As an SEO professional, there will be times when you hit major roadblocks, especially when client budgets shrink during economic downturns or company-wide cost cutting. Yet, these challenges shouldn’t stop you in your tracks.
Stay focused and nimble to squeeze the most SEO impact out of even limited resources and keep driving organic results. Follow these seven practical steps to help you navigate budget constraints without losing sight of your SEO goals.
Get the Pulse of Demand
First things first: understand exactly how budget cuts and volatile market conditions are impacting search demand and user behavior for your clients’ businesses. Chances are, if your agency specializes in certain verticals, you’re already seeing some of the ripple effects. But when belts tighten, it’s time to dig deeper.
Fire up Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Trends and your other go-to SEO tools and start investigating:
- Are branded searches and organic traffic to your clients’ sites declining? By how much and how quickly?
- At what stages of the buyer’s journey are users dropping off the most? Are there new exit points or conversion roadblocks emerging?
- Which products, services, content types, and keywords are seeing the biggest hits vs. holding steady?
Take a magnifying glass to this data to get a proper lay of the land – not just of shifting search patterns but your client’s overall business health – so you can begin adapting your SEO approach accordingly. Look at month-over-month and year-over-year trends for proper context. And analyze each client individually, as demand fluctuations may vary widely.
Retune Your Objectives
Armed with those fresh demand insights, initiate real talk with your clients about realistic SEO objectives given their new budget reality. Be proactive in starting the conversation rather than waiting for them to come to you.
Schedule a meeting to have an honest discussion about how reduced resources necessitate dialing back the scope and/or speed of SEO work and revising KPIs. Come prepared with your data-backed recommendations for where to strategically scale back versus maintain (or even increase) investment, and explain your rationale. Outline which initiatives can safely move to the back burner for now and which are critical to protect organic search presence and performance.
Ask for their input and align on a streamlined battle plan that concentrates efforts where they’ll yield the most SEO bang for their buck. This may mean pivoting from a sprawling site overhaul to targeted optimizations, or from always-on content creation to periodic pulses. Be upfront that progress will likely be slower, but express confidence you can still add value and forward momentum within the constraints by working smarter and leaner. Negotiate any scope, deliverable, or timeline changes to your SOW or contract.
Also explore what aspects can be automated, streamlined, or made more efficient using SEO tools and artificial intelligence. Get hyper-focused on activities that will move the needle most in this new reality.
Streamline Your Digital Presence
When money and resources are tight, zero in on the digital channels and content that are currently driving the most relevant traffic and conversions for your clients.
Do an 80/20 analysis of your clients’ web analytics data to identify their highest-performing pages and keywords across the buyer journey stages. Prioritize optimizing those and ensuring their technical health so you don’t lose that precious organic equity. A huge new content push may not be feasible now, but do keep existing content that’s ranking and converting well fresh, accurate and fully aligned with shifting customer needs and intent.
On the flip side, conduct a content audit to find underperforming pages that are thin, outdated or redundant. Work with your client to prune them or improve and consolidate them so you’re not spreading already-limited crawler budget, link equity and human resources across a bloated site. Tighten up the site architecture and internal linking around a core set of authoritative, relevant pages to enhance your SEO efficiency.
Be strategic about which products, services or content to spotlight versus downplay in organic search based on real-time trends. For example, focus more energy on well-performing evergreen content than news content, or affordable essentials vs luxury nice-to-haves. Find that sweet spot between what people are actually searching for and what’s most profitable for the client’s business goals.
Do more with less by lasering in on digital touch points that will give you the most SEO traction and business impact. Prioritize progress over perfection.
Allocate Resources Wisely
Your agency’s SEO dream team is likely a mix of specialists – from content and on-page optimization to link building and web dev. But as client budgets contract, scrutinize how to best utilize each person to deliver maximum results with minimum waste.
Identify which team members have the most advanced and relevant skills for your top SEO priorities in this moment. Consider reallocating them to the highest-stake clients and initiatives. The content wizards might focus on refreshing and optimizing existing assets, while the technical experts work on site speed, mobile UX, or structured data to protect rankings.
See which lower-complexity or repetitive tasks can be handled by more junior employees with some training and supervision, or even interns. Maybe they can own monitoring and reporting, or finding quick win opportunities. Don’t silo – encourage cross-training and knowledge-sharing so everyone can pinch hit.
Work closely with each client’s in-house teams, too. Their IT, UX, marketing and content resources are likely stretched thin as well, so stay aligned on priorities and who’s owning what. Communicate clearly and often so nothing falls through the cracks.
Automate wherever possible, but don’t skimp on quality. Maximize usage of the SEO tools you’re already paying for, and explore adding some low-cost or freemium ones that could streamline your workflows. Just evaluate them carefully and get team buy-in so you don’t waste time and money on shiny objects.
Assign an owner to monitor team capacity, performance and morale frequently. If key people are spread too thin or burning out, adjust and huddle with the client. It’s better to renegotiate scope than let balls drop.
Spend your human and technology resources purposefully to maintain SEO momentum on a shoestring budget. Stay agile, collaborative and relentlessly prioritized.
