As the country descends into the doom and gloom of an economic downturn, businesses all over the country are bracing themselves for hard times ahead.

The media have certainly made a meal of the current financial climate and have gleefully painted us a negative picture for the near future.

For sure, businesses will need to watch every penny and reign in their budgets, possibly even adapt their businesses to accommodate the times ahead. And it is, of course, the small business with the least financial resources that will suffer the most.

But before we all sink into the depths of despair, there is a silver lining to that dark cloud. Businesses today are exposed to many resources to help them deal with difficult times. One of the first things that a small business will do to save money is to cut back on their advertising and marketing budgets and look for new ways to maintain their market positions. Luckily there are so many free resources out there and cost-effective ways to assist in their continued growth and expansion.

Effective advertising of a business online is one of the key factors to address, given that 70% of people look to the internet first for products and services. There are many free opportunities out there for small businesses to advertise themselves; good quality online directories are certainly worth utilising. The better ones will host a whole web page about the business including pictures, copy, customer feedback and links back to the business's own website. For many smaller companies this is their best chance to appear on page one of the search engine results; an otherwise unobtainable position.

It is also possible with a small budget to use other online advertising options and really track and measure the response from the target audience. This gives small firms the opportunity to reach global markets via the web. Using Adwords, for example, allows you to control very precisely the costs of a campaign, adapting and changing the advertising instantly if the results are not as good as expected. The very fact that this method is so measurable makes it invaluable to a small business on a shoestring budget. Gone are the days of placing an advert in a publication and never really knowing how effective it's been.

Small businesses always need advice from industry experts and the internet is a huge resource of information: articles, online forums and advice services provide the all important support that businesses need. Many business forums and social media websites are free to join and will connect businesses with each other for support, idea-sharing and even partnership amalgamation. When times are hard there is a lot to be said for this type of communication between business owners who are all in the same boat.

Business advice services are also extremely valuable; giving younger and smaller companies direct access to experienced business professionals and experts offering advice and guidance on everything from tax and VAT to HR and marketing. In some cases this advice can be accessed for free; a real lifeline to small firms.

Business owners may well find that the new tactics and resources they utilise during the crunch become part of a long-term strategy, and more than just a lifeline: Turn all this doom and gloom on its head and get pro-active about finding new and exciting ways to push your business forward.

Martin Turner is managing director of FreeIndex.co.uk. For more information visit www.freeindex.co.uk [1]