23 Jul 2009

Marketers are focusing more on search engine optimisation (SEO) during the recession due to its low costs and high return on investment, an expert said.

Aaron Kahlow, founder and chief executive of the Online Marketing Summit conferences, told BtoBOnline that the downturn is forcing businesses to search for the most effective way of generating leads and sales.

"And there's almost no one out there who won't say SEO is now number one by far, with email a close second," he added.

The comments follow a recent report from Forrester Research predicting significant growth in spending on SEO and pay-per-click advertising over the next few years, with total US online ad expenditure to reach $55 billion (£33.6 billion) by 2014.

Research firm eMarketer also forecasts growth for SEO spending as web users become more likely to click on natural search results than on paid search listings, resulting in businesses turning to the medium to attract new customers.

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