Resource Allocation Prioritization
| Resource Category | Priority Level | Recommended Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Content Optimization | High | Focus on refreshing high-performing content, aligning with current trends, and optimizing for updated search intent. |
| Technical SEO | High | Optimize site speed, fix crawl errors, ensure mobile responsiveness, and implement structured data markup. |
| Link Building | Medium | Target partnerships, build links to high-converting pages, and focus on backlinks from authoritative domains. |
| Keyword Optimization | High | Optimize for “striking distance” keywords, monitor shifts in search intent, and refresh metadata for priority pages. |
| Local SEO | High | Enhance Google My Business profiles, optimize for geo-specific queries, and track local pack rankings. |
| Site Architecture | Medium | Streamline internal linking, audit orphan pages, and tighten URL structures to improve crawl efficiency. |
| Content Pruning | Medium | Audit thin or outdated pages, consolidate redundant content, and redirect obsolete URLs appropriately. |
| Analytics and Reporting | High | Set up dashboards for real-time tracking, monitor KPIs closely, and use data to guide strategy adjustments. |
| Content Creation | Low | Pause large-scale projects; prioritize targeted, high-impact pieces based on demand insights. |
| Schema Implementation | Medium | Add schema for rich snippets and FAQs to improve visibility in SERPs. |
Focus on the Short-Term
When cash flow is a concern, make short-term revenue the primary focus – for your agency and your clients. Work together to uncover SEO opportunities that are low effort but can drive quicker conversions and demonstrate ROI.
For instance:
- Mine “striking distance” keywords that the site currently ranks on page 2 for and optimize those pages to lift them onto page 1
- A/B test calls-to-action, lead capture forms, checkout flow, etc. on top-converting pages to boost sales
- Refresh top content with trending keywords, updates, and conversion-driving elements
- Build links to bottom-funnel pages via targeted outreach, partner integrations, etc.
- Implement schema markup to capture rich snippets for high-demand informational and transactional queries
- Localize content and metadata for high-priority geo-specific queries and track local pack rankings
Not every tactic will make sense for every client, but the point is to prioritize nimble efforts that can efficiently convert more of your existing SEO traffic into revenue. This tangible progress is critical for maintaining client confidence and retention when marketing budgets are on the chopping block.
On the flip side, be judicious and realistic about pausing large-scale initiatives that will take a long time to drive measurable business impact, even if they could be an SEO slam dunk in the long run. Read the room – if your client is in crisis mode, it’s not the time to push a big bet. Craft a phased roadmap to chip away at it while delivering quicker wins to keep them afloat.
Don’t Forget the Long-Term
While short-term needs may seem paramount, don’t completely neglect the long game – especially if your competitors are pulling back. Strategically pursue a few longer-term SEO investments now, if your clients can swing it, to help them pull ahead when the economy rebounds.
So what does that look like? First, build out a foundation of comprehensive, authoritative content assets around your client’s priority topics – think ultimate guides, white papers, original research, expert interviews, and other cornerstone pieces that will stand the test of time and accrue links and authority. Going deep and demonstrating true thought leadership on a few key themes will likely serve them better in search than just churning out a higher volume of shorter articles.
Next, shore up technical fundamentals like site architecture, performance, mobile-friendliness, accessibility, internal linking, and structured data markup. This behind-the-scenes work won’t deliver immediate traffic spikes but it’s crucial for ranking well over time, especially as search engines continue to raise the bar on these elements. Carve out some resources, even if modest, for this foundational work now to pay off down the line.
Meanwhile, keep an eye out for strategic partnership, sponsorship and co-marketing opportunities that can cost-effectively build brand awareness, reach and credibility with your target audience. Co-create content, co-host events or webinars, sponsor newsletters, or contribute to their owned channels to get in front of their engaged communities. These efforts can drive qualified traffic, earn valuable links and elevate your client’s industry profile in a way that pays off over time.
Lastly, if your agency has been wanting to expand into video, voice search, or other rising SEO frontiers, now could actually be a good time to start dabbling and building capabilities – as long as it doesn’t detract from core priorities. Balance quick revenue drivers with smart bets and stay flexible as trends shift.
Keep Tabs on Progress
Frequent, proactive performance monitoring and communication is always vital for effective SEO – but even more so when clients are scrutinizing every dollar. Keep a vigilant eye on the data and clearly connect your activities to bottom line results.
Set up dashboards with your critical SEO KPIs like organic traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, and conversions – by channel and landing page. Create custom alerts to get notified of any big swings up or down. Some important metrics and dimensions to monitor:
- Organic sessions, goal completions and revenue by landing page to understand top drivers
- Keyword positions for priority terms to track your SERP standing vs competitors
- Organic engagement metrics like pages per session, time on page, and bounce rate to gauge UX and relevance
- Mobile vs desktop traffic and conversion rates to optimize by device
- New vs returning organic visitors to measure brand reach
- Assisted conversions to see how organic supports other channels
- Top organic exit pages to find leaks in conversion flow
Analyze this data often for both concerning declines and positive trends to double down on. Slice and dice it to uncover areas for improvement as well as hidden gems. Don’t just look at surface vanity metrics, but tie it to revenue.
Create client-ready reports that highlight the impact and efficiency of your streamlined SEO efforts – actual lift in traffic, leads, sales and SERP visibility relative to spend. Translate the data into the metrics they care most about and give specific examples of how your work led to wins. Visuals like charts and screenshots can help tell the story.
Schedule standing calls to walk through results and recommendations, and prep clear agendas and summaries to maximize everyone’s time. Be transparent about any challenges and how you’re working to address them. Celebrate successes and show clients you have a multi-pronged plan to keep delivering with less.
Also zoom out often to re-assess the overall direction of your SEO program against shifting client goals and industry trends. Stay on top of search and consumer behavior changes via your SEO tools, industry publications, and other market research. Adapt your approach as needed based on the latest data and insights.
Demonstrate your agency’s value and proactivity during uncertain times by making diligent tracking, analysis and communication a top priority no matter how scrappy you have to get.
Conclusion
SEO can be a lifeline for businesses during tough times. As an SEO professional, you have the power to guide your clients through uncertainty and emerge stronger on the other side. Don’t just survive – innovate, adapt, and use these strategies to unlock new opportunities. Lead the way with data-driven decisions, creative solutions, and a collaborative spirit. Your expertise is invaluable. Now is the time to prove it.
