Search Engine Optimization Hits the Front Page of the Los Angeles Times

Search Engine Optimization Hits the Front Page of the Los Angeles Times

The SEO industry got some fairly good press coverage this past weekend when the Los Angeles Times released an article that seemed to cover the changes in an advertising professional's focus.

But that wasn't all–it also addressed some issues that many businesses have been facing over the past year or so.  Economic conditions have led companies to cut back on wasteful spending of their marketing budgets, and as a result the print industry took a massive hit as well.  With more and more people feeling the crunch of tightening budgets and a sense of forboding from rough times ahead, people are quite simply buying less.

What does that mean?

It means when people do shop for something, they're shopping thriftily.

So, they're not going to buy a magazine to peruse through the advertisements.

They're going to go online.  It's just too easy when you can enter what you want into Google and it will return the most popular and most relevant answers to you. 

How is consumer shopping changing?

Since Google has become more successful with their mission of providing the most popular and relevant results in less than a second–an increasing number of people have found that if they want to find something, they're going to look for it online, even before making a purchase at a store. 

The ease with which consumers can access the Internet has enabled them to be smart shoppers.  They research their potential purchases, just to make sure they can get the best price, but they don't go through 50 pages of Google's Search Results–most people just scan the first page, and then change what they are searching for.

How is that affecting consumer marketing?

People subscribe less and less to the newspaper and magazines each year, and subscribe more and more to blogs online.  News travels at the speed of light on the internet and as a result is important to maintain a strong presence in a consumer marketplace.

Companies that have recently made an investment in increasing the visibility of their website have increased their chances of maintaining successful results in an economically tumultuous marketplace.  By securing front page and even top 3 listings, an individual company can secure the attention of thousands to tens of thousands of individuals who show an interest in related products and services offered by an individual company.

Conclusion - SEO is the Answer

As consumer marketing shifts online for most companies, the companies that do not adapt to current standards will be weeded out as more and more people are shopping online every day.  Essentially, it is about knowing your customers. 

Do you think yours are going to be using the Internet in the future to look up prices listed by top Internet competitors? 

Jordan Ryan is the Search Engine Optimization & Internet Marketing Specialist at Dogs of Design Studios. You can find his personal profile on LinkedIn here as well as the Dogs Of Design Studio Company Profile on LinkedIn here. Follow him on Twitter @jordan_ryan.