BT has announced a search engine marketing service aimed at helping small businesses reach new customers over the internet.

For a fixed monthly cost and a 12-month minimum term contract, BT Web Clicks puts a sponsored link on major and local search engines, including Google, Yahoo and MSN.

"More than 70 per cent of internet users rely on search engines to find a local service, and they are a proven way of generating leads. But it can be time consuming and costly to set up and sustain a campaign," said Bruce Abercromby, general manager of strategy and development at BT.

"BT Web Clicks helps by choosing appropriate keywords and gets traffic to your site, enabling small businesses to focus on converting enquiries into sales, and all for a fixed monthly budget."

BT will guarantee that customers receive a pre-arranged number of click-throughs over a 12-month period, and will refund the cost of the unused clicks if the target is not met.

"We guarantee that you will get the results you want for the agreed price, or we will give you your money back for any undelivered clicks," explained Abercromby.

BT will offer a team of advertising and web specialists to analyse the customer's website and current usage on search engines to choose the keywords that are likely to generate potential customers.

In addition, a group of professional copywriters will craft the advertisements.

Pricing depends on the nature of the business and how many clicks the company wants to have guaranteed.

The service will cost from £20 per month, excluding VAT, for a Tier 1 company aiming at 20 hits per month, up to £1,500 for a Tier 5 company requiring at least 100 clicks per month.