Digital marketing · search-led
Digital marketing mixed around search, with every other channel set to support it
Think of your marketing budget as a mixing desk. We push one fader up, SEO, because rankings you earn keep bringing visits without a charge per click. Paid search, content, conversion work and analytics sit around it, and the whole mix is judged on what each qualified lead costs you. The four readings below explain why.
Updated
CH 1 · Clicks
68%
of US Google searches from January to April 2026 ended without a click.
Being seen in results and on your Business Profile matters, as well as the click.
SparkToro with Similarweb, 8 June 2026
CH 2 · AI summaries
8% vs 15%
Users clicked a traditional result on 8% of visits with an AI summary, and 15% without one.
Plan for fewer clicks per search and make each visit count.
Pew Research, July 2025
CH 3 · Paid plus organic
89%
of paid clicks were not replaced by organic clicks when ads were paused, in Google's 2011 study.
Ads and SEO are planned together, never treated as swaps.
Google search ads pause studies, 2011 and 2012
CH 4 · Rented traffic
US$5.42
was the average cost per click in LocaliQ's 2026 US search advertising benchmarks.
Every paid visit has a price, which is why the earned channel leads.
LocaliQ search advertising benchmarks, 2026
US figures: comparable Australian studies aren't published, so read these as direction rather than your market's numbers.
The short answer
What digital marketing means when Boltly runs it
Our digital marketing is search-led: SEO at the core, with content, paid search, conversion work and analytics planned around it as one mix. We go deep on being found in Google, including its AI features, rather than running ten shallow campaigns side by side.
Fader heights show the idea of core and support, not a fixed budget split. Your mix is set in the plan you approve.
Get found
Rank in Google's results, the Map Pack and its AI features for what you sell.
Get chosen
Content and conversion work turn a visit into an enquiry.
Measure it
Every channel is traced back to leads and what they cost.
Why search leads
The signal chain from a search to a phone call
The chain starts with a person typing your service into Google, already looking to buy. Every other channel exists to carry that signal through to a lead without losing it.
- VisibilitySeen in results, the Map Pack and AI features
- VisitsThe right people reach the site
- EngagementContent and conversion keep them reading
- Qualified leadAn enquiry you can turn into work
Rented attention and owned attention
Paid channels rent attention: when the budget stops, so does the traffic. Rankings you earn keep bringing visits after the work is done, so the cost of each lead tends to fall as they build. Ads still earn their place: they're fast, they test which terms convert, and they cover phrases that are hard to rank for.
Why we plan the two together
Google's own pause studies found that 89% of paid clicks weren't replaced by organic clicks when ads were switched off (2011), and that about half of ad clicks were still incremental even with a first-place organic result (2012). Those are Google's own figures, so allow for that, but paid and organic overlap less than people assume.
The channel list
Six channels we run, and the job each one does
We run six channels and no more. Social calendars, email automation and billboards aren't on the list, and we'd rather say so than do them averagely. If your plan needs one, we'll help you find the right person.
| Channel | Role | Its job in the mix |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | Core | Organic rankings that keep earning visits. Starts with an SEO audit and the fixes it finds. |
| AI features in Search | Core | Google says its AI features rest on core ranking, so the same SEO work applies. See our AI SEO page. |
| Content | Core | Pages and articles that answer real questions and convert, planned with our content and on-page SEO work. |
| Paid search | Support | Google Ads to catch demand while rankings build, test terms before writing, and cover hard phrases. |
| Conversion | Support | Clearer pages, forms and calls to action, so the traffic you earn turns into more enquiries. |
| Analytics | Support | Tracking that ties every channel to leads, so you can see what's worth doing more of. |
Three patch rules that keep the channels in one mix
Measured, not guessed
One gauge on the desk: cost per qualified lead
Cost per qualified lead
Lower is better. The needle is drawn to explain the idea.
- Search doing the heavy lifting
- Paid carrying too much
- Spend outrunning enquiries
Track one number: what each real enquiry costs over time. A lot of marketing reporting is built to look busy, with impressions, reach and follower growth that can climb while the phone stays quiet.
The SEO core pushes that number down as rankings build and traffic stops being rented. Supporting channels stay only while they help. Each month you get a short report:
- What came in: enquiries and sales by channel, from your analytics and call tracking.
- What it cost: our fee and any ad spend, shown separately, divided by qualified leads.
- What moved: rankings, Map Pack visibility and conversion rate on the pages that matter.
- What changes next: where budget shifts and why, in a few sentences.
Two ways to spend one budget
Every fader halfway up, or one fader doing the work
Every fader halfway up looks thorough on a proposal. One fader doing the work puts effort where demand already exists, and that's how we set ours.
Spread evenly
- Many channels, none with enough depth to win
- Reports full of reach and impressions
- Budget split by habit, not by return
- Plenty of activity, little that builds over time
Search-led
- Search done properly, other channels in support
- Reports tied to leads and cost per lead
- Budget moved to what is working
- Rankings that keep earning after the work
Who this suits, and who it doesn't
If you want one agency running every channel and judging it on activity, we're not the right call. If you want budget concentrated on the channel with the best return, backed by channels that help and measured on real leads, we are. It suits small and mid-sized Australian firms whose customers already search for what they sell.
Example plans
Three desk presets for three kinds of business
Each preset shows which channel leads, what supports it and the one number it's judged on. They're examples rather than client results; real ones are in our case studies.
