When the Traffic Dividend Disappears, What Drives Enterprise Growth?
Over the past decade, the logic of online promotion for enterprises was simple: spend money on traffic and wait for customers to come. Baidu bidding rankings, feed ads, and short video placements—as long as the budget was sufficient, they could always bring in some leads. But the market in 2025 has changed: traffic costs are rising year by year, users are increasingly immune to ads, and conversion rates for traditional placements continue to decline. More critically, the way users obtain information is being reshaped by AI. As more people use AI tools like Doubao, DeepSeek, and Qianwen to search for answers, does the ranking of a company's official website on Baidu still matter? The answer is: it matters, but it's far from enough.
As a digital marketing service provider with 20 years of deep experience, Zhanjiang Huasu Technology (hereinafter referred to as Huasu Technology) has witnessed every transformation from the portal website era to the AI search era. We have served manufacturing plants, engineering companies, trading firms, and local brick-and-mortar stores across the country, and found a commonality: enterprises that can continuously acquire customers amid change are not those with the largest budgets, but those that know how to spend every penny on 'inquiry conversion.' In this article, we won't discuss vague trends; instead, we'll combine Huasu Technology's actual service cases to discuss how enterprises can seize the core of 'performance-based customer acquisition' in the second half of omnichannel marketing.
I. From 'Traffic Thinking' to 'Performance Thinking': The Core Shift in Omnichannel Marketing
Many business owners still cling to the belief that 'exposure equals customer acquisition.' They ask: Why did I invest in Baidu promotion, build a website, and post short videos, but the phone just doesn't ring? The problem lies in the gap between 'traffic' and 'performance.' Exposure only makes users 'see you,' but why should they choose you? This depends on three aspects: whether the content matches the demand, whether the landing page is persuasive enough, and whether follow-up is timely. When serving clients nationwide, Huasu Technology first helps enterprises sort out a complete conversion chain: after clicking the ad, what does the customer see? Does the official website have clear solutions? Is there an online customer service or AI agent to handle inquiries? How long does it take for sales to respond after leaving contact information? Any break in this chain will cause budget to be wasted.
Take an engineering company in Zhanjiang we served as an example. This company mainly provided municipal engineering supporting products and previously relied solely on referrals. They realized they needed online channels. Huasu Technology customized an integrated solution of official website plus search promotion for them. We didn't just build a display website; we structured content around high-intent keywords like 'engineering qualifications,' 'project cases,' and 'service processes,' while precisely matching long-tail keywords such as 'local engineering company' in Baidu promotion. Within three months of launch, the website's inquiry volume increased by 40%, many of which were precise customers who actively searched. The core of this case is not 'promotion' itself, but the design of 'inquiry conversion'—making every click an opportunity to become a consultation.
II. The Rise of AI Search: GEO Optimization Becomes a New Variable in Omnichannel Marketing
If the past decade belonged to Baidu search, then in the next decade, AI search will occupy an increasingly important position. Users are getting used to asking AI directly: 'Recommend a few reliable website building companies' or 'Which brand of XX equipment has good quality?' The answers AI provides usually come from crawling and integrating content across the web, not just ad slots. This means that if a company doesn't have enough positive content on these AI platforms, it may be excluded from the 'recommendation list.' Huasu Technology began researching GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) as early as 2023, which involves optimizing content layout according to the search rules of AI platforms to make the brand naturally appear in AI answers.
How exactly? We have a mature GEO optimization method. First, analyze the questioning habits of target customers on AI platforms and extract high-frequency questions. Then, around these questions, deploy professional content on channels like the official website, Zhihu, Baijiahao, and industry media to ensure AI can capture the company's effective information when crawling. At the same time, we optimize the semantic structure of the website to make it easier for AI to understand the company's business scope and service advantages. For example, a client in industrial equipment, through Huasu Technology's GEO optimization, had their official website link and core advantages cited by AI when searching 'industrial equipment manufacturer recommendations' on Doubao, directly bringing high-quality inquiries. These inquiries are not from paid ads but from 'natural traffic' accumulated through content, with lower costs and higher conversion rates.
