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10.06.08
The Answer To The Bailout Crisis Is Search Marketing
 By
Frank Reed
It's another week of uncertainty and the wide variety of prognostications about the financial "meltdown" or "crisis" or "Armageddon" or whatever it is you want to call it. Is it the end of the world as we know it?
I don't know and in all honesty I don't really care. I know that comes off as flippant but it's not and here's why. No matter what happens on a macroeconomic level we all need to make the effort to continue to do business at "street level". I have written before that I am most interested in those business people who are looking to take on the "big boys" because of what search marketing can do for a business. That sentiment has never been more real than in this day and age.
As SMB's there is a way to meet the challenges presented by this financial mess that we find ourselves in. To be certain, it's not is pulling back on all marketing activities. That is the business equivalent to "pulling the plug" because marketing itself could be the very thing that helps you survive this cycle and come out on the other side stronger and better positioned for success than ever before. What we talk to our clients about is what we call "Budget Theory". Usually they are taken aback at the sheer brilliance of the name alone ;-). This idea is simply doing a real marketing spend "house cleaning" of sorts. How many things have you been doing over and over without even knowing the results? How many dollars do you throw at bad marketing efforts but say it's OK because at least you are doing something? Honestly, if you do that then you deserve to get pushed aside. The free market will let the stronger, smarter and more aggressive competition beat you into oblivion.
So what to do? Why is search marketing the SMB's marketing bailout? It's simple. There is not another advertising / marketing vehicle that is more targeted and more controllable. For those who have heard this before I think it is good to consider again. There are people who are using search engines on a daily basis who are looking for what you offer. With gas prices what they are less and less people are driving around and seeing storefronts. Foot traffic in suburban areas will lessen. I suspect that people are being more intentional about purchases whether they are purchasing business to consumer or business to business. By allowing Google to tell them how they can make a good purchase without looking around aimlessly and have solutions delivered to them in some fashion your customers are shopping smarter. You need to be there when they are looking.
Let's not forget another beauty of search marketing. It's something that you control to the "nth" degree. You can start and stop. You can change messaging on a time. You can increase and decrease your efforts quickly and efficiently. You have two great options in paid search and organic search. Each has its benefits that I won't directly address here other than to say that you cannot ignore them if you intend to get through this.
Here is my "This is a Pitch" alert for this post. We have decided to work with our clients in an even more flexible manner to accommodate their needs. The days of long term contracts in search are over. If your provider is looking to "sell" that model I have at least warned you. If your search provider is not as flexible as search marketing is then you need to look around for another provider. We are allowing our clients the flexibility to do the right thing for themselves and not what we tell them is the right thing. E-mail me at freed@bnrmarketing.com if you have any questions. End of alert!
SMB Takeaway: Yes these are tough times. As an SMB marketer you have options. Search and internet marketing are the best you currently have. They are clean and efficient. They are measurable. They are available to all and they produce. You make the call.
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About the Author:
Frank Reed is a partner at bnr marketing in Raleigh, NC. bnr provides SEO, PPC and blog marketing services. In addition, bnr produces SEO tools like SEMCheck for the search marketing industry. Frank’s blog on internet marketing is at www.frankthinking.com. Frank is also a contributing author on Marketing Pilgrim.com.
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