Five regional and five metropolitan councils have been recognised by Google as Australia’s top 10 eTowns.

 

This new Google award recognises and ranks those communities which are outpacing the rest of the country in having its small businesses use the web to connect with customers and grow.

 

To provide a snapshot of this vital economic activity, Google looked at more than 600 local government areas to analyse which communities are contributing the most to the digital economy. To come up with the eTown Awards list, Google analysed data on the number of local businesses in each local government area which are advertising with Google AdWords and/or have created a free website using Google and MYOB’s Getting Aussie Businesses Online.

 

The top Google eTowns are:

 

Metropolitan
1. City of Perth, WA
2. City of Yarra, VIC
3. City of Adelaide, SA
4. North Sydney, NSW
5. Ryde, NSW

 

Regional
1. Byron Shire, NSW
2. Meander Valley, TAS
3. Cessnock, NSW
4. Wingecarribee Shire, NSW
5. Scenic Rim Regional Council

 

For more information about the eTown Award winners and for case studies on how local businesses are succeeding online and driving economic growth, visit www.google.com.au/ads/stories