Google AdWords case study: CheckSURE.biz
checkSURE, a credit check service, was established in July 2002 with a very definitive vision in mind. “What we tried to do was set up a business that would give the same levels of quality information to SMEs as the big guys have within their credit departments,” explains checkSURE co-founder, Gary Ling. So successful were the founding members in this endeavour, that today several innovative offshoot companies are up and running side by side with the original, under the umbrella of ROIsure. To name but a few, reportSURE offers data rich reporting across ten global industries and successSURE offers powerful, practical management tools.
Reflecting on the early days of the business, Ling comments, “The company was pretty much started because of Google … we could see the power of search.” The initial challenge that checkSURE faced was to gauge the interest and potential of its’ chosen target market. For this key information, they turned to Google AdWords. “The great thing about Google AdWords is that users are defining their needs as they type into the search engine and they are getting an immediate result for our service,” says Ling. “We got instant recognition.” After just six weeks of online advertising, a positive conclusion was reached. “We proved that
our data and service answered a first order search priority – that means high conversion rates.”
Now almost 5 years in operation, the original business has evolved beyond
recognition. “Thanks to the growth of checkSURE we realised what we wanted to do was to dominate the space of online business information for global knowledge workers,” states Ling. And given performance to date, this does not appear to be such an unattainable goal. The services of reportSURE have now been sold into over 59 countries and the umbrella company ROIsure, boasts innumerable data provision resources.
Such impressive growth reflects an ability to adapt quickly in a dynamic and demanding industry. The flexibility of Google AdWords supports exactly this kind of adaptation as Ling discusses. “The great thing about Google is that for a very low spend you can plug it in and see.” The total control that AdWords affords combined with “an immediate result” allows for “being innovative at a very low cost.” “The challenge for us with Google right now is to go global,” states Ling. “People are united through the use of the Google search engine… What we’re doing now is trying to attract a global audience through Google AdWords.”
ROIsure are also revamping their service infrastructure by moving towards dashboard technology and are currently developing a series of web properties to add to the ‘Sure’ group. An interactive element may too be included via Google Video, allowing users to absorb analytical information outside of the traditional report format.
In discussing past growth and these numerous future endeavours, Ling also captures his experience of Google to date. “Google is the closest thing to the perfect marketing tool ever devised … For us Google AdWords is the sales process.” © Copyright 2007
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