Over the past two years, the underlying logic of customer acquisition has visibly changed. In the past, when customers had a need, they would directly open Baidu, search for keywords, and click through the top-ranked websites one by one. Now? Some still use Baidu, but others have gotten used to asking Doubao, DeepSeek, or Tongyi Qianwen first, letting AI recommend a few reliable suppliers. Still others scroll through short videos, see a factory floor shot of a certain company, find it credible, and directly send a private message to leave their contact info. Channels have multiplied, traffic has fragmented, but corporate budgets haven't increased much. So many business owners are confused: Where should the money go? Is Baidu Ads still effective? Do we still need a website? What is this new concept of GEO optimization?
As a digital marketing service provider that has served thousands of SMEs nationwide, Yunxuan Network Technology wants to share our understanding of current customer acquisition trends and how enterprises should adjust their promotion strategies, based on our two decades of hands-on experience.
1. Structural Changes in Customer Acquisition Channels: From 'Search Box' to 'Dialogue Box'
Let's look at an intuitive comparison. Ten years ago, the starting point for B2B procurement was the Baidu search box: search for 'XX equipment manufacturer,' then look at organic and paid rankings, clicking whichever appeared at the top. Five years ago, the starting point shifted to Toutiao's feed stream, where the system recommended relevant products based on your browsing behavior. Now, more and more purchasers, especially the younger generation of procurement managers, directly ask AI assistants: 'Recommend a few smart warehousing manufacturers, preferably in Guangdong, with successful cases.' How does AI respond? It won't list a dozen links like Baidu. Instead, it comprehensively evaluates and gives three to five answers it deems most relevant, describing each company's characteristics in natural language.
What does this mean? It means if your company hasn't left clear, authoritative, and structured information in the content that AI can crawl, you might not appear in those three to five recommendations at all. It's like spending heavily on Baidu SEO in the past, only to get your website penalized—except now the 'penalty' rules have changed, and the platform has changed.
We call this optimization for AI search GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). It's related to traditional SEO but with a different focus. SEO optimizes keyword rankings to make web pages rank higher in search engine results pages; GEO optimizes the likelihood that content is understood and cited by AI, making your company the one mentioned in AI's answers. The two don't conflict; they need to work together. Baidu is also integrating AI, and search results now include AI-generated summaries. Whoever's content is cited in those summaries gets free exposure.
2. Baidu Ads Remain Important, But the Game Has Changed
Many clients ask us: 'Now that everyone talks about AI search, is Baidu Ads still necessary?' Our answer: Not only is it necessary, but it needs to be done more meticulously. Baidu's user base is still massive, especially in central, western, and third- and fourth-tier cities, where search habits are deeply ingrained. But the way Baidu Ads works has changed.
Previously, Baidu Ads was mostly about keyword settings, bidding, and creatives. Now, Baidu Ads has evolved into a comprehensive marketing platform combining search and feed streams, and it has introduced 'generative search' experiences. When a user searches a term, Baidu may first show an AI-generated answer, then ads. If your website content isn't clear enough, AI may not accurately extract your business information, leading to lower ad reach efficiency.
So when we help clients with Baidu Ads now, it's not just about opening an account and adjusting bids. We first help clients sort out their business structure, identify core product keywords and long-tail demand keywords, and then optimize landing page content for those keywords. Landing pages aren't just simple product lists; they need a clear logic: who we are, what problems we solve, what our advantages are, and how customers can contact us. This content is not only user-friendly but also search-engine- and AI-friendly.
Additionally, the coordination between Baidu Ads and SEO is increasingly important. Many clients think that if they do paid search, they don't need SEO. That's not true. Paid search brings immediate traffic, but costs rise over time; SEO brings organic traffic, which is slower but has lower long-term costs and builds brand trust. Combining both maximizes ROI within limited budgets.
