{"id":1002,"date":"2020-06-26T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T08:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/?p=1002"},"modified":"2020-10-09T21:18:12","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T21:18:12","slug":"significance-of-seo-during-pandemics-recessions-and-downturns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/significance-of-seo-during-pandemics-recessions-and-downturns\/","title":{"rendered":"Significance of SEO – During Pandemics, Recessions, and Downturns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s an ongoing pandemic, we\u2019ve hit a bit of a recession, and here I am trying to convince you that SEO is still super important<\/a>. I\u2019ll hit you with an early summary: it is, SEO is still super important even in the face of economic instability. 
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Whether it\u2019s a pandemic, oil prices plummeting, or something else that leads to an economic downturn, marketing remains a key factor for successful brands and businesses.
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Marketing budgets, which should include SEO, are often prime targets for early cuts as companies wrestle with shutdowns and tightening the purse strings. Unfortunately, SEO is often not very well understood because so much happens behind the scenes, which makes it \u2018easy\u2019 to cut.

As many companies wrestle with shutdowns and pulling on the purse strings, they might eye their marketing budget as an early cut. Usually, SEO is a major part of that marketing budget, so it\u2019s at risk when a company decides to trim the fat. 
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We know based on past recessions and throughout major historical downturns, changes to ad spend and marketing can significantly improve or hinder a brand\u2019s success<\/a> during and after any kind of recession. In almost every example, companies that continued or improved marketing efforts saw higher sales
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But why?<\/strong>
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Think of marketing and SEO like a race. Even if everyone starts at the same spot, certain brands will go faster and farther based on budget, advertising, or talent, and whatever other tools they have at their disposal.
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But if several companies take a 6 month pit stop because of a pandemic, even smaller budget cars will get ahead as long as they keep moving.
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60% of large-sized businesses and 29% of medium-sized businesses noted a reduction in marketing budget during the 2008 recession.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And as we see in this report on how companies spend during a recession<\/a>, larger companies are more likely to make cuts to their marketing budget during rough times. That provides an opportunity for competitors and smaller businesses to get some distance if they maintain their marketing and SEO efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competition Doesn\u2019t Stop, And Neither Should Your Marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The major reason you want to carry on marketing and SEO throughout a pandemic or recession is simple: competition won\u2019t stop. Even though we see in reports that larger businesses will spend less on marketing during hard times, it doesn\u2019t remove businesses from the field altogether. 
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That means after the recession or pandemic, that business will be back on the track racing at full speed again. Maintaining your SEO efforts through a pandemic as your competitors pull back gives you a big advantage.<\/strong> 
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Conceptualizing Your Advantage<\/strong>
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Keeping up your SEO isn\u2019t just about the short term boost you might see during the actual downturn. It also gives you an opportunity to carve out a larger niche, the effects of which could last long after the economy stabilizes and returns to normal.

Let\u2019s look at this from a super simple perspective. What are the main benefits of running a successful SEO campaign<\/a> in the first place?
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