Spending Marketing Funds Wisely During a Recession

Dec. 20, 2008 - PRLog -- The first impulse of many UK SEO companies is to cut back severely on marketing expenditures during downturns. In corporate circles those budget cutback orders are applied across the board without thought as to which are producing results. Some cutbacks are smart choices, however cutting back on search engine visibility is not wise.

Search engine exposure is the most productive and least costly form of marketing and is the best new customer/lead generator hands down. Paid advertising such as Google Adwords offers fast, broad reach to B2B buyers and consumers, however the cost is higher. If a Web site can’t convert visitors to sales, it may not be effective.

SEO on the other hand offers similar reach if the right investment is made from the start and if optimization covers a large array of keyword phrases. Organic or editorial search results as they are known are trusted by users, unlike the paid advertisements that clutter search results pages.

Creating a Customer with SEO

Wise marketers have always stated that it costs 5 times more to create a customer than to hang onto one. Makes sense in good times, but in a recession, current customers leave to cheaper providers, stop buying, or go out of business. Any CEO or marketing manager that intends to be in business for the long haul, can’t sit by and watch sales erode.

You have to compete and with others cutting back on their SEO efforts, your site could jump up to rankings that you never thought possible. The search engines provide an opportunity to dominate an industry. Everyone uses Google to search. The numbers are overwhelming. Even your current customers are looking at alternative suppliers via Google. If your site isn’t there, you can see how that won’t bode well for your company over time. As your customers become exposed to your competitor’s advertising and propaganda, it makes sense that they might take the bait and begin listening to them and even switch to them.

Ranking high is a chance to persuade and build brand recognition. Repeated exposure of your website on Google is going to bring your business and concepts into their comfort zone. High rankings keep your site top of mind to your current customers too.  Believe me, they do search either for information, product stats, and pricing.

In a time of tight money, focusing your marketing dollars on search engine optimization is a brilliant choice. If your market is UK wide or into the US and Asia, there is almost no other medium that can reach your target audience let alone for pennies a visitor.

If your corporate head office has cut expenditures, ask them to reassess expenditures for SEO. They company’s future could be at stake. Atlas SEO UK firm provides range of critical SEO services including keyword research, content development, social media exposure, and in-depth web site analysis. Visit their web site http://www.atlasseo.co.uk/ for information on services including the new video web site analysis service.

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Bay Street SEO is a full service SEO Company with accounts across the US, Canada, China and the UK. The company maximises targeted keyword traffic, analytics, and exposure for major brands online through a variety of search marketing channels. Gord Collins is author of the groundbreaking book The Professional Guide to Search Engine Writing, published in 2002.