Covid-19 SEO Digital Marketing Effects & Opportunities
It’s rare that one thing impacts all aspects of life like Covid-19 has. It is affecting every part of society, and businesses are no exception. It is no secret that the economy has taken a scary turn and has left some businesses wondering how they are going to make it through. While there are no guarantees, there are some opportunities that may help businesses to survive, and potentially even thrive, in this uncertain time.
SEO Opportunities in Response to Covid-19
People have had to adapt their daily life, and businesses are going to have to adapt with them. Whether you are a company looking to stay on top of your marketing strategies, or an agency looking to provide continued value to your clients, it is all about repositioning the company and its strategies to fit the needs of the current time. Here are 10 SEO and digital marketing tips and opportunities to combat the effects of Covid-19.
- Update Your Business’s Status
Undoubtedly, your business has been affected in some way by Covid-19. It is important to update your consumers of any related changes to your business. If your business is no longer considered “essential,” then your physical doors are most likely closed. It is important to note these changes on Google My Business, social platforms, your website, and any other necessary platforms to keep your customers in the know.
- Search is Going to Change. Change With It.
This is an opportunity to monitor current trends and pivot with them. Understanding how the changes in search are going to impact your business is key. If you are a pharmaceutical or grocery business, your search is undoubtedly going to be through the roof. If you are a travel or apparel company, however, the typical searches surrounding your company may diminish. Take this as an opportunity to find new searches that may relate to your offerings and capitalize on those.
- Use Your Metrics As A Guide
It’s as important as ever to track the normal metrics of your company. Not only is it significant to keep up to date with the impact that Covid-19 is having on your business, but this is also a way to find new opportunities that may present themselves during this time. Check and see what conversions are still occurring. Are these conversions at all correlated to the current climate? Is there an opportunity there? If consumers are still making conversions on a particular product or service that you offer, there may be a new reason behind it. Explore your company’s offerings to discover any new value opportunities that they may hold.
- Be Creative With Your Offerings
If all of your business’s offerings are irrelevant, unneeded, or impossible to deliver during this time, then there could be an opportunity to get creative! Take the food industry for example. While it is not currently a possibility to go out and eat at your favorite restaurant, many food establishments have switched entirely to focusing on their to-go and delivery options. Explore options for your business to still deliver its products and services so that consumers can still reach you at this difficult time.
- Explore Online Offer Options
Another unique way to continue to offer your products and services is through digital means. Can your products be offered online somehow? Can your service be done through telecommunication? Maybe you are a tutoring service that can offer online classes for the time being. The consumer will build a relationship with your company, and when the time comes that things return to normal, they will want to continue your services in person. Or maybe you are a hairdresser that is struggling to provide your service because of social distancing. You could release content and a fun promotion to encourage consumers to “cut their hair now, and we will fix it later.” These kinds of digital interactions may help you to gain some customer loyalty now, that can ultimately pay off later.
- Go Back to the Basics
During a time of economic stress like this, unnecessary purchases are much less likely to occur. That doesn’t mean you should stop marketing yourself and wait for things to get better! Consider focusing marketing efforts on the awareness and consideration stages for your brand. That way, when the market becomes more stable again, consumers will be ready to make purchases from you. This is a time to position your business in the best way for when the market swings back. You can even consider focusing on long-term opportunities like the holiday season- it’s all about getting the customer to remember who you are.
- Get Digital!
With the efforts to social distance and quarantine, it seems that the world is shifting to all things digital. People are working remotely, classes are being held virtually- everyone seems to be online for one reason or another. Take this as a time to ‘up’ your company’s digital footprint. The need for content is at an all-time high. Creating any variation of content including videos, blogs, social posts and more are all currently huge opportunities to get in front of a lot of eyes.
- Address Covid-19 & Follow Proper Care
Again, it is no secret that Covid-19 is impacting everyone in incremental ways. Transparency is key for your company because of that. Create a Covid-19 page specific to your site that is dedicated to explaining how your business will function during this time. Include any searches or information that link Covid-19 and your business and show consumers any Covid-19 related offerings that you may have. It is important to maintain proper care as a business during this time, however. Releasing content that follows the recommendations of professionals and reflects social distancing suggestions will help build much-needed trust with your consumers.
- Change is Inevitable
As with everything right now, change is inevitable. Search volume, impressions, conversions, and more are all at risk of undergoing massive changes over the next few months. It is important to remain calm when this happens and try to pivot in any means possible for the time being. It is also fair to expect a Google algorithm update soon. Use the changes in this update to embrace opportunity in any way possible.
- Look to Help
Finally, it is important in times like this to help those in need. There are many ways to look at this from a business perspective. Maybe it means helping a company that is undergoing an increase in business as a result of the pandemic. This can be an opportunity, as an SEO company, to gain new partners to help, strategize with, and offer your services to. Or from a business standpoint, maybe that means helping your community in any way possible. Whether it is through donations, activism, or uplifting spirits, it is important, in times like this, to be selfless and think about the impacts beyond your immediate realm.
Remember: SEO is Long-Term
Ultimately, things will return to normal. It could be months or it could be years, but it will happen. The key to this is to remember that SEO is long-term in nature. When making or adjusting an SEO strategy now, it is not enough to plan for the short-term. Covid-19 could be a long-term situation, so it is important to plan accordingly in your strategies and use it to your advantage for the potential long term effects. SEO strategies are needed to get businesses through this, to recover from this, and eventually, to return to a more normal state of business when people are ready to spend again. Utilizing these tips will hopefully help you turn the Covid-19 impacts into opportunities so that your company can continue to grow and evolve.
If you need any advice to navigate this time and would like to discuss your current SEO strategy, we would love to speak with you and help.
