But we ALL know what’s coming right? And at ANC we are doing everything we can to help point you into those recession proof areas. (Oops! Even I daren’t use the the ‘D’ word now. LOL!)

Anyway, spotted an interesting article in the UK’s Daily Telegraph Business section a couple of days back. I’ve copied it below (I hope they don’t mind.):-

Businesses fail to grasp website search opportunities

Almost one in five small businesses remain invisible to their customers on the internet despite significant progress in the use of websites in the last three years, a poll suggests.

Fasthosts Internet, a website hosting company which conducted the research, said the percentage of business sites that are invisible to search engines like Yahoo and Google has improved from 49pc in 2006 to 17pc this year.

But the company found that one in three firms had not done anything to make their websites attractive to search engines, which would improve their chances of appearing near the top of a search query by a potential customer.

Many felt unable to try to do it themselves and believed hiring out help would be too costly.

Despite this, more than two thirds of the 400 small firms polled said that they thought consumers did rely on search results to find online retailers.

Steve Holford, Fasthosts’ marketing officer, said: “No business today can afford to neglect its position within search engines. In learning the basics of how internet search works, a business owner will appreciate what a powerful impact it can make on their sales function.”

Richard Tyler (That’s a direct link to the article.)

Mmmmm… makes you think doesn’t it?

As Affiliate Marketers (even if you haven’t been in the game for very long) I guarantee that YOU know way more than the average small business person on how to get listed, and listed on the front page, of Google and Yahoo.

So, there’s an opportunity here. The last thing any business should be doing at the moment is cutting back on marketing (although some may require convincing) so why not check out some local businesses in your area. Have they even got a website? How well is it optimised? Would a PPC or article campaign help them? What about some Social Marketing (Twitter, Facebook, etc)?

Could YOU help them?

OK, it’s not affiliate marketing but it’s another potential income stream. Think about it… I know I am and I know Thad has recently done some (paid) PPC work for a friend of his.

You may need to knock on doors… you may need to do a couple for free to build up a reputation… get some credibility… get testimonials…

Worth a try? I think so!

Travis Sago (BumMarketingMethod) has often been asked in the Wealthy Affiliate forum what he would do if he was starting out again / needed some quick cash / Google delevered an almighty big slap / etc. And the above is pretty much always his answer.

Like I said… think about it…

PS. There’s a great cartoon in the Telegraph as well by Alex… here’s a sample:-

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