Marcel Media, a Chicago-based interactive marketing agency, announced today a suite of services designed to help companies drive qualified leads, gain web traffic and win new customers by assuring top level listings on search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

"Our goal," says Marcel Media Founder and President Kelly Cutler, "is not only to help local businesses increase their visibility through search engines, but also to make sure that the potential clients who see their listings become new customers."

The company's services include:

-- Search engine marketing, which assures businesses top level search engine placement using bid-based cost per click services like Overture and Google AdWords.

-- Search engine optimization, which improves placement on search engines by refining existing website code, copy and more.

-- Website building and enhancement, ensuring higher conversion rates from online users to potential new clients.

"Search engine marketing and optimization is the type of opportunity that a lot of businesses may think is too complicated, too new or too overly technical for them to take advantage of," says Marcel Media Partner and CEO Ben Swartz.

"After years of selling online advertising for AOL, we've found that search engine placement is actually a far simpler, more highly targeted way for our clients to reach the customers they want than with other online or traditional advertising. With the services Marcel Media offers, companies can be sure that every cent they spend is going to be reaching out to someone who is already interested in what they're offering and motivated enough to research it on the web. No other type of marketing or advertising can promise that."

A wide range of clients have utilized Marcel Media's search engine placement services. Rush University Medical Center recently turned to the company for a campaign to fight breast cancer. Residential Loan Centers of America, a Chicago based real estate finance organization, used Marcel on a highly successful lead producing campaign. The company also recently did search engine marketing work for custom porch shade manufacturer Aeroshade, opening up a brand new high-margin sales channel through top level listings combined with a user-friendly website.

"We've had a lot of success getting large healthcare, real estate and manufacturing companies new leads and top-level placement, but it's also really exciting to work with smaller niche companies. It's fun to help them discover that, when applied properly, search engine marketing can literally bring customers out of the woodwork. Our clients appreciate not only that we get them the results that they deserve, but also that we do a good job of explaining how we make it happen," says Cutler.