Semalt: Reasons To Boost Your SEO During Coronavirus Pandemic
Table of Content
- Introduction
- Search behaviour of consumers is changing fast
- Local search is growing in importance
- Remember that SEO is a long term strategy
- Many times, out of sight is out of mind
- The need for evergreen content cannot be overemphasized
- Engaging in SEO in corona time will set you up for a rebound
- Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
Internet usage has increased since the coronavirus pandemic caused widespread travel restrictions and quarantine. As much as internet usage has been boosted, many nonessential business websites were affected negatively as search traffic towards these sites went on a downward spiral. It has led some people to think that SEO is dead for those industries. Is SEO dead? No, it isn’t.
Right now, the sites that are enjoying the bulk of the traffic online are essential businesses that focus on health, news, and other relevant niches. This means that SEO success is dependent on the industry. And you might be forced to think that even if SEO is important for businesses in the essential and relevant category, it is pointless for businesses that are nonessential and temporarily closed.
However, the truth is, SEO is vital for both essential and nonessential websites in periods like this. Keep reading to find out why SEO is still very viable and why you should step up your SEO game during this period.
SEARCH BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS IS CHANGING FAST
Thanks to the Coronavirus hub created by Google Trends, we have easy access to a breakdown of search trends based on the coronavirus. The hub reveals that survival, as we return to work, is one of the main things on people's minds - tips to curb the virus at the workplace, access to banking services, and the likes.
What it points out to brands and SEOs is that you must begin to create content geared towards this current survival trend as people are returning to their places of work.
Also, when the pandemic was at its height, some companies reported more declines in mobile Google ad traffic than the desktop version. It made SEOs focus on optimizing their desktop sites. This may have been because people no longer needed to do things on the go, but now that more workplaces are opening up and we are all beginning to move around more freely again, we should prepare to see an increase in mobile ad traffic. That said, we must optimize both desktop and mobile sites for search engines.
Another important thing about search is that it is becoming more important. More people are relying on search engines these days than ever before. Even though traffic to a lot of websites via search engines may be on low, direct traffic to search engines is not.
People who relied on radio information while on the road are now checking for updates on Google. Consumers in the older generation category who usually relied on caregivers are now making use of the help of voice assistants.
As our reliance on search engines is growing rapidly, the search platforms are also advancing speedily. This makes it more important to focus on our SEO strategies.
LOCAL SEARCH IS GROWING IN IMPORTANCE
With all the travel restrictions in place, limiting people's ability to venture far, local SEO is key. You can use local search optimization techniques to help you appear under "near me" and "open now" Google searches.
Consumers are now limited to using products and services within their locale. For instance, if you're offering restaurant services, home food delivery, or drive-thru services, you should increase local brand awareness and take advantage of the "near me" and "open now" keywords. Most likely, consumers in your area who know that you offer these services will be hitting up your site in droves.
Also, create unique content around these services that you provide, include them in your website, social media pages, and don't forget to add them on your Google My Business Listing.
Even if you're not yet open or your services can’t be provided yet, it is still wise to make use of that avenue to be found by people in your vicinity. Put in opening dates and other essential information in your content. It is a smart way to set your business up for success when you eventually open.
REMEMBER THAT SEO IS A LONG TERM BUSINESS STRATEGY
Most of the time, the results you expect from your SEO techniques usually happen through somewhat slow but consistent input from your end. You're trying to gain Google’s trust, and that is no easy feat.
Many times, it takes about three months or upwards before you start rising above the major competition for keywords you're trying to rank for on Google TOP. So it is even smart to kick off your SEO campaign in this corona period so that when things normalize, you're already far ahead of your rivals.
Studies suggest that pages that are less than a year old that rank in the first position on Google are only around 1%. This means that the earlier you start your SEO campaign, the better for your business.
MANY TIMES, OUT OF SIGHT IS OUT OF MIND
Your brand needs to stay visible to stay relevant. As studies show that Covid-19 and SEO related searches have been on a high all over the world, you should tailor your content around these and other trends such as returning to work and survival tips.
As much as the coronavirus has caused a lot of damage to the world’s economy, your business still has to find a way to wade through the waters to safe ground. It is, therefore, highly imperative to remain visible, so your brand won't be forgotten.
However, much more important than staying visible is the need to be relevant. Don't just shove your business in people's faces if you're not providing some sort of help or anything of relevance to your audience. If you raise awareness over a business that is irrelevant in this period, it may even turn your consumers off, and it will hurt your reputation.
On the other hand, if you promote relevant content in line with your brand value to your consumers and potential consumers, it will help to impact your reputation positively.
For example, if you're in the beauty industry, and you write a blog about "How to wax your brows from the safety of your home" – this not only increases traffic to your site, it also projects you as someone who values the safety of your clients above making money.
Depending on your industry, it might be easier or harder to rank. The healthcare industry, for instance, is highly competitive at the moment due to the fact that there is a whole lot of content from high authority websites on the internet.
In fact, if you're in the nonessential business category, now might even the best chance to rank highly and solidify your position on Google TOP because there's not much competition in these industries.
Regardless of the industry, you find yourself in; you should still creatively find ways to ensure you're not at the bottom of SERPs.
THE NEED FOR EVERGREEN CONTENT CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASIZED
Even though you need to write about trending issues concerning your industry, truth is these topics (as is common with trends generally) will wane in traffic after some time. And most times, these pages hardly rank on the first pages, since high authority sites and top brands usually rank first place.
This means that as much as you need to create content based on the current trends, you need to create unique content based on evergreen topics within your industry. These pages remain relevant and naturally accumulate a lot of traffic as time goes on. Publishing evergreen content can never go out of style no matter what is currently trending.
ENGAGING IN SEO IN CORONA TIME WILL SET YOU UP FOR A REBOUND
Boosting your SEO performance this period can help prepare your business for a rebound once Covid-19 is over. Going over your meta descriptions, meta titles, engaging in link building strategies, updating all your content, adjusting the title tags of your images/infographics, and generally engaging in SEO practices will set you up for success. It is a good time to go over what works and what doesn’t.
You can use Semalt's free web analytics tool to help give you an in-depth analysis of your website and insight on what to do to fix any existing SEO errors.
CONCLUSION
As much as a lot of people think it is all gloom and doom for SEO. A proper introspection into the current situation of things will let you know that this is one of the best times to invest in your SEO performance to set up for success once the pandemic is over.
Ensure you create trending as well as evergreen content. It is also important to stay relevant and visible. Remember that SEO is a long term strategy but take advantage of the current changes in consumer search behaviour and work on your local SEO.