SEO Marketing Program for Hard Economic Times

by Brandon Cornett

The U.S. economy is in the worse shape it's been in for many years. Consumers are spending less, banks are lending less, and major financial institutions are falling down like dominoes.

But as a business owner, you can't just throw in the towel. You have to push forward through these troubled times. At the same time, you have to be conservative. You need to find ways to bring in business while spending less on your marketing program each month. This is where I often sing the praises of search engine optimization / SEO marketing programs ... and with good reason.

About 90% of my business comes from people who find my website online, and then go on to contact me. Many of my clients enjoy similar levels of Internet success, because I've educated them on the subject. How do we bring in steady streams of new business through the Internet? Simple. We realize the value of search engine visibility, and we work hard to achieve it through SEO marketing techniques.

I define Internet visibility as the ease with which people can find you online. It directly corresponds to website traffic, which in turn corresponds to web-based leads, inquiries and sales. You can increase your Internet visibility in several ways, but search engine optimization is the brass ring in this department.

Doing More With Less - How SEO Marketing Helps

Now more than ever, it's important to squeeze as much success from your marketing program as possible. You have to be responsible with your budget and focus on techniques that bring maximum results in relation to the investment you make. SEO marketing is the perfect solution for reducing your marketing budget, especially if you handle it yourself. And let me be the first to tell you -- you can handle much of the program yourself, even if you have no Internet marketing experience. I've even created an SEO Learning Center for this very purpose.

An SEO marketing program is like a gift that keeps on giving. With other forms of marketing, your exposure stops as soon as your payments stop. Take magazine ads for example. The moment you stop renewing your ad spot, the publisher will pull your advertisement. Goodbye exposure. The same goes for TV advertising, radio, newspapers, the phone book ... even pay-per-click search marketing.

With SEO, however, the results are long lasting. Yes, it takes a lot of time and energy to achieve top rankings. But those rankings will remain for a long time, and with a minimal amount of program "maintenance."

Recession-Proof Marketing Strategy

Let me give you a prime example of what I'm talking about. One of my past clients worked in the real estate industry. She realized the value of Internet visibility years ago, so she began a concentrated effort to improve her web presence. Naturally, I helped with the SEO marketing side of things. One of her close competitors relied more heavily on direct mail marketing and TV advertising, both of which can be quite expensive over time.

When the housing market began to slow down along with the economy, my client's competitor could no longer afford to spend as much on her paid advertising campaigns. So her marketing program and her exposure basically dried up.

My client, on the other hand, had been working hard on her web presence and her search engine visibility. So when tough economic times hit, she was perfectly positioned to "coast" right along. She didn't have to spend a bunch of money on paid advertising -- she had a steady stream of business leads coming in through her website. Low-cost marketing at its best! But none of this would have been possible without the SEO program she started several years ago.

What Ants Know About SEO

It reminds me of Aesop's fable about the ant and the grasshopper, which is basically a lesson in proper preparation. In that story, the carefree grasshopper played all through the summer, while the industrious ant worked hard to store food for the winter. When the winter came, the grasshopper was ill prepared for it. The lesson is simple. It is best to prepare for the days of necessity before those days come.

If, down the road, you would like to have a perpetual marketing system that requires a minimal investment of time and money, then you must be like the industrious ant here in the present. By starting an SEO marketing program now, you will enjoy a steady stream of business later on.

SEO Copywriting Services - How to Choose

Are you looking for an SEO copywriting service to help improve your search engine visibility? If so, here are some of the criteria you should consider. Print this page and use it as a checklist when screening SEO copywriting providers.

1. How long have you been writing for the web?

If they say three years or more, keep them on your shortlist and move on to the next question. If they only have one or two years of SEO copywriting experience, you should seriously consider scratching them off your list. It takes several years to develop the skills needed to call yourself a professional SEO copywriter. After all, you're really balancing two things at once -- you are writing effective web copy for people, while optimizing it for search engines as well. It takes time to learn this balance.

2. Can I see samples of your copywriting work?

If they provide samples, read through them with an eye out for two things. First, make sure the content is well written, easy to read, informative and engaging. Secondly, make sure it is tightly focused around a certain topic and phrase. These are the fundamental skills every SEO copywriting service should have, so it's something worth reviewing. If they don't have any samples to show you, scratch them off your list. No samples means no experience.

3. How do you come up with topics / keywords?

An SEO copywriting provider should work with you to develop topic ideas for your website content. Those topics should be based on (A) your business model, (B) your target audience and (C) a thorough round of keyword research using tools like WordTracker and Keyword Discovery. If an SEO copywriting service says that it's your responsibility to come up with a list of key phrases, scratch them off your list. Keyword research should be part of the service they provide.

4. Do you have SEO copywriting success stories?

To achieve success in search engine optimization, you need more than good copywriting skills. You must also know how to build link popularity, how to optimize website structure, and other key skills. An SEO copywriting expert should understand how these things work together to produce solid rankings. And he or she should have a few success stories to share from past experiences.

Conclusion and Going Forward

The field of search engine optimization is open to anyone. You don't need to pass an exam or attain a certificate. Any John or Jane can put up a website and offer SEO copywriting services, regardless of their true experience.

You've probably seen the work of amateur SEO writers in the past. It's pretty easy to spot. These people crank out poorly written content that's over-stuffed with keywords to the point of sounding ridiculous. You read it and say, "Did a six-year-old write this content?" This is the work of a writer who thinks the search engine is the target audience. They don't realize that the search engine is merely a tool used by the target audience.

Of course, you can easily avoid this kind of copywriting service by performing some due diligence beforehand. The questions listed above represent the bare minimum. Ask the questions I've provided, review samples of the company's past work, and speak to them on the phone to see if they understand the big picture of online success. Trust your instincts and be a smart shopper.