Published at 16:07, Monday, 09 July 2012
BUSINESSES in Ulverston are booming thanks to the internet, according to a new report.
Google has named the town as one of the top 20 ?rural digital trailblazers? out of thousands of small communities across the country.
Archie Workman, chairman of Ulverston Business Alliance, welcomed the news, but said it highlighted the pressing need to bring high-speed broadband to the town.
He said: ?I recently moved my business development consulting business from the Crake Valley to Ulverston, and have benefited from the faster internet speeds already. But Ulverston really needs access to super-fast broadband, and it?s on the business alliance agenda to campaign for better broadband.?
Google shortlisted the rural communities with the highest online economic activity, and then ranked them in terms of the percentage increase in local enterprises using AdWords, an online advertising system, over the last year.
Ulverston was placed ninth on the list of 20 communities towns or villages with a population of 13,000 or less that have seen a huge increase in online economic activity over the last year.
The town saw a 30.4 per cent increase in small and medium-sized enterprises using Google?s AdWords, when comparing May 2011 with May this year.
Top of the list was Braunton in Devon, which saw a 43.5 per cent year-on-year increase.
Google said its Rural Digital Trailblazers list aims to highlight that entrepreneurs needn?t be based in an industrial centre or a traditional urban hub to start or grow a business.
Google highlighted Primary Landscapes, based at Bardsea Business Park, as an example of a local web-savvy enterprise.
The company specialises in school playground design and landscaping.
Boss Andrea Wilson said: ?We run a small business so it?s imperative to reach potential customers from across the country. After we established our website five years ago, we immediately noticed a 70 per cent increase in enquiries for our landscaping services.
?The internet is without a doubt the most efficient and cost-effective way of spreading the word about your business. For businesses of all shapes and sizes, particularly those offering niche services like us, the internet opens up a world of possibilities.?
John Woodcock, MP for Barrow and Furness, also welcomed the news. He said: ?I am proud to represent an area with such an entrepreneurial spirit. The internet is playing a leading role in Ulverston?s economic growth and really helping to boost local businesses while contributing overall to the wider British economy.?
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