The Road to Recovery: How to Leverage SEO Following the Pandemic

Learn how to leverage SEO during even the most challenging times for business.

Ah, SEO. At the core of the inevitable shift to delivering goods and services virtually (catalyzed by COVID-19), search engine optimization is one of the most effective ways to drive online traffic and gain insight into consumer behavior without draining already limited budgets. This is especially important when demand is in a volatile state – an economic condition that is all too familiar to businesses throughout the United States (and across the globe) during the pandemic.

While search engine optimization is a great tool for companies to promote their offerings, developing an SEO program from scratch or adapting your existing strategy to the current business climate isn’t exactly an easy task.

So, what do you do? How do you begin to leverage SEO to help your business?

With companies being expected to do more with less during these tumultuous times, investing in affordable SEO services just might be the answer you’re looking for. Let’s discuss why a quality search engine optimization program has the power to guide enterprises to the light at the end of the tunnel and some tips on how to build a solid strategy.

How SEO is Paving the Way to Recovery

Organic search is king, period. According to a BrightEdge survey, 83 percent of all search traffic comes from organic search. Paid search, on the other hand, only accounts for the remaining 17 percent. Because search engine optimization is rooted in generating traffic via organic search, leveraging SEO services can help you to cut costs and take advantage of the largest digital channel available to online marketers. Even with Coronavirus stifling the impact of most marketing efforts, implementing an effective SEO program can help you to expand your business’s reach and promote brand awareness.

SEO Expands Your Reach.

Regardless of whether you are a local store or a global chain, your customers are using search right now. This can be monumental for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as it’s an opportunity to expand your customer base beyond the confines of the town your brick-and-mortar storefront is in. People are actively seeking out small businesses to lend their support during these tough times, so be sure that your enterprise takes this into consideration when brainstorming keywords for relevant search queries.

PRO TIP: Because SEO can help you secure customers that would otherwise never come across your physical retail location, it is important that you put just as much time and effort into designing and maintaining your E-commerce site as you would with your storefront.

According to Google Trends, the search phrase “SEO” and related keywords have seen an uptick in interest in the U.S. since February 2020, meaning that other marketers are already making changes to their strategies by investing in SEO.

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Photo by Prateek Katyal from Pexels

SEO Also Helps You Captivate Future Customers.

With all the uncertainty and chaos that has resulted from the pandemic, not everyone is looking to spend money like they normally would. With that said, even if people aren’t buying your products or services right now, you are still being considered. This is where the leverage of SEO comes in. With long sales cycles, in particular, organic search is a large part of every consumer’s research process. While it may take longer for you to see conversions and sales occurring, don’t be fooled, as SEO is a worthy long-term investment. In fact, choosing not to focus on SEO-driven marketing right now could hurt your organization in the long run. According to Google Trends, the search phrase “SEO” and related keywords have seen an uptick in interest in the U.S. since February 2020, meaning that other marketers are already making changes to their strategies by investing in SEO. Once the dust settles, you don’t want to look at your competitors and find that you are lagging behind.

“Once the dust settles, you don’t want to look at your competitors and find that you are lagging behind.”

PRO TIP: The goal of SEO is to get your offerings in front of consumers. Be sure to focus on PR opportunities and legitimate link building to get people talking about and sharing your content.

Helpful Hints for Building a Strong SEO Program

While different companies will have varying approaches to their SEO strategies, there are some common actions that need to be carefully considered and executed across all search engine optimization programs. Some of the things you can do to better promote your site during the Coronavirus recession include the following:

1. Create Trustworthy Content. A study by Conductor shows that brands that publish educational content appear more trustworthy to consumers, making them 48 percent more likely to purchase those brands’ products or services. Make sure that you deliver properly cited original content so that your E-commerce website stands out from other “noisy” search results.
2. Actively Manage Your Online Presence. This means updating your product availability schema to reflect real-time information, refreshing calendars so that customers know about changes to events, and revising your Google My Business page to reflect current hours of operation.
3. Adapt Upcoming Campaigns Accordingly. Be sure that you are hyperaware of consumer sensitivities during the pandemic and focus on adapting any questionable campaigns so that you can build long-term brand equity.

If you find yourself a bit lost in the land of search engine optimization, WEBii has the know-how and tools necessary to create a strong SEO program that can withstand the challenges of the COVID-19 recession. Contact us today to learn more about our Austin SEO and e-commerce services.