Over the past two years, we've talked with many SME owners about customer acquisition, and the three most common complaints we hear are: 'Baidu promotion is getting more expensive,' 'I don't know how to do short videos,' and 'We built a website but no one visits it.' Behind these feelings is actually a change in the entire internet traffic structure. As a service provider with 20 years in digital marketing and technology development, Yunxuan Network Technology has served clients across industries nationwide, from engineering firms to manufacturing plants, from retail stores to service companies. What we see is not that a particular channel has failed, but that the 'entry points' and 'rules' of customer acquisition have changed simultaneously.
This article won't use vague industry jargon. Instead, from our frontline perspective serving clients nationwide, we'll break down three ongoing changes and how businesses can respond. The three keywords are: website development, Baidu promotion, and SME lead generation. They are not isolated tools, but a chain from 'being seen' to 'being trusted' to 'being chosen.'
Change 1: Traffic entry points have shifted from 'one Baidu' to 'entry points everywhere'
Ten years ago, online promotion was simple: do well on Baidu, and business would come. Not anymore. A potential customer might first see your video on Douyin, then search your brand name on Baidu, click into your official website to view cases, and finally ask about price on WeChat. The entire decision path is split into several segments across different platforms.
What does this mean for businesses? It means you can no longer rely on 'betting on one channel.' In serving clients nationwide, we've found that companies with stable customer acquisition often don't excel in one channel, but have coordination among several channels. For example, some people search your brand terms on search engines, short videos continuously expose your content, and your official website can capture this traffic and convert it into inquiries.
But the reality is that many SME websites are still at the 'electronic business card' stage—slow to open, messy mobile layout, content not updated for years, and contact information hidden at the bottom. Such a website, even if Baidu promotion brings customers to the door, can't retain them. So we always emphasize to clients: website development is not a one-time project, but the 'catchment foundation' of the customer acquisition chain. If the foundation is unstable, no matter how much you invest in advertising, it's a leaking bucket.
New variables brought by AI search
Another change is accelerating: more and more people are using AI tools like Doubao, Qianwen, and DeepSeek to ask questions directly, such as 'What engineering testing companies are there in Zhanjiang?' or 'How can SMEs do full-network promotion?' The answers given by AI are becoming new 'recommendation slots.' This is why we've focused on GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) in the past two years—content optimization for AI platforms, so that enterprise information is accurately mentioned and recommended in AI-generated answers.
GEO and traditional SEO share similarities, both relying on quality content and structured information, but with different emphases. SEO competes for rankings on search result pages, while GEO competes for the 'right to be cited' in AI answers. When we help clients with GEO, we start from the content architecture of the official website, coverage of industry Q&A, and consistency of brand information across the web. Doing this now is still low-cost; once everyone catches on, the barrier will be higher.
Change 2: Baidu promotion shifts from 'bidding' to 'catchment and precision'
Baidu promotion remains an important channel for many SMEs to acquire precise customers, especially in industries with high order values and long decision cycles, such as engineering, manufacturing, and enterprise services. But the game has indeed changed.
In earlier years, high keyword bids and good ad copy could get you traffic. Not anymore. On one hand, the bidding environment is more competitive; simply raising bids only pushes up costs. On the other hand, Baidu's product forms are richer, with information flow, Jimuyu landing pages, smart bidding, and other tools demanding higher operational precision.
When we manage bidding, the most common issues we help clients solve are not 'how to lower the price,' but three more fundamental problems:
- Is the account structure clear? Are keywords grouped by intent? Are match types reasonable? Are negative keywords continuously maintained? Many accounts run expensive not because the market is expensive, but because the structure is messy.
- Can the landing page catch the traffic? What do customers see when they click through from the ad? If the landing page is irrelevant to the search term, or loads slowly, or has a complex form, the click is wasted. We usually integrate website development and ad placement, designing landing pages specifically for conversion, rather than using the homepage.
- Is there a data loop? Which keywords bring inquiries, and which just burn money without sales? Are phone calls, forms, and online chat conversions tracked? Without a data loop, optimization is guesswork.
