There can be no doubt that we are living in turbulent times and there is a large degree of economic uncertainty as we move towards the new year.
As an agency, we work with a wide range of different businesses and it is clear that times are tough. Budgets are being squeezed and the demand for results is greater than ever.
Of all the marketing channels, digital is weathering the storm the best – whilst the big budget TV campaigns may be being put on hold, businesses have embraced the transparency of online marketing and focused budgets where the performance is the greatest.
This is why we love search and continue to revel in the challenge that it offers – what other medium offers the ability to position your brand in front of users who are actively looking for your products / services?
Yes, it is increasingly competitive and SEO should always be seen as a long term strategy, but now is the time to review your search engine marketing strategy to ensure that you will come out of the trough at the crest of the wave.
History shows us that where there is chaos, there is opportunity. We have seen a marked improvement in a number of the PPC campaigns that we manage – as competition has fallen away, CPCs are down and conversion rates are up, despite the economic doom and gloom.
It is also encouraging to see that efforts made to improve websites (in terms of design / usability / content / functionality / etc.) are worthwhile, judging by recent projects we have been working on.
The graph below shows a real life example of how an improved website can deliver vastly superior performance. Apologies for the small size, but this graph shows the conversion rate for an e-commerce site from the 1st of November to date. The red line indicates when the new website was launched:
Yes, the christmas season will no doubt contribute to the improvements in performance but there has been a massive improvement in the conversion rate on the new site – this translates into real bottom line benefits and the increased volume of sales has already paid for the devlopment costs (and more).
Our advice? Batten down the hatches, as it may be a long storm, and focus marketing spend on those areas that you know are working well.
Now could be the time to carry out those house keeping jobs which are alway put to the bottom of the list in busy times. Can you improve your website? Are you online marketing campaigns as effective as they should be? What are your competitors doing on their sites that you may not be?
If you are not sure which areas of your marketing are working well, then you are not making the most of the digital channel and you need to call us to review your online analytics solution.
