The credit crunch/economic downturn/recession (insert buzz word of choice) has impacted businesses in most industries; digital media being one of the exceptions. Investment in online marketing has remained a growing agenda amongst businesses keen to fight through the recession. Those who have taken the opportunity to expand their online marketing activities have increased their chances of survival and can look forward to increased growth as the market improves.
In the long term, it’s likely the credit crunch will have had a positive effect on search engine marketing. The major advantages of online shopping including;
- price comparison
- consumer reviews
- online discounts and voucher codes
have driven shopping online at a faster pace than might have happened otherwise. Furthermore, online marketing can provide much better value for money than offline marketing, giving businesses another reason to speed up their transition into the online space. Advertisers themselves are increasingly encouraging consumers to shop online, a few examples being; gocompare.com, webuyanycar.com and directline.com.
For businesses yet to venture online, the good news is it’s not too late. Consumer growth continues to outweigh competition, especially in niche industries. The diversity in online marketing is also expanding, social media marketing and new advertising platforms provide new and exciting opportunities for growth. Below is an illustration of search growth on keywords related to online marketing. The information provided by Google Insights is aggregated and not entirely accurate, but I think it’s clear that SEO and PPC advertising are set to continue with strong positive growth and social media is going to increase significantly and email marketing will remain a consistent contributor to online marketing activities.
The online marketing industry itself is expanding, existing digital media companies are still recruiting in an economic climate where redundancies are a real threat. Internet consultants are also creating new digital marketing companies to take advantage of industry growth. One of the interesting trends in online marketing companies is location; Manchester and Leeds are popular locations for digital media and London – while still having a strong representation in digital media – isn’t as dominant as it is in other industries. SEO companies in Manchester and Leeds have the benefit of cheaper overheads, giving them the competitive advantage over their London counterparts. SEO Manchester is a Google Insights “Breakout” search term indicating growth of over 5000%!
For businesses looking to expand their online presence and graduates looking for a career path, SEO, social media marketing and online advertising are looking more appealing than ever, despite the credit crunch.