These tasks may not sound 'advanced,' but they are exactly the watershed for results. We served an engineering company whose Baidu promotion account had a decent monthly spend but inquiries remained low. After taking over, we first restructured the keyword strategy, concentrating budget on terms with clear demand, and redesigned the landing page to feature qualifications, cases, and service processes on the first screen. After adjustments, with the same budget, valid inquiries increased significantly. This case later became a reference for our 'website + promotion integration' approach.
Information flow and search are not either-or
Many clients ask: should we do search promotion or information flow? Our answer is usually: it depends on what stage your customers are at. Search is 'people looking for goods'—customers already have a need and actively search, with clearer intent, suitable for catchment. Information flow is 'goods finding people'—stimulating demand through interest and audience targeting, suitable for expanding exposure and reaching potential customers.
For SME lead generation, a more pragmatic approach is: search secures precise demand, information flow provides incremental exposure, and data from both ends is integrated. For example, customers from information flow may not convert immediately, but they remember your brand and later search for you on Baidu. At that point, search and the official website must be able to catch them. This is what we call 'full-network marketing'—not making every channel heavy, but letting channels complement each other.
Change 3: SME customer acquisition budgets are tightening, but demands are higher
This is what we generally observe across clients nationwide: everyone is spending more cautiously. Previously, they might be willing to 'invest for three months and see,' but now they want every budget item to have a clear destination and effect. This is a good thing, forcing service providers to do more detailed work.
But the contradiction is that while budgets tighten, the difficulty of customer acquisition has not decreased. Platform rules change, competitors increase, and customer attention is increasingly fragmented. SMEs cannot afford a full marketing team like large companies, so they need external service providers to offer 'one-stop' capabilities—from website development to ad placement, from content to AI tools, ideally all connected.
This is exactly what Yunxuan Network Technology has been doing. Our positioning is not a single-point tool provider, but a full-chain service provider of omnichannel marketing + technology development. Specifically, our ability to help clients respond to changes is reflected in several aspects:
1. Website development: making the official website a customer acquisition asset, not a cost
We don't just deliver a template for website development. From the start, we ask clients: Who are your customers? What do they search for? What do they care about? The answers directly affect the website's structure, content layout, and conversion path design.
For example, for AI retrieval and indexing, we implement structured data markup at the code level to make it easier for AI tools to crawl and understand enterprise information. For mobile, we ensure page loading speed and browsing experience. For conversion, we place inquiry entries, forms, and phone buttons where customers can easily reach them. A website designed for customer acquisition and one that merely displays information have very different results.
Moreover, website development doesn't end upon delivery. We recommend clients keep content updated, especially industry Q&A, cases, and service introductions. This content is for customers as well as search engines and AI platforms. Continuously updated websites perform better in both SEO and GEO.
2. Promotion: a combination of Baidu promotion + information flow + short videos
We provide Baidu promotion, information flow advertising, and bidding management, as well as Douyin promotion and local life platform lead generation. Different channels have different tactics and rhythms, but the core logic is consistent: use data to guide placement, use catchment to improve conversion.
Taking Baidu promotion as an example, when optimizing accounts, we reverse-engineer keyword strategies from search term reports and landing page optimization directions from conversion data. For information flow, we focus more on matching audience packages and creatives, testing different creative directions to find combinations with better click-through and conversion rates. For short video lead generation, we emphasize practicality and local relevance, so stores and physical businesses can be seen by nearby people through content.
These tasks may not be new individually, but combined and continuously optimized, the effects accumulate. A manufacturing plant we served, through multi-channel brand exposure, not only increased domestic inquiries but also boosted foreign trade inquiries. What does this show? When a company has a professional image across multiple channels, customer trust costs decrease and conversion probability increases.
3. AI tools: intelligent agents help businesses catch nighttime inquiries
Many SMEs have a pain point: customers inquire at night, no one responds, and by the next day when they follow up, the customer has gone elsewhere. We build AI intelligent agents for clients to solve this. Based on the company's own knowledge base, the agent can automatically answer common questions and guide lead capture, catching inquiries at night and on holidays.
