A Norwich-based internet marketing company is forging fresh links with the United States as it looks to drive its turnover through the £1m barrier.

Eastern Daily Press: Fountain Partnership have moved into new premises in Palace Street, Norwich and revealed their ambitious growth plans. Director Marcus Hemsley.Photo by Simon Finlay.Fountain Partnership have moved into new premises in Palace Street, Norwich and revealed their ambitious growth plans. Director Marcus Hemsley.Photo by Simon Finlay.

Directors at the Fountain Partnership are repositioning the company to help large organisations build digital marketing teams – as well as offering the service themselves.

The change of tact has seen the EDP Future 50 firm locked in negotiations with a client in Arizona, USA, over a deal to train its staff search optimisation (SEO) skills.

If successful, it will provide a shot in the arm to the company's long-term growth strategy, which included a recent move from Little Melton to a new base on Palace Street, Norwich.

Marcus Hemsley, director of SEO strategy at Fountain, said the Arizona contract is partly inspired by the work it has done with the University of East Anglia, where it gave students the opportunity to work as freelance writers, which included teaching them how to write for websites.

'We have found that traditional marketing companies have struggled in recent years if they haven't embraced digital,' he said.

'But we have also found that digital marketing is changing fast, as large organisations look to bring this service in-house.

'We are on the cusp of working with clients in Arizona to help them build an in-house marketing team so they can differentiate themselves from their competitors.'

Mr Hemsley – who could not go into further detail about the Arizona contract for commercial reasons – said the Fountain team moved to Norwich to be closer to its clients and to take advantage of the better infrastructure.

'The move came because we wanted faster broadband,' he added. 'We were out in Little Melton, but in the city it is better. We are also expanding, so we wanted larger premises and somewhere which would allow us to take on some more clients.

'It is also a bit of a strategic hub because there are people in the building that we already work with.'

The firm currently employs 13 people and is looking to bring in more staff through a summer internship programme to cope with the extra demand for its services.

'By year three of the business we are hoping to break the £1m turnover mark and we are half way there already,' he said.

'We want to expand our offering from simply getting people onto a certain website, through search engine optimisation (SEO) or pay-per click, to transforming them into customers for our clients.

'We also want to give companies this intelligence as well, so they can do this work in house.'

Are you a growing business with exciting plans? Contact business writer Ben Woods on 01603 772426, or email ben.woods@archant.co.uk