3. Brand Promotion: From 'Boasting' to 'Word-of-Mouth Seeding'
Now let's talk about brand promotion. Previously, brand promotion conjured images of CCTV ads and celebrity endorsements—things for big companies. But now, brand promotion has become democratized, especially for B2B companies. The essence of brand promotion is building trust.
When purchasing equipment worth hundreds of thousands or even millions, customers won't place an order just because of one ad. They'll search your company name to check for negative information; they'll search short-video platforms for real footage of your factory; they'll ask around in industry forums if anyone has used your products. This series of actions is the process of brand perception formation.
So the brand promotion we do for clients isn't just publishing soft articles on various platforms. We build a three-dimensional brand information network, including: authoritative content on the corporate website (like qualification certificates, successful cases, technical white papers), brand zones on search engines (ensuring that when searching the company name, the first few pages are all positive), factory footage and customer testimonials on short-video platforms, and in-depth reports in industry media. These contents corroborate each other, making potential customers feel 'this company is reliable.'
For local brick-and-mortar stores in Zhanjiang, brand promotion is even more granular. We once helped a construction machinery company in Zhanjiang with nationwide online promotion. Initially, they only did Baidu Ads, with mediocre conversion rates. After analyzing their customer profiles, we found that besides searching, customers also searched for keywords like 'Zhanjiang excavator rental' on Douyin. So we created a series of short videos showcasing equipment condition, construction sites, and customer reviews, while optimizing Douyin search keywords. Within three months, inquiries doubled. This case shows that brand promotion isn't about casting a wide net; it's about precisely laying out content based on customer behavior paths.
4. Insights from Zhanjiang Online Promotion: Localization and Nationalization Are Not Contradictory
Speaking of Zhanjiang, many people think we only do business locally. Actually, Yunxuan Network Technology serves clients nationwide; Zhanjiang is just one of our office locations. But Zhanjiang enterprises have given us many insights because Zhanjiang is a typical region where 'local market + national business' coexist. Many Zhanjiang companies—like seafood processing, home appliance manufacturing, and building materials—sell products nationwide or even overseas, but their customers often start accumulating locally.
This raises a question: How to balance local customer acquisition and national promotion? Many companies think that if they do national business, they don't need local promotion. That's not true. Local promotion is the starting point for building trust; national promotion is the path to scaling. Here's a real example: We have a client that makes industrial cleaning agents, headquartered in Zhanjiang, selling to the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta. Initially, they only did Baidu Ads with nationwide targeting, but conversion rates were low. We discovered that many buyers in the Pearl River Delta, worried about after-sales issues with out-of-town suppliers, tend to prefer local suppliers. So we adjusted their strategy: on one hand, we added regional keywords like 'Guangdong industrial cleaning agent manufacturer' to Baidu Ads; on the other hand, we published content on Douyin about 'direct shipping from Zhanjiang factory,' emphasizing logistics convenience and after-sales response; we also improved their business address information on Baidu Maps and Amap so users searching for 'nearby cleaning agent suppliers' could find them. As a result, they captured both national search traffic and improved conversion rates through local trust endorsement.
This case shows that Zhanjiang online promotion isn't a geographical limitation but a strategic mindset. No matter where your business is, you can adopt this 'local trust + national promotion' combination approach.
5. GEO Optimization: Seizing the Traffic Dividend of AI Search
Now let's focus on GEO optimization. This is a new service that many companies don't yet understand, but we've already implemented for several clients. GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. Simply put, it makes your business information easier for AI search engines (like Doubao, Qianwen, DeepSeek) to crawl, understand, and recommend.
Why is GEO important? Because AI search is becoming a new traffic gateway. Based on our observations, over 30% of B2B purchasers have started using AI tools for initial supplier selection this year, and this proportion is rising rapidly. If your company doesn't appear in AI's answers, you're missing out on this traffic.
