New customers from Search Engine Advertising

Heating & Boiler Engineer

Formed in 2009, Flame Heating & Plumbing installs and maintains heating systems in Belfast, North Down and Ards. It is owned by Ian McRoberts, who has 30 years experience as a heating engineer.

Confidence-building measures

Ian's business proposition is built on good value, quality workmanship and excellent customer service, and these are underwritten by the highest industry accreditation - CORGI and OFTEC registration.

To achieve this status the engineer must pass examinations, comply with a code of conduct, and be properly insured. It gives the customer peace of mind - their system is safe and efficient and, if something does go wrong, they have access to a meaningful complaints process.

Marketing Challenge

As a new comer to the greater Belfast area, Ian faced a major challenge: he had no existing customer base. Every customer would have to be acquired through advertising or other marketing activities. Ian's initial step was to buy ads in the local press. The results were disappointing:

I spent hundreds of pounds over many weeks and didn't get a single sales enquiry. Indeed, the only calls I received were from other publishers trying to sell me more ads!

Generate Sales Leads

Ian had always intended to launch a website and the failure of press advertising made this a priority. His discussions with Diadem produced an online advertising plan with the primary goal of generating sales leads and converting them to new customers:

1. Create a sales-driven website

The site is designed around two types of visitor. Firstly, the person whose boiler has broken down or needs serviced. The task is a chore on their to-do list and they want quick answers from the engineer's web site:

Call-to-action banner at top of every page

• Are you a credible tradesperson?
• Do you work with gas or oil?
• Do you cover my area?
• How do I contact you?

The second type of customer is researching a larger project - perhaps a boiler upgrade or the installation of renewable heating. They are 'just looking' and may not be ready to make contact, so Ian has written a series of informative articles. Their purpose is to build awareness of Flame Heating & Plumbing, create confidence in its services, and get short-listed for the quotation stage.

2. Prompt visits from the target market

Flame Heating & Plumbing's target market is "residential customers in South & East Belfast, North Down and Ards who require the services of a heating engineer". Of the options available to attract such visitors, search engine marketing was considered the top priority.

Top spot in Google organic results

When creating the site, Diadem implemented a range of SEO techniques that would maximise its position in organic search results. Although organic referrals are free, achieving a top position (or rank) often takes many months and the results are not guaranteed. Given the need to generate sales quickly and consistently, Ian asked Diadem to design and manage a paid search campaign to run in parallel with the SEO work.

Google paid listing

With pay-per-click it is very important to minimise waste, i.e. clicks that have no hope of converting to sales. To achieve this, Flame Heating & Plumbing's campaign is configured as follows:

• Only the locations served by the company are targeted.
• Ads only display against a set of specific search terms.

3. Check if it's working?

The final part of the process is to regularly consider the following questions:

1. Is the cost-to-revenue ratio acceptable?
2. What could be done to improve performance?

The technology that supports online advertising also provides comprehensive performance statistics. For example, how many times the ad was displayed, how many responded, what were users searching for, which ad versions generated the best response.

It is also important to monitor the website's performance, i.e. its effectiveness in persuading visitors to take a desired action (make contact, read information, etc)

The technology provides measurement but this needs to be interpreted, reviewed and translated into campaign adjustments.

Conclusion

Search Engine Marketing has worked for Flame Heating & Plumbing. The listings generate a consistent supply of sales leads and the cost of acquiring each new customer is on-target.

Because Ian was in start-up mode, the failure of newspaper ads was obvious. Many businesses, however, pay for advertising without knowing its contribution to revenue. Michael Paul of Diadem offers the following advice:

Advertising should be seen as an investment not an overhead. Measure the return on all your advertising and if it isn't working, fix it or scrap it!

What next?

How might your business benefit from search engine marketing? Contact us today to discuss how Diadem can make it happen for you.

For more information about Diadem's 3-stage marketing plan, read Why do so many websites fail?