Why SEO has become an ever-more vital marketing tool during the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed virtually every aspect of our lives – not least our businesses. Though it would be natural to consider pausing your search engine optimisation campaigns during challenging times in order to reduce your expenses, the truth is that SEO has never been more important – taking a break from a strategy now would be a bad idea.

And for those who are yet to realise the true potential of SEO, investing in a search engine optimisation campaign could transform your business. With more consumers taking to the internet to look for products and services away from the high street, standing out on Google and Bing could offer endless opportunities. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the biggest…

Unlock a new revenue stream

Perhaps the most obvious benefit for investing in an SEO campaign (or upping your budget on an existing strategy) is to unlock a new revenue stream for your business. Faced with temporary closures, local lockdowns and travel bans, both B2C and B2B brands have been feeling the pinch lately.

The good news is that consumers and businesses are still looking for your products and services – SEO is about helping them find you as quickly as possible.

Though search engine optimisation isn’t an overnight win and can take time to generate results, now is the ideal time to make the leap. The £600 you’d typically spend on an advert in the local newspaper would be better spent creating content and building links. The added benefit is that SEO, once you’ve made the initial time and monetary commitment, can pay dividends for years to come. What’s more, getting ahead of your competition now will help you outmanoeuvre them in the future – a vital element in keeping your business in the green.

Compete against bigger players

One of the most exciting things about search engine optimisation is that, aside from those highly-competitive generic keywords, SEO is a level playing field. Search engines such as Google and Bing rank websites according to the quality of their content and authority of their pages – not a brand name or marketing budget. Therefore, it’s entirely possible to outrank players such as Amazon for valuable keywords like “weight loss for kids” or “affordable officewear” – you just need the right content and link strategy to maximise your chances.

As you’ll already know, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. You cannot expect to outrank the multinationals overnight, nor expect to control competitive keywords like “food deliveries” or “phone cases” – the more targeted you are, the more likely you are to rank. Think about what your customers would type into Google to search for your products – rather than “shoes,” for example, target keywords like “buy cheap orthopaedic shoes”. Such keywords are both less competitive and have search intent – users are likely to buy if they find the right product.

Deliver a better service to customers

The ultimate aim of search engine optimisation is to optimise your written content for search engines and human beings. In these times of uncertainty, helping customers find products and information more clearly not only serves them better but positions you as an authority.

If you’re ranking on page one of Google for “lockdown boredom busters,” for example, people will come to your ecommerce store and see that you’re authoritative and well-respected. And as an added bonus, once they’ve read your blog post on the subject, they might check out your products and add a few to their basket. The more you help people solve their problems or answer their questions, the more likely they are to buy from you – and share your website.

With this in mind, now might be a good time to refresh your website and increase your blog post frequency. Sharing your knowledge with your customers may seem counterintuitive, but it can increase the number of resources search engines can index, and ultimately mean you will rank for more and more keywords relevant to your business. The more well-written, targeted, valuable content your team can create, the more organic traffic you’ll attract.

Take your business in a new direction

Finally, consider a well-executed SEO campaign an opportunity to take your business in a new direction. The wants and needs of consumers are changing faster than ever before, and by utilising the search data you have at your disposal from sites such as Search Console and Google Analytics, you can reposition your business to tap into these new opportunities.

Whether you’re a butcher and want to start offering home delivery boxes to consumers in your local area, or you’re a travel agent and want to find ways to presell experiences for 2021 or 2022, you’ll find that SEO – and demand from your visitors – will ultimately help to reshape your business, and ensure your product or service offering corresponds to demand.

Many businesses will find that long-lost landing pages or product categories are suddenly in high demand, and can leverage the traffic to win over new clients or sell via ecommerce. Do not sit on this data – see what your visitors are looking for, and be sure to deliver it to them.

Whether you’re still on the fence about SEO or you’re struggling to get your head around the ins and outs of a strategy, you can depend on the digital marketing experts at Zudu. Call us on 01382 690080 today to discuss your project in more detail and receive expert advice.