Urban positioning in global spaces: The visibility of the spanish cities on Internet

The process of globalization leads to competition between different cities. Therefore, it is necessary to seek new strategies to improve the positioning of cities in the globalized world and foster its internationalization. The Place Branding is becoming a powerful tool to gain competitive advantage and enhance the brand image of a place, as it improves the development of a region or country not only in terms of leisure and tourism, but also in terms of attracting investment, new residents, jobs and skilled migrants. Internet Web sites are essential communication tools for tourism brands, particularly city brands. The aim of this paper is to quantify the brand image of Spanish cities according to their visibility on the Internet, focusing on the case study of Bilbao.