Internet Marketing Optimist

When I first started in search engine marketing, it was a godsend for many small businesses (SMBs). It was cheap, fairly easy to implement and, to use the words of Thomas Friedman, the playing field was leveled. Although still a powerful channel today, I would like to suggest that the ability of SMBs to compete effectively online has significantly diminished.

In part, this is just the nature of the game. Once the big players saw profit-making potential online, it was just a matter of time before the small businesses were crowded out. As the industry matured, established industry leaders entered the space, along with new giants that have sprung up online, often making it prohibitively expensive for SMBs to compete in major fields like travel, real estate, etc.

Search engine marketing itself has become infinitely more complex. I can’t help but roll my eyes when Google starts pitching their AdWords or AdSense products to blogger moms. Even those business that once were able to hire a webmaster, to help them promote their business online, now either need to outsource their efforts to an agency or plan for an entire in-house team of search engine marketing professionals. Either option is too expensive for most SMBs.