Ethos Marketing acquires Portland search firm
A subsidiary of Westbrook firm Ethos Marketing and Design has acquired a Portland company to meet rising demand for search-engine marketing. VONT, the web-marketing division of Ethos, acquired HMG Search Marketing last week for an undisclosed sum, and has combined operations in Westbrook, Tom Gale, president of VONT, told Mainebiz.
VONT sought to boost its capacity to handle search-engine marketing, a strategy that's becoming increasingly attractive to wary business owners seeking a quantifiable return on investment, he said. "On the search-marketing side the demand is increasing because during this tough economy, it's a very efficient way to market," he said.
Nationally, companies like Google and Yahoo have seen continued growth in their paid search business. In the fourth quarter of 2008, Google's aggregate paid clicks and its overall revenues increased by approximately 18%, according to a VONT press release.
VONT was established in October 2007 under Ethos, a full-service branding agency. It has since experienced a 600% jump in sales growth, according to Ethos Managing Director Ted Darling. The subsidiary provides services including web design, search engine optimization, email marketing and paid search campaign management. With the acquisition of HMG, VONT plans to extend its services nationally with web marketing strategy and planning, website design and a wide range of search-engine marketing services.
The acquisition boosts VONT's client base to roughly 50 customers in Maine and New England. It now employs seven full-time workers, including all three of HMG's former employees. HMG founder Elizabeth Harvey will remain on as a consultant. VONT also leverages staff from Ethos, which employs a total of 27 workers. The companies post combined revenue of about $5 million, Darling said.
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