SEO in a recession. At a time when challenger brands will be reviewing their marketing budgets, we believe that continued or increased investment in SEO is crucial for brand and business growth in 2023.
From two decades of digital marketing experience , we know that SEO can be a safe haven for marketing investment when economic conditions are tough. Indeed, searches on Google for the term “SEO” tend to peak when there are adverse external challenges such as the lockdowns during the Covid Pandemic or there is pressure on marketing budgets.
There are 3 main reasons why SEO performs well in these challenging times:
- Investment is usually a fraction of the paid media equivalents for the same, if not more consistent exposure.
- With paid search, any pause in advertising will immediately be reflected in a drop of visibility, traffic and resultant sales. That can lead to a brand addition to paid search which is hard to crack. By contrast, a successful SEO strategy will continually build upon existing work and existing traffic, meaning brands can achieve a persistent presence and visibility without needing to buy ads 24×7. Investing in SEO can be a more efficient use of cash flow during a recession.
- The consumer will always search.
- What they search for, and how they search may change but we don’t expect a drop in the use of Google search engine. As the recession bites, we can expect to see more searches for money saving ideas, like air fryers or slow cookers, which can present fresh opportunities for smart brands to connect with potential customers.
- An organic search presence ensures your brand is primed and ready when the recession ends.
- It may be hard to predict just when the recession could end. However, brave marketers that invest in SEO during the recession will be ideally placed to capture the upswing as and when it happens. By paying attention to the macro and micro changes, brands could weather the recession and unlock new customers or new product development through their investment in organic search.
Recessions can be tough but there are still opportunities to be had with organic search. Whilst SEO results can never be guaranteed, we know the right strategies will evolve for changing consumer behaviour whilst matching the changing algorithms.
As an SEO Consultancy, it is our goal to connect your brand with both current and new audiences through Google. We are currently recommending more diverse content engineering and encourage swifter technical changes to ensure our clients stay ahead of the competition in the changing SEO landscape in 2023. We could be helping you, too.
Get in touch if you’d like to know more about how we could help.
