Yes, SEO does still work in a recession!
Why does SEO work in a recession?
SEO thrives in a recession because it’s not a pay-per-click model, which means the costs and ROI aren’t linear or continuous. The minute you reduce your PPC budget, your sales will go down. But if you keep your PPC budget the same and your competitors increase it, sales will still go down. SEO on the other hand will keep going – and it’s compound, which means each month, you should be adding new revenue stream keyword themes.
How can I use SEO to recession-proof my business?
The easiest model is to see what your competition doesn’t rank for – one way to do this is to assume that there are certain things they can’t. Maybe they can’t or don’t mention a competitor that you have in common, maybe they can’t talk about pricing or how their product works. But you can – as long as you don’t make any false claims or say anything libelous or slanderous. If a company sends you a cease and desist, ask your legal advisors if this claim would be seen as frivolous in court and if so, write back to their legal team who’ll most likely drop it immediately.
Why is SEO more advantageous during a recession?
PPC budgets and their management fees are related. Unfortunately, too many businesses see these as “advertising” costs – which is outdated. You should have a formula that shows for every $ spent, this is how many $$ are made. SEO doesn’t have a fixed cost-to-spend-to-result ratio. By being more creative and just spending time writing, you can greatly increase your traffic. When hiring an SEO – you’re only paying the management fee – and if you give them the space to grow your organic traffic, you should see a constant increase each month – which should make great grounds to alleviate the financial concerns of your executives.