Preset A
Local business
SEO and the Google Business Profile lead.
Paid search covers the suburbs organic can't reach yet, then scales back as rankings arrive.
Measured by: cost per qualified enquiry
Preset B
Services firm
Content and SEO bring the visits.
Conversion work on the key pages makes it easier for visitors to book a call.
Measured by: booked calls from search
Preset C
Online retailer
Paid and organic search are planned together, plus your product feed in your Google merchant account.
Ads stop bidding on terms the store already wins for free.
Measured by: blended cost per sale
How we start
Sound check, set the levels, run the mix, adjust
You see the strategy and the priorities before anything begins, and there's no lock-in.
- 1
Sound check
We look at your market, current marketing and where you stand in search, then agree what success means in leads.
- 2
Set the levels
Your digital marketing strategy: the search core plus the support channels that fit, with priorities and budget. You approve it first.
- 3
Run the mix
Search, content, paid and conversion are worked as one effort, sharing data and goals.
- 4
Adjust
We report on leads and cost per lead each month, move budget to what works and refine the plan.
Before the sound check
The accounts stay in your name
Your business owns the Google Ads account, the GA4 property, Search Console and the Business Profile, and ad spend is billed to your card. We're added as users, or linked through a manager account, and you can remove that access yourself in a few clicks. Set it up any other way and you find out at cancellation, chasing passwords to accounts that sit under the agency's login.
If you keep other suppliers
Three suppliers, one scoreboard
When SEO, ads and social sit with three different agencies, each report tends to credit its own channel and the same phone call gets claimed twice. What works is one measurement setup that everyone reports against: the same GA4 key events for calls and forms, a separate tracking number for each source, and one lead sheet where your team writes down how each new customer found you. We report against that sheet, and it's fair to ask your other suppliers to do the same.
Pricing
Our fee and your ad spend, kept on separate lines
Our work is billed on three published monthly plans, with no setup fee and no lock-in. Any ad spend is paid to the platform and reported separately, so you always know what goes to us and what goes to Google.
Starter
$500/mo
A search core for one local business: profile, key pages and a monthly report.
Growth
$900/mo
Search plus content each month, with paid search coordinated alongside.
Performance
$1,500/mo
The full mix for crowded markets, several locations or online stores.
The full breakdown is on our pricing page.
Questions
Before you hand over the marketing budget
What does your digital marketing include?
It's search-led: SEO at the core, supported by content, paid search, conversion work and analytics, planned as one mix. We don't spread a budget thinly across every platform.
Are you a full-service digital marketing agency?
No. We're a specialist digital marketing agency built around search: SEO and content, supported by paid search, conversion and analytics. We don't run social media calendars, email automation or offline campaigns, and if your plan needs them we'll point you to someone who does.
Why lead with SEO instead of ads?
Because rankings you earn keep working after the work is done, while paid traffic stops when the budget does. Ads are useful for quick results, testing and hard-to-rank terms, and we use them for that.
Do you run Google Ads?
Yes, as part of a search-led plan: catching demand while rankings build, testing which keywords convert before we write content for them, and covering terms that are hard to rank for. We'll tell you where the same budget would do more in SEO. Our Google Ads page has the detail.
How is this different from an SEO service?
An SEO service gets you ranking. Digital marketing coordinates content, paid search, conversion and measurement around that ranking so it turns into leads, and shows you what the whole mix returns.
How do you measure results?
By qualified leads and what each one costs. We track rankings and organic traffic, paid performance, conversion rate and the enquiries and sales that follow, and put them in a short report each month. Impressions and follower counts don't pay the bills, so they don't lead the report.
How much does digital marketing cost?
Our fee is one of three published plans: $500 a month for Starter, $900 for Growth or $1,500 for Performance. There is no setup fee and you can stop any month. Which one fits depends on how many channels the mix needs and how crowded your market is. Ad spend is separate, paid to the platform and reported on its own line. See the pricing page.
Do I need to sign a long contract?
No, it's month to month. SEO does take time: Google's starter guide says changes can take hours or several months to show, so a one-month trial rarely tells you much. You can still stop whenever you choose.
Can I drop one channel without cancelling everything?
Yes. Paid search, content and conversion work sit inside a monthly plan, so if ads stop paying their way we turn them down and say so in the report. If you're comparing other quotes, ask whether each channel in a bundle can be stopped on its own, and read the termination clause before you sign. A bundle that ties every channel to one long term is where owners tend to get stuck.
How does AI search fit into digital marketing now?
Google says its AI features, such as AI Overviews, are rooted in its core ranking systems, so the same SEO practices apply. No special markup, AI text file or rewriting for AI is needed. A complete Business Profile and, for retailers, a product feed do help. Nobody can promise a mention in an AI answer, and we won't.
Will you work with my existing marketing?
Yes. If someone already runs your social, email or an ad account, we fit the search-led work alongside it. The one thing we'll ask for is a shared scoreboard: the same tracked calls and forms, and one lead sheet, so no two suppliers count the same enquiry.
How do we get started?
Ask for a free audit of where you stand in search. We then propose a mix with priorities and a plan price, which you approve before anything begins. If a question comes first, contact us.
Let's set your levels
Tell us your goals and we'll audit where you stand in search, then propose a search-led mix with priorities and a price for you to approve. Judged on leads, month to month.