online marketing. And this doesn’t stop with businesses. The web levels the playing field for towns, regions or countries too, and the New Zealand eTown awards are proof of this.”

A recent report released by Deloitte Access Economics in Australia found that small businesses with high digital engagement are twice as likely to be growing revenue, and earn twice as much revenue per employee. They are also four times more likely to be hiring additional staff.

The Google eTown Awards have previously been held in Europe, Australia and Canada.

ENDS

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