BIGMOUTHMEDIA, the Scottish internet marketing group, is to open offices in California and Dubai as it looks to win business in fast-growing overseas markets.
The Edinburgh company, which already has offices in London and New York, specialises in search engine optimisation, ensuring its clients' websites appear prominently on search engines such as Google.
The group also provides an internet brand positioning and protection service which monitors the use of company brands, images and assets online, looking for any potential misuses of brand, and an internet public relations service.
Steve Leach, founder and chief executive, said the business will make profits of around £4m on revenues of £15m in the year to October 2006.
He predicted that turnover could double to up to £30m next year as the company expands its client base, which already includes Tesco, Hilton, BA and Barclays.
A key part of the group's growth plans will be expanding overseas, and establishing a presence in Los Angeles by March next year to complement the group's office in New York, which opened at the start of the year and employs four. An office in LA will put the group closer to one of its biggest clients, Hilton, and California's entertainment, travel and hospitality companies.
Leach said: "Most of the FTSE 100 businesses have a presence on the west coast and the east coast of the US. Part [of the reason for opening an office] is because Hilton is based there. We have got another couple of projects as well."
Leach also wants to open an office in Dubai to service the fast-growing Middle East and Far East markets. He said: "We looked at Singapore but we think we will be better in Dubai. It has better time zones and we have a lot of clients there. Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growth spots in the world in terms of the internet. There are no English-speaking search marketing companies that have any real understanding of that market. We have been working in that region for two-and-a-half years and we have got a good portfolio of clients."
Further ahead, the company also has plans to expand its activities in Europe.
Leach, together with Heather Luscombe, founded Bigmouth in 1997, taking on three staff. The firm now employs around 50 people.
Leach said the group had diversified to offer services such as Brand Intelligence, which tracks the misuse of brands online, and Optimiser, which brings Bigmouthmedia's services to smaller clients.
The group has also set up an academy to train staff, which Leach said was vital for client retention to continue, and that the group is also concentrating on driving up sales to hit revenue targets. Bigmouthmedia is one of the finalists in the 2006 National Business Awards for Scotland. The group has been nominated in the small to medium-sized business category.
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