How to do GEO optimization? We've summarized a methodology. First, ensure your corporate website structure is AI-readable. Many old websites have messy code, mixed text and images, which AI can't understand. When we develop websites, we strictly follow search engine and AI crawling standards, using clear heading hierarchies, semantic tags, and structured data markup so AI can accurately understand the site content. Second, lay out high-quality content across the web, including industry knowledge, product reviews, and solution articles, and ensure this content is cited and linked on multiple platforms. AI tends to cite information that appears across multiple authoritative sources. Third, build brand Q&A on Q&A platforms (like Zhihu, Baidu Knows, industry forums), because AI training data heavily draws from these platforms.
Recently, we helped an environmental equipment company with GEO optimization. Their old website had almost no traffic, and Baidu Ads costs were high. We rebuilt the website, optimized product descriptions, added technical parameters and selection guides, then published over a dozen professional articles on Zhihu and industry websites, and encouraged user questions and answers. Two months later, when searching 'industrial waste gas treatment equipment manufacturers' on Doubao and DeepSeek, they ranked in the top five, and their Baidu SEO organic traffic increased by 40%. This is the effect of GEO and SEO working together.
6. Full-Service Digital Marketing: A One-Stop Closed Loop from Website Building to AI Customer Acquisition
Many clients ask us, 'You have so many services; do I need to do all of them?' Not necessarily. Every company is at a different stage, with different budgets and needs. But one thing is certain: digital marketing is a systematic project; single-point breakthroughs are hard to sustain.
For example, if you only do Baidu Ads but don't have a decent website, users click in, see a shabby page, and leave immediately—your money is wasted. If you only do SEO but content quality is poor and keyword layout is unreasonable, rankings won't improve, and results won't show. If you only do GEO but lack brand reputation support across the web, AI might recommend you, but when users search and find negative information, they still won't choose you.
So Yunxuan Network Technology provides one-stop full-service digital marketing management. We first conduct a comprehensive marketing diagnosis, including industry analysis, competitor analysis, customer profile analysis, and existing channel performance analysis. Based on the diagnosis, we develop an integrated plan that may include: custom website development (optimized for PC, mobile, and AI retrieval), Baidu Ads account setup and management, SEO optimization, GEO optimization, brand content creation and distribution, AI agent setup (to handle website inquiries and customer service), and regular data reviews and strategy adjustments.
We have a precision parts client who previously had a website built and ran Baidu ads, but lead quality was inconsistent. After we took over, we first reorganized their product lines and keywords, revamped the website to be AI-crawlable, and built an AI agent on the site that automatically answers customer questions about materials, precision, and delivery times, and continues to receive visitors after hours. We also optimized Baidu Ads landing pages, creating different pages for different product lines. Three months later, their effective inquiry volume increased by 150%, and nighttime inquiries accounted for 20%—these were leads that were previously lost.
7. Three Recommendations for SMEs Nationwide
Based on our experience serving clients nationwide, here are three recommendations for companies doing or planning to do digital marketing.
First, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Whether it's Baidu Ads, feed ads, SEO, or GEO, each channel has unique value but also limitations. You need to build a diversified traffic matrix where different channels complement each other to reduce the risk of fluctuations in any single channel.
Second, content quality is fundamental. Whether for Baidu or AI, high-quality content is always the cornerstone of traffic conversion. Instead of spending a large budget on ads, invest some effort in making your website content, product introductions, and customer cases solid, so your ad spend delivers value.
Third, let professionals do professional work. The threshold for digital marketing is rising, with more platforms and tools involved. Trying to figure it out yourself often yields half the results with twice the effort. Yunxuan Network Technology has 20 years of industry experience, serving manufacturing, engineering, trading, and service industries. We hope to be your marketing consultant and help you avoid detours.
If you're struggling with customer acquisition, feel free to contact us and discuss your business situation. We'll provide tailored recommendations. Whether your market is in Zhanjiang or nationwide, we're willing to accompany you in turning traffic into retention and inquiries into orders.