Marketing and SEO Advice from our Expert Panel
“The best way through this turbulent ripple in time is to forge forward based on reality. Be honest, and stay authentic. It matters to today’s consumers. But, also be present. Be where your people are. Better yet, climb to the top and lead the way,” said Rande Vick at Rande Vick Agency. “That’s what ‘firebrands”’ do.”
He explains it like this:
- Is your audience on social media? Boost your budget.
- Trade shows? Show up in force.
- Is your business brick and mortar? Don’t reduce your hours. Be open.
“Remember, marketing through an economic downturn is tricky but more critical than ever. So don’t slash budgets because of the noise; lead the way through with a bright beacon of hope,” Rick recommends. “While all your competitors are taking cover, take the lead. Your ideal audience will remember who showed up when life became hard to manage.”
Leverage Lower Prices and Reduced Competition
Marco Scanu, CEO of Visa Business Plans, agrees.
“Marketing is one of the first things businesses cut in a downturn as companies anxiously switch to a customer retention strategy, rather than customer acquisition,” said Scanu. “But the realm of digital marketing is dictated by completion; as in prices go down when the market sees less demand. Like showing up to an auction and finding that you’re the only bidder– the lack of competition will give you an amazing chance to get high-value ad placements at rock-bottom prices.”
He suggests using a downturn to your benefit by optimizing your digital marketing strategy when prices for things like web design and PPC ads are more likely to be reduced. “It’ll not only help you weather the difficult economic times, but it’ll also put you one step ahead when the economy begins to recover,” Scanuy said.
It Takes Time and Effort
“The biggest investment to improving your website’s domain rating is time and effort, not financial,” said Jonathan Zacharias, Founder at GR0.
“Many months go into strategic SEO, which you can work on with limited resources in an economic downturn,” he said. “By building your company’s backlink profile, you build credibility in the eyes of Google. By submitting pitches on behalf of clients to prominent publications, you’re able to increase your business’s landing page’s domain rating over time. This ensures that the company is positioned well on search engines and demonstrates credibility and trust no matter the state of the economy.”
Technical SEO
“Strong SEO isn’t just about the keywords you choose,” said Brian Munce, Co-Founder, and Managing Director of Gestalt Brand Lab.
“If you want to elevate your content in today’s landscape, you need to invest time and effort into the backend of your website as well,” he said. “One of the many things Google’s algorithm takes into account when it’s ranking websites is their useability. This means that having fast loading times, no broken links and an overall good user experience is a necessity.”
You also need to make sure your website is optimized for mobile. More internet use these days happens on mobile devices, so ensuring that your website isn’t bogged down with data-heavy animations can go a long way in improving your overall SEO ranking.
Analyze Past Performance
When times get tough, it’s crucial to make sure you are squeezing every dollar out of your marketing campaigns.
“It’s a good idea to stand back right now and assess your previous marketing initiatives,” suggests Alan Perkins, Co-Founder at RadialZone. “What campaigns had success? Why did they succeed? What did not function, and why? An audit can show you where you may have been wasting money and can also show you where you should concentrate your future efforts.”