03 March 2009 | Author: Katie Todd

French town considers name change for more Google love

There are a lot of bad things about sharing a name with something or someone more famous than you - especially when it leads to embarrassing, possibly even reputation-damaging, results on search engines. For instance, having the same name as an Italian porn star or a waste disposal firm is unlikely to do you any favours in the search stakes.

But sometimes, sharing a name is just inconvenient, as a French town recently found out. Eu, a municipality in France with some 8000 residents, is struggling to stand out in search engine results pages - which is understandable, given that the European Union probably has a little more global presence.

The name 'Eu' is a common word in French. It is the past participle of avoir - 'to have'. Eu may have a lot but, unfortunately, one thing it doesn't have is web presence.

So what can you do if you're a 1000 year old town whose search space has been usurped by the European Union? Change your name, of course! In order to resolve the dwindling tourist industry, the Mayor of Eu has suggested that the town changes its name so that it will have greater internet visibility. "We must adapt to modernity," she said, according to The Times, "especially in the context of the internet."

Last year, the town only took in a third of its usual hotel visitor taxes and poor internet presence is being blamed for the loss.

Understandably, there is much uproar opposing the Mayor's proposal. With 1000 years of history behind it, it's not surprising that the residents of Eu are contesting a change for the sake of search. And although the Mayor's suggestion of Ville d'Eu isn't too earth-shatteringly different, it's still a significant plan.

According to The Telegraph, Google has pointed out that Ville d'Eu appears in the number one spot on google.fr, above the European Union. However, have the likes of Google become so powerful now that entire towns must change their most established characteristics to cater to search results? Eu knows?

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