Over the past year, many business owners have shared the same feeling with us: it's not that they haven't spent money on promotion, but that after the money is spent, the results are increasingly hard to explain. Click costs for search ads are rising, short-video traffic fluctuates widely, customers come to inquire and then leave, and if sales follow-up is even slightly slow, the lead goes cold. Behind these phenomena is actually a structural change in the customer acquisition environment, not a sudden failure of any single channel.
Yunxuan Network Technology has been deeply engaged in internet services for twenty years, serving small and medium-sized enterprises and physical stores across industries nationwide. We provide website development and SEO optimization, as well as Baidu Ads, feed ads, and Douyin promotion, and we also help businesses build AI agents and GEO generative engine optimization. From a service provider's standpoint, the three most obvious changes in the past two years are: traffic entrances shifting from a single search channel to multiple dispersed platforms, user decision paths growing longer, and AI search beginning to divert inquiry volume from traditional search. Together, these three changes directly affect the efficiency of businesses' inquiry conversion.
Change 1: Traffic entrances are fragmented, and a single channel is increasingly unable to support customer acquisition
A few years ago, the logic of online promotion for many businesses was simple: open a Baidu Ads account, rank the keywords, and inquiry calls would come in. That logic still holds today, but relying on it alone is no longer enough. The way users find suppliers has changed—some are used to searching Baidu for "XX equipment manufacturer," some scroll Douyin to see peer case studies, some ask AI assistants "which company is reliable for engineering renovation," and others look directly for local stores on maps and life service platforms.
The direct problem brought by fragmented traffic entrances is that businesses don't know where to put their budget. Put it into search, and short video seems to offer opportunities too; do short video, and they worry the content won't take off and the effort will be wasted. Our advice is not to choose one or the other, but to first clarify your own customer acquisition chain. The advantage of Baidu Ads lies in clear intent: users search actively, their needs are relatively mature, and it is suitable for receiving high-intent inquiries. The advantage of Douyin promotion lies in exposure and trust building: through content, customers get to know you first and then inquire. The two play different roles in the customer acquisition chain, and budget allocation should depend on the business's average order value, decision cycle, and transaction scenario.
When serving clients, Yunxuan Network Technology usually starts with a round of channel diagnosis: can the existing official website receive traffic, do the keyword packages and landing pages for search promotion match, has the short-video content formed a stable update rhythm, and who receives customer inquiries and how quickly do they respond. If these problems are not solved, simply adding channels will only scatter the budget further. We served a manufacturing factory that initially only did search promotion; inquiry volume was stable but growth was weak. Later, with full-network brand exposure and short-video content, both domestic and foreign trade inquiries grew. This was not the credit of any single channel, but rather that after combining channels, customers repeatedly saw the same brand on different platforms, lowering the cost of trust.
Change 2: User decision paths are longer, and inquiry conversion depends on full-chain reception
In the past, a customer saw an ad and called to ask about the price. Now a customer may see your short video, search Baidu for the brand name, visit the official website to look at case studies, ask a few questions in an AI assistant, and only then decide whether to leave contact information. A longer decision path means every touchpoint may cause the customer to drop off, and also that every touchpoint can become a conversion opportunity.
When we do website development and corporate official website development, we increasingly emphasize "reception capability." The official website is not an electronic business card; it is a key node in the customer's decision path. Page loading speed, mobile adaptation, the way cases are displayed, the location of inquiry entrances, and the number of form fields all affect inquiry conversion. Many corporate websites look good, but after viewing them, customers don't know what to do next—this is a reception gap. When developing custom websites, Yunxuan Network Technology takes into account the underlying architecture for PC, mobile, and AI retrieval inclusion, so that the official website can both be viewed by customers and read by search engines and AI platforms.
There is another easily overlooked link in inquiry conversion: response speed. A customer inquires at 10 p.m., and the reply comes the next morning—that inquiry is basically half lost. One very practical use of the AI agents we build for clients is to handle nighttime and non-working-hour inquiries. The agent can answer common questions, guide customers to leave requirement information, and pass valid inquiries to sales for follow-up. It does not replace humans; it first catches the traffic that no one is available to receive. After one client launched an AI agent customer service, the lead capture rate for nighttime inquiries improved significantly, and sales could directly follow up on valid leads the next morning, greatly improving efficiency.
Traffic brought by Baidu Ads and Douyin promotion ultimately has to land in the reception stage. Landing pages and the official website are reception, customer service response is reception, and sales follow-up is also reception. This is why Yunxuan Network Technology, when providing full-case managed digital marketing, connects website development, promotion, AI tools, and GEO optimization into a closed loop—single-point optimization can bring partial improvement, but inquiry conversion depends on full-chain coordination.
Change 3: AI search diverts inquiries, and GEO optimization becomes a new customer acquisition variable
An obvious change in the past two years is that more and more users are using AI assistants to look up information, find solutions, and compare service providers. Platforms such as Doubao, Qwen, and DeepSeek are becoming new information entrances. When users ask "how is a certain type of engineering done" or "which online promotion company is reliable," the AI's answer affects their judgment. If a business's content is not included and cited by AI platforms, it is absent from this new entrance.
