There’s more and more talk on forums about the future of SEO in the credit crunch, and the doom merchants and naysayers all seem desperate to predict the demise of SEO as a skill or business in the immediate or near future. As a working SEO company who are just getting busier and busier, this is quite amusing.
Frankly, as we wrote before, here Business SEO in the Credit crunch this is a bit silly, because now is the time when businesses need to be at their most lean and efficient, it’s going be survive or die over the next couple of years, so unless these people are saying that every single owner of a website is going to go bust, or suddenly just roll over and give up, then having your website show up at the top is only going to become more important as things get harder financially.
In general, people (in the UK anyway) are turning to the internet more in the search for better value as things toughen up, as alluded to in the IPA study quoted below.
Data from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) suggests that buying goods online is on the up, and is now the third most popular online activity in the UK, after seeking information and online communication.
It was found that 44% of Internet users have shopped online, with nearly half of all Londoners saying they had shopped that way.
Media agency Zenith Optimedia suggest that growth in Internet ad spend is mirroring this trend as marketers try to invest their budgets more wisely due to the current economic climate. The Internet is an attractive option as it is less expensive than most other methods as well as being more accountable and easier to see your ROI.
The Zenith forecast predicts that total online advertising spend will account for more than 10% of all advertising in 2008, rising to 13.6% by 2010.
This would appear to mirror what we see on a small scale, with customers becoming more and more tech savvy, and a ever larger proportion of them having dabbled with Google PPC in particular before finding their way to us.
So unless every single web developer suddenly works out how to build Search Engine friendly websites overnight, we don’t forsee the stream of new customers drying up as things get harder over the next couple of years, just the opposite in fact.
As with all recessions, of course things will get tougher for everybody, and people will expect more value for their spending, and without doubt the SEO companies who can’t market themselves effectively (LOL!) or don’t deliver, will go out of business, and frankly we welcome that.
Bring it on, and we’ll see you bigger stronger and healthier on the other side 
Hasta Luego amigos.
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yep, couldnt agree more.
Cx
people will just have to plan a little more carefully and economise wherever they can.
we’ve just posted our credit crunch budget travel tips to try give a few ideas.