A good search marketing agency can do more than generate leads…

For many brands, the value of search marketing – and by extension the value of hiring a search marketing agency – lies in its ability to attract qualified leads to their websites. By bidding on keywords and terms used by likely consumers, the thinking goes, search ads will drive on-site conversions.

As the digital marketing environment has evolved, this reasoning has generally held true. But today, a qualified search marketing agency can help your company do more than attract likely purchasers. According to a 2016 study by Forrester Consulting, about 71 per cent of consumers use search engines to discover products and services, and a further 74 per cent use them to research the product they’re interested in, compare it with similar products, or to complete their purchase.

In an article for Search Engine Land, Bing’s Christi Olson identified “five distinct stages within a consumer’s decision journey: initiation, research, comparison, transaction and experience”; the first four are covered by the stats above. In other words, the importance of search advertising extends well beyond ‘end-of-the-buyer’s journey’ metrics like click-through-rates and conversions. It also plays an important role in generating brand awareness and keeping your products and services at the top of consumers’ minds.

“Now is a great time to approach paid search with a fresh view, looking at the value of reaching the consumer across the entire journey,” Olson writes. Engaging with a forward thinking search marketing agency can lead to improved visibility and better awareness of your company, which has benefits that reach well beyond the qualified leads your website will acquire.

As a Google Premier Partner All-Star search marketing agency with access to valuable insights on Google’s preferred practices, GrowthEngine Media can develop a digital marketing strategy to address your unique key performance indicators, whether they be improved search visibility or on-site conversions.