Yahoo Inc. has launched a service to build and host websites for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India for a fee, as the Internet company aims to attract more users online to earn a higher income from local advertisements.
Local firms such as Rediff.com India Ltd and Net4India Ltd already offer such a service, called Web-hosting solutions in India, a market dominated by small outfits such as Bangalore-based Webtrust Solutions. Most of these small outfits offer customized services to clients and operate on personal relations with customers. India is the second country in which Yahoo is offering this service after its home market, the US.
Yahoo, which calls its service small business solutions, says it aims to be a “one-stop shop” for firms going online to choose domain name or address on the Internet, providing 5 gigabytes of hosting space and 200 customized email addresses, in addition to Rs250 worth free ad space or clicks on its search engine.
“The Indian online market is still in its infancy and there are lots of local firms who are not yet online,” says Jeff Kindler, senior vice-president for small business and recruitment advertising at Yahoo.
