The emergence and rapid spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic has touched almost every part of our lives. While some people have contracted the disease itself and suffered its sickness while being quarantined at home with little to do about controlling the condition other than taking Ibuprofen for the fever and bed rest for the rest of the symptoms, other, seemingly healthy folks have gotten the virus and died. Nearly 2 million of them world-wide at last count.
The spread of COVID-19 reached its peak just a few months ago, and while the vaccine stalled its spread, recent studies show that new variants are causing the coronavirus to spread again. It’s during confusing times like these, when the normal course of doing business both in-person and online slows down dramatically, you might consider slowing your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) marketing efforts in order to focus on other things.
Perhaps your business is no longer as healthy as it once was. Maybe you own a chain of restaurants that has taken a big hit now that indoor dining is at a bare minimum. Or perhaps you’re an independent bookseller who can no longer sponsor events like readings due to forced social distancing. Or maybe you’ve initiated a technology startup that has had to take a financial investment backseat to the pharmaceutical giants all vying to find a COVID-19 cure. Whatever the case, employing the power of SEO to your marketing seems almost like it’s just not worth it.
But according to Exults, a web development agency, not all businesses that are slowing down are giving up. They are instead, shifting their strategies, banking their cash (or turning it into Bitcoin and Gold in this age of non-stop fiat printing), and doing what tough business people do when they find their backs pressed up against a concrete wall: preparing themselves and their livelihoods for the worst.
With that in mind, here’s three signs that SEO marketing will not slow down during the global pandemic.
1. Search Engine Marketing Makes You Money
When times are tough, businesses hoard cash. It only stands to reason that if you have more cash on hand than debt, your business is probably going to survive. Simply put, the only marketing technique that has the potential to produce an excellent return on investment than search engine marketing, is an email list where potential customers voluntarily sign on.
But these lists don’t just grow by themselves. You need a good search engine marketing program in order to build a list of true buyers. Your search engine marketing efforts, if carried out correctly, will reach the customer when they really need something you are offering, be it a good or a service.
Doesn’t matter if times are good or bad, if the consumer is emotionally connected to your brand through proper SEO practices, chances are they are going to sign on for the ride, even if they are self-quarantined with the virus for 14 days. If you feel your search engine marketing efforts are not creating the impact you are looking for, then perhaps you want to hire a reputable SEO firm that can do it for you.
2. You Can Measure Your Search Engine Marketing Efforts
Maybe during these trying pandemic times you’ve been marketing directly to what you have always considered the cream of your opt-in subscriber list, but are nonetheless realizing a measurable shortfall in sales. If that’s the case, you need to shift your efforts to potential customers who might be more interested in purchasing. Search engine marketing can help you accomplish that. What’s more, you can measure your efforts.
Unlike depending solely upon your brand as an indicator of success, you need to get back into the weeds by opening up your spreadsheets to compare leads with sales. The data, or the “maths” as the British want to say, don’t lie. They allow you to shift your budget towards what’s working, and away from what’s not. In the time of pandemic, what was considered normal buyer behavior will almost certainly shift. You need to shift your SEO efforts and budget along with them.
For instance, Search Engine Journal points out that a search engine marketing professional may choose to budget keyword phrases with much stronger buyer intent and at the same time, promote content that appeals to the current mood of the consumer. In other words, your SEO efforts must be measuring the present pulse of the customer.
3. During Scarce Times, Consumers Search
Remember when you couldn’t get any toilet paper? Of course, that whole debacle seems like ages ago now, when in fact, it was mere months ago. But “toilet paper” remains one of most utilized search terms to this day. Here’s the good thing about scarcity: when goods are not readily available, people search for them. If the precise goods are not to be found, consumers will search for alternatives. If you can manage your search engine marketing so your goods and services are included in the search results for these scarce and/or alternative products, you just might be staring down at a profit windfall. It will be your job to pounce on these SEO keywords as the costs of hard-to-get items remain on the rise for the foreseeable future.
You’ve all heard the phrase when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Nothing could be more true for SEO marketing professionals. During the dark times of pandemic, it’s necessary to not only step up your search engine marketing practices, but to adapt to the changes the virus has brought forth in the marketplace. There is still a lot of profit to be had, which means there’s no reason your ROI should suffer in a downturn. Get tough, get going, and adjust your search engine marketing efforts so that they work for you.