Of course, GEO optimization is not a one-time effort. It requires continuous content updates and strategy adjustments, which is why many enterprises choose to outsource their entire omnichannel marketing to Huasu Technology for management. We not only do GEO but also combine Baidu SEO, feed ads, and short video promotion to form a multi-platform customer acquisition matrix. For example, a customer might first see your product video on Douyin, then search for your brand on Baidu, and finally confirm your reputation through AI tools. This process spans multiple touchpoints, and only by laying good groundwork at every stage can 'performance-based customer acquisition' truly be achieved.
III. Website Building Is No Longer a 'Face Project': The Official Website Must Undertake Customer Acquisition Tasks
Many enterprises think that website building is just spending money to create a beautiful facade. In reality, the official website is the 'base camp' of omnichannel marketing. All traffic ultimately converges on the website; if the website cannot support conversion, the previous promotion is wasted. When building websites for enterprises, Huasu Technology emphasizes the design concept of 'customer acquisition-oriented websites.' What is a customer acquisition-oriented website? First, it loads quickly and provides a good mobile experience, which directly affects user retention and SEO ranking. Second, the content structure is clear, and every page has a clear call-to-action (CTA), such as 'Consult Now' or 'Get a Quote.' Third, it has built-in intelligent customer service or AI agents that can handle visitor inquiries in real time, not missing any potential customer. Fourth, the underlying code complies with the crawling rules of search engines and AI tools, facilitating subsequent SEO and GEO optimization.
The official website we recently built for a manufacturing plant fully reflects this approach. This plant specializes in precision parts, with customers mainly being domestic and foreign buyers. In the website design, Huasu Technology not only displayed the product line and capacity advantages but also set up a 'Technical Q&A' section to answer questions buyers care about, such as quality certification, delivery time, and customization process. At the same time, we deployed an AI agent on the website that can automatically identify the visitor's source channel and give targeted responses. As a result, after the website went live, not only did natural search traffic increase by 60%, but many overseas customers also left inquiries through the AI agent. These inquiries were automatically synced to the business team's CRM system for efficient follow-up. This case shows that website building is not the end but the starting point of omnichannel marketing.
IV. Advertising: From 'Spreading a Wide Net' to 'Meticulous Budgeting'
Baidu promotion and feed ads remain important means of customer acquisition, but the placement strategy must be upgraded. The old practice of 'setting a few keywords and bidding high to grab rankings' no longer works. When helping enterprises nationwide with advertising, Huasu Technology first conducts detailed industry analysis and audience profiling, then formulates a phased placement plan. For example, for SMEs with limited budgets, we recommend starting with precise search ads targeting high-intent keywords rather than blindly investing in feed ads. This is because search ads have clearer intent—users are 'looking for solutions'—and conversion rates are usually higher. After accumulating data, we gradually expand to feed ads to tap into potential demand.
In addition, advertising must be synchronized with landing page optimization. Many enterprises run ads but direct traffic to the homepage or product list page, where users can't find the information they need and quickly bounce. Huasu Technology designs independent landing pages for each ad group, with page content highly relevant to the ad copy, including conversion elements such as customer cases, qualification certificates, and online consultation. We also regularly test different page versions to find the one with the highest conversion rate. For a trading company, by optimizing the landing page, we increased the ad inquiry conversion rate from 1.2% to 3.8%, directly halving the customer acquisition cost. This is the embodiment of 'performance-based customer acquisition'—it's not about how much you spend, but how many effective inquiries you bring.
V. Omnichannel Content Marketing: Making the Brand Ubiquitous on the Internet
In addition to paid ads, content marketing is another pillar of omnichannel marketing. Before making a purchase decision, users often search for brand reputation, product reviews, and usage cases. If this content is missing on the internet or dominated by negative information, the enterprise loses its trust foundation. Huasu Technology's omnichannel brand promotion service helps enterprises establish a positive content matrix on major platforms. We regularly publish industry insights, case analyses, and product tutorials on platforms like Zhihu, Baijiahao, Sohu, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu. This content not only directly brings traffic but also enhances brand authority and favorability.
For example, for a client in environmental protection equipment, Huasu Technology planned a series of short videos and graphic content on 'sewage treatment technology interpretation,' which gained significant exposure on Douyin and Baijiahao. Although this content didn't directly promote products, it attracted a large number of users with needs, who then consulted via private messages or comments. We then guided this traffic to the official website or WeChat to complete inquiry conversion. This model of 'content seeding + search interception' is becoming the mainstream of omnichannel marketing. For SMEs, there's no need to invest huge budgets like big brands, but through refined operations, they can build their own influence in niche areas.
