Who can blame anyone for getting the jitters? These are difficult times. We're all looking for value for money. Nobody wants to spend unnecessarily. However, the danger is that by standing still, competitors overtake your company and you're left stranded.

As Harvard Business School professor Jo Quelch points out: “Successful companies do not abandon their marketing strategies in a recession; they adapt them. ”

Search engine optimisation is one of the most adaptable, affordable marketing methods available to any business. Here are seven reasons why SEO is more important in a recession than ever before:

1) It's inexpensive

Online marketing is still vastly less expensive than print and TV alternatives. In fact, a few months of managed SEO often works out at the same cost as a single half page ad in a mid-range magazine. When every penny of marketing spend needs to be justified, the comparatively small cost of SEO seems like a smart investment.

2) It works

People are spending more time online. All projections are for that to increase - possibly even more so in a recession as more expensive leisure activities are shelved. Search marketing enables you to target relevant customers among the hundreds of millions of people that use the web.

SEO has evolved to incorporate a whole range of sophisticated techniques. The results often speak for themselves. A company that appears on the first page for their chosen keywords can expect sales to increase significantly. If you use an experienced search engine optimisation company then you're likely to see faster and more impressive results.

3) It's measurable

With extra pressure to justify marketing budgets, being able to measure results is far more than just a useful bonus. Marketing departments are going to be looking for ways to track defined metrics.

Through analytics programmes and other software you can measure your traffic, conversions and ROI – and make immediate strategic decisions about your website, your approach and your goals.

4) It's targeted

One of the eternal dilemmas in “real world” marketing is how to reach ideal customers in a mass market medium. For example, while a TV ad might be seen by 1,000,000 people, only a small percentage of them will find the product relevant. 

However, SEO is about delivering what searchers want as a result of their query. Accurate keyword research can help ensure that you're reaching exactly the right audience for your products and services.

You're also more likely to reach users who are primed to buy – which means that some of your selling has been done before visitors even reach your site.

5) It's adaptable

While other forms of marketing have long development and implementation cycles, search marketing is one of the most responsive tactics at your disposal. If, after careful analysis, something doesn't appear to be working, you can alter your approach – fast.

This applies to your website in general. If you're struggling to convert visitors into customers on your homepage, try changing the design or the copy. SEO works alongside your on-page text and navigation to persuade customers to spend with your business.

6) It's global

The web has an almost limitless reach. If part of the key to surviving a recession is diversification, then tapping into as many different markets as possible could be essential. SEO can help you both find and target new markets - in your own country and abroad. Multilingual SEO tactics, for example, can help you rank in specific foreign search engines.

7) It's free market research

Keyword analysis is one of the most effective and best value market research tools. Keywords are the combinations of words that web users enter into search engines to find what they need. In that respect, you're getting a window into your customers' minds. Find out what they want – and give it to them.