With over 5 million cases of the coronavirus as at 21st May 2020, governments globally have taken unprecedented steps to limit how people interact, changing life as we know it dramatically. In this article, we’ll give you our golden tips on how to improve your SEO during COVID19.
Along with kids being out of school, working from home and communicating with friends and family via video call, it’s also changed how people engage with brands and do business on a huge scale. Non-essential shopping has temporarily shut down, leaving people turning to online shopping and other digital ways of interacting with brands more often. Companies that know how to adjust quickly to this changing marketplace will not only be in a stronger position to get through the situation right now but will also set themselves up for future success.
Why is SEO Important During the Pandemic?
As companies work hard to remain relevant to their target customers throughout the crisis, maintaining a strong digital presence through content marketing and SEO should be one of the most important steps to take. With brick and mortar stores forced to temporarily close their doors to the public, eCommerce and digital marketing have taken on a whole new level of importance. Customers are increasingly moving their shopping activity online with no other options to choose from, and brands need to ensure that they are present.
Mobile-Centric
Customers are turning to online markets to ensure that their needs are met, meaning that thriving businesses with a strong online presence will be those who are up to the challenge, able to meet them with engaging content and an excellent online experience. In addition, it’s worth noting that much of the growth we’ve seen in online engagement due to COVID19 has taken place on mobile devices, with an incredible 50% growth rate of mobile and tablet users worldwide when you compare March 2020 to the same time last year. So, brands should focus on creating interesting, high-quality content and digital experiences that customers can engage with on mobile.
Targeted Content
With consumers turning to online resources to shop and get information, brands should come up with targeted content to attract potential new visitors and customers to their site. Engaging with your customers gives you the chance to learn more about them, and during a pandemic, the first things that you want to find out are what they’re interested in and concerned about right now, which will allow you to develop material that will engage and interest them.
Important Trends
The rapidly changing news and current social situation can and will result in the quick rise and fall of several trends, particularly in terms of search trends. As a business, it’s never been more important to keep on top of the recent, relevant search trends in order to ensure that you can put together a targeted content strategy that provides value and interest to your readers.
Help Customers Look Forward to The Future
After all of this is over and things start to go back to normal, the brands that are going to stick out the most in the minds of customers are the ones who go above and beyond to reassure them, make their lives easier and help them look forward to the future. Right now, many of your customers are probably stuck indoors and unable to go about with their normal lives, so you can use your content to inject a little positivity, help them think about the future, and put together some plans to look forward to once the situation ends. For example, if you run a business in the travel industry, don’t just stop creating content because flights are grounded right now. You might want to come up with content that inspires trip planning for next year when things are expected to have settled down.
Monitor Your Site
As you create and post content, remember to closely monitor your website so that you can get a better understanding of how customers are engaging with it. You will probably find that some customer behaviours are unusual – after all, we’re in unusual times. Consider using a heatmap tool to see where customers are spending more time on your website, and update the design or layout of the site if needed in order to make it easier to browse and encourage your customers to find the content or products that they need.
It’s a fast-moving business. Links change, search engines changes and trends change. WIth that in mind, we’d arguably say this is the most important step on how to improve your SEO during COVID19.
Work With an SEO Agency
Finally, your digital presence has never been more important than it is right now, so companies who do not have established SEO and digital marketing might find it useful to work with an SEO agency. Many SEO agencies already employ remote workers or have been able to easily switch to working from home, so it’ll be easy to find an option that’s suitable for you. Big Surf Digital is a UK-based SEO agency with plenty of experience helping brands grow; they offer targeted SEO and PPC campaigns and will be able to quickly help your brand adjust to and make the most of the current situation.
There’s never been a better time than the present to focus on your SEO strategy. With more customers engaging and shopping online than ever before, you can use the pandemic to your business’s advantage.
If you’ve enjoyed this article on how to improve your SEO during COVID19, but would like to go back to basics or if you are on a budget, check out our post on search engine optimisation for dummies.