This is the problem that GEO generative engine optimization aims to solve. Yunxuan Network Technology's GEO optimization service targets the content crawling and answer generation logic of AI platforms, helping businesses turn brand information, service capabilities, and case content into forms that AI can easily understand and cite. It shares ideas with traditional SEO optimization, but the focus is different: SEO optimization competes for ranking positions in search results, while GEO optimization competes for mentions and recommendations in AI answers. The two do not conflict. If corporate official website development is solid, both SEO and GEO have a foundation; if content is continuously updated, both entrances benefit.
We recommend that businesses view GEO optimization as part of the overall online promotion picture rather than as an isolated new concept. AI search is still changing rapidly, and different platforms have different inclusion rules and answer methods. What businesses can do themselves is make official website content clear, keep brand information consistent, and complete case studies and qualifications. If these basic tasks are done well, no matter how search entrances change, businesses will not be passive.
What Yunxuan Network Technology can help businesses address
Facing these changes, businesses need not more concepts but actionable solutions. Yunxuan Network Technology's service system is built around the full customer acquisition chain, specifically including several levels.
Website development and official website reception
Custom website development is the foundation of customer acquisition. The official websites we build balance brand image display and customer acquisition conversion, with consistent PC and mobile experiences, and an underlying architecture adapted for search engine and AI platform inclusion. For businesses that already have an official website, we first conduct a diagnosis to see whether there are problems with page speed, structure, content, and inquiry entrances, and then decide whether to optimize or rebuild.
Search and feed advertising
Baidu Ads and feed ads are important channels for receiving active demand. We provide bid management services, systematically managing account structure, keyword strategy, creative writing, and landing page matching, focusing not only on clicks but also on inquiry conversion. For Douyin promotion, we help businesses with content planning and advertising combinations so that short-video traffic can land on specific inquiry entrances rather than being scrolled past.
SEO optimization and GEO generative engine optimization
Website SEO and SEO optimization solve the problem of long-term acquisition of organic traffic, while GEO optimization solves the problem of brand visibility at AI search entrances. By doing both services together, businesses can maintain a presence in both traditional search and AI search scenarios. At the beginning of service, we clearly explain the effect cycle and measurement methods to clients to avoid unrealistic expectations.
AI agents and inquiry reception
AI agent development is a practical tool for businesses to improve inquiry conversion efficiency. It can provide company-specific Q&A reception, answer common questions, collect requirement information, and handle nighttime inquiries. We configure the knowledge base and reception process according to the business's characteristics so that the agent can truly receive customers rather than give irrelevant answers.
Full-network brand promotion and local customer acquisition
Full-network brand promotion covers short video, search engines, and local platforms across multiple channels, helping businesses appear repeatedly in front of customers and reducing trust costs. For physical stores and local life service merchants, we also have corresponding customer acquisition solutions to guide online traffic to stores and inquiry entrances. Our service scope covers the whole country; no matter which city the client is in, website development, promotion, and optimization services can be completed through online collaboration.
A few practical suggestions for business owners
First, look at reception before traffic generation. If the official website opens slowly and no one answers inquiries, spending more on promotion is like using a leaky bucket. First straighten out the official website and response mechanism, then consider increasing the budget for Baidu Ads or Douyin promotion.
Second, channel combinations should depend on the transaction scenario. For businesses with high average order values and long decision cycles, search promotion and official website content are more important; for businesses with fast consumer decisions that value display, short video and local platforms are worth investing in. When uncertain, small-budget testing is more prudent than betting everything at once.
Third, inquiry conversion needs measurement standards. Inquiry volume, valid inquiry volume, lead capture rate, and transaction cycle should be viewed separately. Looking only at inquiry volume can be misleading due to invalid traffic, while looking only at transactions can easily overlook losses in intermediate links.
Fourth, lay out AI search entrances as early as possible. GEO optimization is not something for the future—users are already using AI assistants to find service providers. Making official website content solid and brand information consistent are low-cost actions with long-term benefits.
Fifth, when choosing a service provider, look at full-chain capabilities. If website development, promotion, optimization, and AI tools are each handled by different teams, problems are most likely to appear at the connections. Yunxuan Network Technology provides full-case managed digital marketing precisely so that every link moves toward the same customer acquisition goal.
Conclusion
The customer acquisition environment will continue to change: platform rules will adjust, AI search will evolve, and users' attention will shift. What businesses can do is make the basic work—official website, content, promotion, and reception—solid, so that every bit of traffic that comes in has a place to land, someone to receive it, and data to review. As a digital marketing and full-network promotion service provider, Yunxuan Network Technology serves small and medium-sized enterprises and physical store clients across industries nationwide, offering practical support in website development, SEO optimization, GEO generative engine optimization, Baidu Ads, feed ads, Douyin promotion, AI agent development, and full-case managed services. If you are struggling with inquiry conversion or want to clarify your online promotion strategy for the next stage, welcome to talk with us.