Clarity before activity
Understand the problem and intended outcome before choosing a platform or tactic.
About Internet Marketing Service
Internet marketing should make commercial sense.
IMS combines practical digital marketing with more than four decades of business advisory experience. The aim is not to produce more noise, more dashboards or more disconnected activity. It is to help the right prospects find, understand and contact your business.
A business problem before a marketing problem
Why Internet Marketing Service was created
Many business owners are surrounded by digital activity but remain uncertain about what is working. They may have traffic without enquiries, advertising without dependable tracking, or a capable business that is difficult to understand online.
IMS was created to bring commercial discipline to that confusion: diagnose the weak stage, identify the most useful intervention and connect the work to a measurable business objective.
Quality before volume
More clicks are not enough when the people arriving are a poor fit for the service.
Trust before pressure
Give prospective clients enough clarity and reassurance to make a sound next decision.
Evidence before expansion
Review what changed before adding another campaign, channel or monthly commitment.
Meet the founder
Business experience changes the marketing conversation
Phil Manhire’s career spans financial services, business consulting, marketing, technology, customer service, writing and practical business implementation. He began working with personal-computer technology in the 1980s, created his first website in 1997 and moved his financial planning practice to a paperless office in 2002.
That history matters because digital marketing does not operate in isolation. A campaign can generate attention and still fail when the offer is unclear, the wrong client is targeted, the website creates doubt or the business does not follow up effectively.
Phil’s role is to keep the marketing connected to the business: its clients, commercial priorities, capacity, reputation and practical ability to deliver what is being promised.
A long relationship with business and technology
Experience built across changing markets and changing tools
The technology has changed dramatically. The need to understand people, value, trust and commercial reality has not.
1980s
Early business technology
Phil invested in personal-computer technology and worked in technology broking during a period when business computing was still new and rapidly developing.
1991
Financial planning career
A substantial period in financial services developed a strong appreciation of trust, professional responsibility, client communication and considered buying decisions.
1997
First website and own consultancy
Phil began his own consultancy and created his first website, starting a long practical involvement with online communication, business positioning and digital presence.
2002
A paperless professional practice
His financial planning practice transitioned to a paperless office, reflecting a continuing interest in using technology to improve systems, service and business efficiency.
2021
Unicorn Consultants launched
The consulting brand was established to help owners strengthen strategy, growth, resilience, succession and the practical quality of business decision-making.
Today
Internet Marketing Service
IMS applies that commercial perspective to visibility, paid search, website conversion, analytics, follow-up and online reputation for Australian service businesses.
A different kind of digital partner
What IMS brings to the table
Digital capability matters. So do judgement, context, communication and the willingness to say when a particular service is not the best next step.
01
Commercial perspective
Marketing is considered alongside the offer, client fit, capacity, follow-up and the economics of the business.
02
Plain-language advice
Recommendations should be understandable without relying on acronyms, inflated terminology or deliberately mysterious reporting.
03
Focused scope
Begin with the stage most likely to improve the enquiry journey rather than automatically prescribing a large package.
04
Honest measurement
Distinguish visibility, clicks, actions, enquiries and qualified opportunities instead of presenting them as though they are identical.
05
Respect for existing assets
Improve what is already useful and replace only what is genuinely obstructing clarity, conversion or measurement.
06
Clear responsibility
The scope, approvals, required access and any specialist involvement should be made clear before implementation begins.
Two businesses with complementary roles
Internet Marketing Service and Unicorn Consultants
Both businesses were founded by Phil Manhire, but they serve different primary purposes. IMS focuses on the digital enquiry journey. Unicorn Consultants takes a broader view of business strategy, growth, resilience, succession and implementation.
The connection is useful when a marketing concern reveals a wider business issue—or when a sound business strategy needs stronger digital execution.
Internet Marketing Service
SEO, Google Ads, conversion improvement, analytics, CRM follow-up and reputation work for service businesses.
Explore IMS ServicesUnicorn Consultants
Broader advisory support covering business growth, planning, customer success, risk, succession and owner decision-making.
Visit Unicorn ConsultantsHow IMS intends to work
Five principles that should remain visible in every engagement
These are not decorative values. They are practical standards for how advice, implementation and reporting should be handled.
Clarity
Explain the problem, scope, measure and next decision in understandable terms.
Integrity
Avoid unsupported claims, artificial urgency and promises that cannot be controlled.
Practicality
Recommend work the business can realistically implement, manage and sustain.
Respect
Understand the owner, client, industry and existing work before proposing change.
Accountability
Make responsibilities, assumptions, limitations and useful evidence visible.
Who IMS works best with
A good working relationship begins with fit
IMS is best suited to service businesses that value clear thinking, honest communication and commercially grounded improvement—not instant guarantees or marketing theatre.
Discuss Whether IMS Is a Fit
✓
You want better-quality enquiries, not traffic alone
The aim is stronger alignment between visibility, client fit
and contact.
✓
You are prepared to clarify your offer and ideal client
Marketing improves when the business is specific about who it
helps and why.
✓
You value measured progress over exaggerated promises
Results are reviewed with context, limitations and the next
decision in mind.
✓
You want practical collaboration
Access, approvals and useful business knowledge help
implementation move properly.
Frequently asked questions
About IMS and how it operates
The first conversation should make the relationship and proposed next step clearer—not create pressure.
Ask a different questionIs IMS a digital agency or a consultancy?
IMS combines both perspectives. It provides practical internet marketing services while applying a wider business lens to the offer, client fit, enquiry pathway, measurement and follow-up.
Who will I deal with?
Phil is the founder and principal point of contact. The scope will make clear who is responsible for each part of the work and whether any additional specialist input is involved.
Does IMS work only with Financial Planners, Tradies and Accountants?
No. They are the three principal industry pathways, but other service businesses are welcome where the offer, audience and enquiry needs are a suitable fit.
Can IMS work with our current website, agency or CRM?
Usually, yes. Existing systems and relationships can be reviewed so useful assets remain in place and only genuine obstacles are changed.
What happens in the Enquiry Review?
The discussion clarifies the business concern, how enquiries currently arise, where prospects may be dropping out and which practical improvement deserves closer attention.
Let’s have a practical conversation about the gap between your marketing and your enquiries.
No exaggerated promises. No obligation to buy every service. Start by identifying the problem, the commercial priority and the most useful next step.