An Internet marketer gives thanks

We approach another Thanksgiving Day and the annual ritual of counting our blessings is carried out across the country. While I have no idea of what you will be thankful for, I do wish everyone reading this only the best for the remainder of this year and next. I have plenty to be thankful for, and I truly am. One of those things is the Internet. Don’t get me wrong–there are about 50 other things that go in front of the Internet, but you are reading an Internet business blog after all.

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I feel thankful that I work in an industry that gives us the opportunity to weather the current economic concerns that can’t be avoided even if we wanted to. While we have gone through severe economic times in the past 80 plus years, this one is truly different. With the Internet economy taking its position in the economic fabric of the world, there are ways to get through these times that were not even fathomed even in the late 1980’s, with the turmoil that beset the country at that time. For this opportunity to have a way through the current economic fray, I am truly thankful.
Now for the part that I really am not thankful for: the introduction of the Christmas season (sorry, folks, you will never get a politically correct “holiday season” from me, ever) is getting earlier and earlier. As online marketers, this is the time of the year that tends to make or break retailers of all stripes. Now, with the doom and gloom of prognosticators in full swing, there appears to be a concerted effort to bring this season to its commercial height earlier than ever this year. Black Friday is now not a phenomenon that is for the hardcore shopper, but is instead advertised as what every normal person should be paying attention to.
Heck, Black Monday, the Internet’s version of Black Friday, didn’t even get a chance to enjoy the spotlight for more than a few years because now there appears to be less of a line that blurs the commercial onslaught that is the Christmas season in the US. Even more telling is that if you are reading this as an e-commerce site owner, and you want to capitalize on this season through search marketing, you better have your paid search budget well stocked and ready to go. You see, unless you started a serious SEO push last January in preparation for the season, you have nothing to say for organic traffic other than “Wait ’til next year.”
Let’s get way ahead of ourselves here, in fine American fashion, and make a New Year’s resolution right before Thanksgiving. You need to commit to actually starting your SEO efforts for the commercial side of the Christmas season starting, well…today. Expect that next year will be even more competitive, as job losses bring people to online businesses because of low barriers to entry, and because of the silly thought that if you have a Web site you are bound to make money.
If you find yourself next year on the outside looking in–again–then maybe you should find another profession. The Internet and e-commerce are unforgiving, and their spirit runs counter to the Thanksgiving and blessings of this time of year. Despite that, I hope that wherever you are on this spectrum, you can find true peace and happiness. So right now I will do what every good American should do a day or two before Thanksgiving. I will wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, a fantastic Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a romantic Valentine’s Day, a spectacular St. Patrick’s Day and, last but not least, a beautiful Mother’s Day. Are you ready?