• Searchlight, Tuesday, April 1, 2008 12 PM

Whether we're technically in a recession or not, many Americans have become more conscious of how much they're spending as of late, and as such, the search community has been grappling with the issue of what an economic downturn means for the industry. Brian R. Brown serves up a recap of the latest theories from search industry pundits.

In a recent ClickZ article, Kevin Lee touched on the possibility of changes in the number of searches people do. Searches could decline because people cut back on non-necessary expenses, or they could grow, as smart shoppers seek out deals and do more research before making a purchase. "In either case, each search may be an even more important opportunity to connect with a potential customer," Brown says.

Meanwhile, Bruce Clay said that layoffs and staff reductions nationwide could spark a "surge of new work-from-home SEO companies," as workers with advertising experience or even those that just have a passing awareness of the search industry decide to try their hand at SEO.

New talent entering and learning about the industry is a good thing, but Brown says that the problem is that there may be a "flood of newly 'declared' SEO experts" that don't actually know what they're doing. That means business owners will need to screen potential search firms carefully, and search firms may have to be more discerning when making their own new hires.

Read the whole story at Searchlight »