Microsoft Luring New Users to Search Marketing with Free Assistance

Microsoft is attempting to fuel new investments in search marketing, by offering free assistance as an incentive. When it comes down to small businesses, the Redmond company indicated that online presences had to be backed up by comprehensive search marketing plans. Luring new users to the Microsoft AdCenter search marketing offerings with free assistance is a move catalyzed by the failure of the vast majority of small businesses to take their online presence beyond developing a website.

According to Microsoft, a search expert will only offer consultancy to advertisers with a minimum monthly budget of $500, via the Microsoft adCenter QuickLaunch program.

“Given today’s current economic conditions, small-business owners need more effective ways to optimize their marketing dollars,” Brian Boland, director of adCenter at Microsoft Advertising, explained. “By investing in paid search marketing, small businesses can track online sales and determine the return on investment for their campaigns, while at the same time boosting traffic and visibility for their Web sites.”

A variety of factors, including cost, time, and the complexity associated with the process of increasing a website's visibility in search engines are the ones keeping small businesses away from search marketing plans. A new study released by Microsoft AdCenter pointed out that 59% of the small businesses owning a website were not relying at all on paid search marketing, with 90% of them never having given it a try.

Within the range of the 400 small businesses surveyed, seven out of every 10 declared themselves overwhelmed by the idea of kicking off a paid search campaign. However, at the opposite end, the small businesses that indeed turned to a search marketing plan revealed satisfaction in their choice with, 72% enjoying increased sales inquires.

“These opinions run counter to widely held marketing industry views on paid search marketing, which recognize the practice as one of the most cost-effective, easy-to-use, measurable, and accountable forms of marketing,” Boland said.