Why isn’t SEO getting the attention of Financial Directors?
Posted by Louis Venter on 13 Jan 2009 | Tagged as: SEO Strategy
After reading the 2009 search advertising outlook from JP Morgan (thanks Graywolf) I was disappointed to see no references to organic search and the forecasting thereof. In fact they blatantly cover the click through rate of paid search (22%) without even thinking where the other 78% of clicks are coming from.
It’s not a secret that Google sees 80% of its clicks through natural search whereas paid search enjoys 80% of the budget assigned to search in the UK. What fails me is this message seems to be falling on deaf ears. If I were an FD (and by qualification I could be although my life expectancy would drop by 50 years 
) I would be demanding a comparison of all marketing methods, stripping back on the non-accountable methods to ensure I get maximum ROI for my pound. Surely right now is the time to ask the difficult questions?
Organic search is not only typically a cheaper option per visits with trust benefits included but it’s the long term option paving the way for more revenue when the market turns. They say build in a recession and reap in a boom and SEO IMHO is the ideal activity.
Why do I say this? (When MediaVision offers both services )
Well, paid search click cost may dip through a recession but what about when the market turns? Well the click cost will soar and a lot of businesses will get back into the cycle of paying too much for their click.
Why would SEO be different?
Well SEO is a cumulative activity that will bear fruit during AND after a recession and if properly deployed will create a barrier to entry for competition when the market turns. It allows a business to thrive through the recession due to decreased lead acquisition costs and come out the other end far stronger than before.
Why is there not a mass panic shift to organic?
Well probably because of the mindset, the budgets that are moving into search are moving from TV, newspaper and so on where the culture is pay for coverage so paid search makes more sense. These are competitive areas too (when last did you see a publication with only 1 major player in a sector covered). The shift to an accountable pay per visit model seems like a jump so far into bliss that any options further seem too risky to be true. The industry is probably not helped by the immense amount of spammy bottom feeders but that is a story for another day.
When could it happen?
Well if we use the dot com bubble as an example then hype created only changed the consumer behaviour years later then predicted. That said this is a more educated market so possibly a lot quicker than 5 years. I’m guessing we will see the percentages equal in 2 to 3 years and that certainly will be a better situation for quality agencies. That’s my guess anyway, what’s yours?
January 13th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
It’s not strange to see reports such as you mentioned above. E Consultancy search buyers guide shows very similar stats on the SEO / PPC split.
To be honest, i don’t think many marketers see much of a difference when a client lands, SEO takes sometime to really show returns (Not years of course) yet PPC is the fast alternative to show clients returns.
Look at the Biggest Search Geek quiz, over 70% of all questions were related solely to Paid Search. Search is seen as PPC and SEO, and search marketing companies place alot more emphasis on their paid search offering than traditional SEO.
I do not think many people actually realise the potential of SEO Solution as a base for their marketing activities, yet there are some articles and reports out there mentioning a slight shift in focus to SEO with the recession. Not slating Paid at all, however, for me personally, i see it as an easy option to satisy the client.
Whereas, SEO, well, you will end up paying every month while the strategy grows, so initially spend is high VS your return.
Toss up, however, as we see day in and day out, Paid search still dominates search marketing company offerings to clients, besides a select few. I still don’t agree putting all your eggs in 1 basket, it’s the whole picture you need to look at ,plus, cost effective with good returns, what’s wrong with that idea?