Interesting what happens during challenging economic times – people change. Some get moving, some get desperate, others get smart. For those companies that want to survive, it’s critical to engage in a self analysis and evaluation of current marketing activities. Seems that many are doing just that with what we and many other web, content providers and Search Marketing firms have been seeing in the past few weeks: SEO is red hot right now. In fact, there was a great post on SEOmoz recently that discussed it. They mentioned that online sales, according to Paypal, were up 34% this year over last – another indication that web commerce is where it’s at. As far as we are concerned, copywriting projects have jumped through the roof and book sales of Content Rich have picked up dramatically. I guess you could call it good timing. Bottom line: no matter what state the economy is in, there is always opportunity.

So why is SEO content building so hot right now? A few ideas to consider…

1. The Web is in a League all Its Own
Trade shows, direct mail and other traditional methods of marketing simply cant be compared to the web. Its almost apples and oranges. Why? Because practically everything can be measured on the web. Because the web is affordable. Because email is super efficient and low cost. Because attending webinars doesn’t affect the travel budget. And anyone can get in the mix – big company, tiny mom and pop. If you are looking at the ROI, it wins out time and time again. Web marketing and SEO are becoming incredibly important. Plus, they now have wide acceptance and credibility with almost everyone.

2. Less Spending doesn’t Equal Less Searching
The Dow Jones has lost over 30% of its value, home values are plummeting and people are buying less stuff, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t searching the web to find stuff. In fact, its only going to increase over time. Plus, it benefits from the recession if you think about it. If money is time, wouldn’t you want to save as much time as possible? Why go anywhere to buy anything when you can do it from your home? No need to spend money on gas either. People will continue to use Search and if you are on page one for your keyword phrases, they may click on you!

3. Companies are Looking High and Low for New Prospects
Any downturn in the economy naturally means that less leads are coming in. In times like this, the sales pipeline starts to look pretty vacant. Marketing departments start scrambling and looking at what’s working. 9 times out of 10, the Web is determined to be high on the list. Why? Appearing in the natural listings and having people click on your site is FREE.

4. Building Content is Inexpensive
Whether you write it yourself or hire a SEO copywriter, it’s not that expensive to build new content. And new content=better search position. And better search position=more clicks. More clicks usually means more sales. Most copywriters charge between $100-200 a page for great content. For 5-10 newly optimized pages, that’s a small price to pay for a ton of new leads coming in the door.

So what are you seeing? Whats happening in your businesses? Let me know, I’d love to compare.

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