• by October 31, 2008

Good column. When the going gets tough, the tough get optimizin'!

I'm sure you saw the Jupiter-Marin report of a couple of weeks ago showing that 25% of large PPC spenders are still using Excel.

This is the equivalent of noting that 25% of people driving on I95 are still using steam-driven automobiles. Marketers using automation and other best-practices can easily pass these dinosaur marketers.

Still, I'd prefer to say that search is "recession-resistant," not "recession-proof." The financial crisis is so widespread, touching so many segments, with so many unpredictable consequences, that it's too early to say whether anybody will make it through the next 24 months unscathed.

I suppose there are lessons from investing that are applicable here. Are you in search for the long-term? When the whole pack is going South, are you following them or attempting to find a path that will lead once the recovery begins? Maybe the best time to make a move is when everyone else is paralyzed by fear!