VI. AI Agents: 24/7 Digital Sales Representatives
In serving clients, we've found a common pain point: many enterprises have official websites, but visitors often access them during non-working hours, especially at night and on holidays, and without online customer service, they are lost. To solve this, Huasu Technology launched AI agent building services. An AI agent can be understood as an intelligent customer service robot, but it's smarter than traditional auto-replies. It can automatically recommend related products or services based on visitor questions, collect contact information, and even guide visitors through initial screening. Our AI agents are based on large language models, support multi-turn dialogue, and can learn the enterprise's product knowledge base, providing increasingly accurate answers.
A foreign trade client saw a 30% increase in nighttime inquiries after enabling the AI agent, and the quality of these inquiries was high. Because the AI agent first asks about the visitor's needs, such as 'Which model do you need? Which country is it exported to?' Only visitors who meet the criteria are transferred to human sales. This saves manpower and improves sales efficiency. More importantly, the AI agent can integrate with the CRM system, automatically recording every conversation and providing data support for subsequent customer follow-up. It can be said that AI agents are an important tool for enterprises to achieve 'performance-based customer acquisition,' making every opportunity for traffic to be converted.
VII. Local Brick-and-Mortar Stores: Integrated Online and Offline Customer Acquisition
Although Huasu Technology serves enterprises nationwide, we are also well aware of the customer acquisition pain points of local brick-and-mortar stores. For local life service industries such as catering, beauty, decoration, and education, customers value 'proximity' and 'trust' more. Our solution is to help stores improve their information on platforms like Baidu Maps, Amap, Meituan, and Douyin Local Life to increase exposure; at the same time, we use short video content to showcase the store environment and featured services to attract nearby users. For example, we created a series of 'store visit' short videos for a catering store in Zhanjiang, which significantly increased foot traffic after being posted on Douyin. We also built a WeChat mini-program for the store to facilitate online reservations and ordering. These methods are equally applicable to physical stores nationwide because the essence of local customer acquisition is 'appearing in front of potential customers at the right time and place.'
VIII. The Underlying Logic of Performance-Based Customer Acquisition: Data-Driven, Continuous Optimization
Having said so much, the core is one sentence: omnichannel marketing is not a one-time investment but a continuous optimization process. When serving clients, Huasu Technology always adheres to the principle of 'data-driven.' We establish a data dashboard for each client, monitoring key indicators such as keyword rankings, traffic sources, inquiry conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs. We review weekly and adjust strategies monthly to ensure every penny is spent wisely. For example, for a client in Baidu promotion, we found that the conversion rate for the keyword 'equipment rental' was much higher than 'equipment sales,' so we adjusted the placement focus, shifting more budget to the rental business, resulting in a 25% increase in overall inquiries. This refined operational capability is exactly what SMEs lack.
Additionally, we regularly provide clients with industry trend reports, such as the impact of AI search on the industry and new features of short video platforms. This information helps enterprises plan ahead and avoid being eliminated by the market. Huasu Technology's goal is not just to bring traffic to clients but to help them establish a sustainable customer acquisition system, enabling them to remain invincible in future competition.
Conclusion: The Next Step in Omnichannel Marketing Is the Combination of Intelligence and Refinement
In 2025, enterprises face both challenges and opportunities in customer acquisition. The traffic dividend has disappeared, but AI search has brought new entry points; advertising costs are rising, but precise placement and content marketing can reduce customer acquisition costs. With 20 years of industry experience, Huasu Technology has helped thousands of enterprises nationwide upgrade from traditional promotion to omnichannel marketing. Whether you want to build a high-conversion official website, optimize Baidu SEO and GEO, or need a complete omnichannel promotion plan, we can provide professional support. If you are troubled by low inquiry conversion rates, why not talk to Huasu Technology and find your own path to 'performance-based customer acquisition' together.
(This article is original by Zhanjiang Huasu Technology Co., Ltd. Please contact us for reprints. We focus on one-stop services including online promotion, omnichannel marketing, digital marketing, SEO optimization, GEO generative engine optimization, Baidu promotion, feed ads, corporate website building, and brand promotion, covering enterprise clients nationwide.)