I know, only SOME people are saying we're in a recession, but for heavens sake, what does it take to just admit it?
Anyway, many businesses today are scrambling trying to figure out what impact the current recession will have on their company. Some are even planning ahead and looking to "cut the fat" by reviewing their expenditures and seeing what can be done to reduce them.
If your company is looking ahead and considering some areas to reduce spending, and if marketing and advertising is on the "hit list", then I strongly urge you to consider either getting Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services for your website or beefing up your SEO services. Why? Because it's the cheapest form of advertising with an extremely high conversion rate, that's why!
Just last month I received a call from one of my clients, Mickey Arledge, his company sells name tags and trophies and awards, etc. He has been with us at Eckweb Designs, Inc. for about 8 months now and in his conversation last month, he wanted me to know that the summer months are usually very slow for him but THIS summer, he was steady and never slowed down. Why? Because of the business he's been getting from his website. And why is business booming from his website? Because we worked together on optimizing his website, that's why! He is so pleased with the results that we're working on several other websites for him to promote the other products and services that he sells. I call that a win-win.
Let me give you 3 ways that SEO can help with marketing in a recession.
1) SEO can help you re-tool your website TO the current demands. In other words, in today's economy, I would think that most people are looking for ways to get things cheaper. So, words like "discounted", "cheaper", "low prices", "sale", come to mind. Do you have any website pages on your website marketing these phrases? The beauty of Internet marketing (and websites) is that you can make changes like this by adding and/or modifying pages on your website and make them available almost immediately.
2) SEO can help you search for an additional niche market to add to your list of products and services. How? Part of SEO work is looking at Internet trends, in other words, what are Internet searchers looking for? What words are being used on Internet searches? These words give you an insight into what's happening "out there". Let's say you provide psychiatry services in Atlanta and you currently specialize in treatment for cocaine drug addiction. A consultation with your SEO firm reveals that in the Atlanta area, a trend in the last 12 months has shown an increase in the need for information about panic attacks. This would then help to direct this particular psychiatrist to add information to his website about panic attacks.
Basically, find out what your audience is looking for and then give it to them.
3) When your website is optimized, part of the ongoing maintenance from the SEO firm is analyzing the statistics from the website. This means looking at the numbers and the flow of visitors on your website. Are the majority of visitors coming to just one page and then leaving? Are people coming to the shopping cart but then abandoning it? What keyword phrases is the website being found for? How many visitors came to your site from that magazine advertisement you placed? The answers to these questions and many, many more help the SEO firm and you to make the necessary changes to your website in order to continue improving it and increasing the ROI.
Many website owners make the great mistake of believing that once their website is created and once it's optimized, that's it. They don't have to do anything else. I can't even begin to tell you how wrong that is. If companies like Google, Coca Cola, Health South, Aetna see the need to make changes to their websites on a constant basis, what makes you think that your website can just stay as it is? The truth is, websites are supposed to be fluid. They're supposed to be changing with the seasons! Websites are not brochures so don't treat them as such. Otherwise, you just wasted the money you spent on the website design.
So, there you have it. If you're already receiving SEO services for your website, contact your SEO firm today and discuss these methods with them. If you're not receiving SEO services, what are you waiting for? Contact us for affordable seo services today, we'll be happy to answer your questions and give you a free quote on your website. The time to get ready is now!