One client saw a significant increase in lead capture rate for nighttime inquiries after launching an AI agent customer service. This is not to say AI replaces humans, but it catches the 'missed' ones first, and the next day sales can follow up, greatly improving efficiency. For SME lead generation, every inquiry is hard-won, so catching one more is valuable.
4. GEO optimization: laying out AI search traffic in advance
We mentioned GEO earlier, and here's a bit more. Our GEO work focuses on helping enterprises be 'correctly mentioned' in AI platform answers. Specific practices include: organizing the company's core business and advantages into structured content; publishing industry-related content on the official website and authoritative platforms to increase the probability of being cited by AI; monitoring brand mentions on AI platforms and continuously adjusting optimization directions.
This is still early, but the trend is clear. As more people habitually ask AI 'which company is good,' brands that appear in AI answers gain a head start. We recommend businesses with budget lay out in advance, especially those in industries with high order values and trust-dependent decisions.
Nationwide customer acquisition: not 'doing everywhere,' but 'catching everywhere'
Some clients ask: you're in Zhanjiang, can you serve our company elsewhere? The answer is yes. Yunxuan Network Technology serves nationwide. Through online collaboration, we provide website development, Baidu promotion, full-network marketing, and customer acquisition solutions to SMEs across the country. Office location doesn't affect service capability; remote communication, project management, and data reporting are all mature.
We have served clients in different regions, from local physical stores to manufacturing and engineering companies in other provinces. Market environments differ by region, but the underlying logic of customer acquisition is the same: understand customers, choose the right channels, do good catchment, and continuously optimize. We customize specific plans based on the client's industry and target market, rather than applying a template everywhere.
For local physical clients, we focus on local life platforms and short video lead generation to help stores reach nearby people. For businesses doing nationwide business, we focus on Baidu promotion, SEO, and GEO optimization, so customers with needs can find them. This is the difference and coordination between 'nationwide promotion' and 'local customer acquisition.'
How should businesses determine what they need?
Clients often ask right away: 'How much for Baidu promotion?' 'How much to build a website?' These are hard to answer directly because price depends on goals and competitive environment. We usually ask a few questions first:
- Who are your customers? Where are they? How do they find you?
- Do you have a website now? Can it catch traffic?
- Have you advertised before? How were the results? What went wrong?
- What is your budget? What is the expected customer acquisition cycle?
Once these questions are clear, the plan emerges. If the website is inadequate, do website development first. If there's search demand but it's not handled well, optimize Baidu promotion. If exposure is lacking, add information flow or short videos. If you want to lay out for the future, do GEO. Order matters; money should be spent where it counts.
We've seen companies heavily invest in ads while their website is still rough, resulting in many clicks but few inquiries, concluding 'online promotion doesn't work.' Actually, it's not that promotion doesn't work; the chain is broken. This is why we emphasize a one-stop closed loop of 'website development → promotion → AI tools → GEO optimization'—every step affects the final result, and single-point optimization often yields half the result with twice the effort.
In 2025, the keywords for SME lead generation are 'precision' and 'catchment'
If I had to summarize the upcoming customer acquisition trends in two words, I'd choose 'precision' and 'catchment.' Precision, because traffic costs are high, so budget must be spent on customers with demand. Catchment, because when traffic comes, you must be able to catch, convert, and retain it.
Website development solves the catchment problem, Baidu promotion solves the precise customer acquisition problem, and SME lead generation is a systematic project that requires integrating both with content, AI tools, and data. Yunxuan Network Technology has been in digital services for 20 years. Our greatest value is not a single skill, but the ability to combine technology development and marketing promotion to help clients build a complete customer acquisition chain.
The market is always changing, but the essence of customer acquisition remains: let those who need you find you and trust you. What we do is help clients do this more steadily and sustainably. If you're struggling with customer acquisition, start by reviewing your website and promotion accounts to see where the chain is broken. You can also contact us to discuss your industry and customers and find the best entry point.