As we hosted the American Marketing Association Listserv this past week, we heard from many search marketers about what they are struggling with and concerned about. One item that came up was the differences between search marketing for big companies vs. small companies. We’ve discussed what makes search marketing difficult for big sites, but we haven’t really talked through what small sites can do.
Small sites have many advantages over large sites. They are less likely to have over-architected their site, introducing expensive, spider-trapping technology the way large companies sometimes do. (It is certainly possible to implement high-end Web technology to be spider friendly, but it takes more knowledge than with boring old Web servers.) They are also more easily able to get their entire Web team to work together (maybe because it is only one person). Small sites also make decisions faster and are able to change their site faster than larger sites.
But small sites are often encumbered by a small budget. Whereas big sites sometimes have the resources required to succeed at search marketing, small sites can be starved for cash. A little needs to go a long way.
What can search marketers at small companies do? Enter the Skinflint’s Guide to Search Marketing, the cheapest way for search marketers to break into the game. There is even a free way to do shopping search!
Don’t let people tell you that you need deep pockets to succeed at search marketing. Consult the Skinflint’s Guide today.
