Economy Hitting SEM Sector
November 25, 2008 by Jim Hedger
Filed under WMR Blog
Those among us who seek comfort in the thought the search and Internet marketing is somehow immune to greater economic conditions are waking up to a rude set of realities this week as lay-offs, firings and account terminations sweep across the search marketing landscape. From the major networks like Google and Yahoo! to individual search marketing firms, the economy is causing sudden career carnage. While I am not going to name any names or make any assumptions about individual workers or companies, the defining trend I am seeing is one of poor planning in the past eighteen months and even poorer coping mechanisms in the face of two months of fear.
The economy is Darwinist. It doesn’t care who survives and thrives or who withers and dies. There is little to no emotion found near the bottom line. Some companies were prepared, others were not. Its as drop-dead simple as that. Isn’t it?
Moving forward into a desperately uncertain future, what will become of the search and Internet marketing industry? Will we even recognize the industry two years from now? Over the next few weeks, several of our shows will examine the economic conditions facing the industry as we transition into the new year. Stay tuned…
