NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Frenchs Forest, New South Wales, Australia, 02/08/2007 - In a recent Australian survey of Sydney companies that advertise in the local press, it was found that less than 30% of those who also had a website were not taking advantage of search marketing campaigns to target potential local customers.

The survey was conducted in January 2007 by the Web Search Workshop, who have recently opened a new office in Sydney to offer search engine optimisation and marketing support to business websites. The company reviewed 223 advertisers who appeared over the period of one week in four local newspapers in Northern Sydney*. Those advertisers that included a website address were reviewed and scored on the basis of having used search engine optimisation on their websites or pay-per-click advertising for some core business terms.

Although each business had a website - which was included in the advertisement - there were no obvious signs of these sites being used to support the local search marketing activity for the companies. Yet, as more Australians are using the Internet on a daily basis, so search will become a factor for those looking for a desired product or services, including in their local area.

Managing Director of the Web Search Workshop, Clive Hawkins, commented on the survey results by saying that “search marketing may not work for every business, but if the company develops a website and expects that site to attract new business, then search marketing - either through optimising a website or by developing a targeted pay-per-click advertising campaign - can be a highly effective tool, usually generating better results than most other forms of media.”

Hawkins continued: “Despite search marketing now becoming a very popular activity for websites, local search marketing can be highly relevant and easier to achieve good results within a short period of time by targeting the range of terms that web users will type in to find a business close to them.”

Hawkins also believes that local search marketing will become more popular as new tools and search options become available and the increasing use of local search determines how companies continue to market to their customer base. However, at the moment there does appear to be plenty of opportunities for businesses to take advantage of the marketing opportunities offered by the web.

* The local newspapers surveyed were the Mosman Daily, Manly Daily, North Shore Times and the Northern District Times during January 2007.

The Web Search Workshop is a trading name of Web Marketing Workshop Pty Ltd and provides search engine marketing services to business websites, including search engine optimisation and pay-per-click advertising management. The company opened a new office in Sydney, Australia in January 2007, having been trading successfully in the UK since 2000.

Agency / Source: The Web Marketing Workshop Ltd

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