smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Advertising can be a daunting prospect for small companies, but there are ways for even those on the smallest of budgets to compete with high profile marketing campaigns from larger, rival firms.

According to Overture, a provider of internet search services, over the last three years, more and more businesses have been turning to the internet to market their product or service online – and to paid placement search in particular.

“Unlike some forms of advertising, paid placement search does not exclude small businesses. Entry costs are low and campaigns are totally accountable. Paid placement search enables any company to get listed in the search results on some of the UK's busiest websites, including Yahoo!, MSN, AOL and Freeserve,” explains Karen Salamon, director of marketing and small business, Northern Europe, at Overture.

She adds that, contrary to other types of advertising, there are no significant costs upfront in terms of media buying or creative costs.

“With prices starting from as little as 10p each, advertisers 'bid' on search terms relevant to their business and are then listed in order of bid price in the search results on major websites and portals. The advertiser then only pays the bid price once a prospect actually clicks through to their website. This means the smallest local shop can advertise on equal terms with the biggest chain – for example, a boutique hat shop in Brighton could be listed alongside a large department store like John Lewis,” she claims.

In addition, believes Salamon, paid placement search is a highly targeted form of marketing. Targets are not 'cold prospects' – they are people who are already actively looking for the advertiser's product or service. As a result, the lead is more likely to convert to a sale than most other forms of advertising.

Salamon suggests the following tips to help you make the most from search marketing: