Microsoft® Office Live Small Business, a provider of Web-based services for small businesses, is teaming up with The Search Agency Inc. to deliver a new range of services designed to help small businesses get up to speed on search engine marketing. The Search Agency will design keyword advertising campaigns for Microsoft Office Live Small Business customers and lead courses that teach the essentials of search engine marketing. The Search Agency is an industry leader in search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO).
“As more and more small businesses get online, marketing their Web sites is crucial to business success,” said Baris Cetinok, director of project management and marketing for Office Live Small Business at Microsoft Corp. “Our goal is to make search engine marketing and optimization accessible to the small-business owner who recognizes their importance but may not be sure where to start.”
The Search Agency’s offerings are the latest addition to the suite of Web site marketing solutions available to Office Live Small Business customers. For customers seeking a do-it-yourself solution, the Microsoft adManager tool is available for launching and managing keyword advertising campaigns, and for customers who prefer to outsource search engine marketing, Office Live Small Business has an existing relationship with Website Pros Inc., a full-service Web development firm. The Search Agency is aimed at Office Live Small Business customers who need help getting started with Web marketing through education and select services.
“We are very excited about providing Microsoft Office Live Small Business customers with three unique services that provide them with terrific access to search engine marketing expertise in a cost-effective way,” said David Hughes, chief executive officer of The Search Agency.
SEM and SEO services help organizations both improve their position within search engine results and attract more Web site visitors through keyword advertising. In recent years, search marketing has emerged as a $15.8 billion (U.S.) global industry, and experts expect it to grow to $44.5 billion over the next five years. Search is also the second most commonly used application on the Web, with 550 million searches daily in the United States, according to Piper Jaffray & Co.-Microsoft
