No one could have predicted what 2020 was going to be like. The worldwide pandemic brought everything to a standstill and killed 2 million people. Businesses had to close for months, and many went under.
In this kind of environment, you might wonder why SEO marketing is still an important part of digital outreach. After all, don’t we have more significant concerns?
The truth is, if you want your business to survive and even thrive going forward, you have to have SEO as part of your digital marketing strategy. Why? Here’s what you need to know.
More People Search Online in 2021
If 2020 trained people in anything, it was how to find the information, products, and services they need without leaving home. Even the most anti-technology person turned to online shopping and Google searches.
Many people learned about tools and resources they had no idea existed. For example, virtual tours exploded in popularity. Online shopping also grew significantly.
Given that people have spent a year shopping online and discovering the convenience of getting everything from home, you can expect they’ll keep doing it. And that means you need SEO more than ever.
People Are Focusing on Essential Services
As people search online, the focus is on what they need most — food, news, medical care and entertainment. Most small businesses fall into those categories. The key is to optimise your website for the keywords people are using to search for these items.
The SEO that worked in 2019 may cause you to fall behind in 2021. It’s essential to research what keywords in your industry are trending and capitalise on them right away.
Position your company as the vital asset it is for your customers. Make sure you speak to the current situation and how you can help people in the midst of COVID-19 and quarantine.
This is a Great Time for Evergreen Content
Yes, COVID-19 is trending. However, the pandemic will end eventually, especially as vaccines fully roll out. If you have downtime in your business now, it’s a great time to work on creating more evergreen content.
When you both take advantage of current trends and create evergreen content, you can gain today’s search traffic while ensuring that your traffic doesn’t drop off in the future. Write blog posts and create pages that will be relevant to your customers long after the pandemic.
Maybe you’re not a great writer. After all, you run a small business, not a newspaper! No problem — simply work with an SEO marketing company to create the content you need to boost your SEO.
SEO Helps You Attract the RIGHT Traffic
Search engine optimisation isn’t just about ranking on page one of search results. It’s about attracting the right people to your website — those who are interested in your product or service and may become customers.
SEO is a long-term strategy, so using the slow period during the pandemic to beef up your website and improve your on-page and off-page SEO can be a great use of your time. Traffic to search engines isn’t going anywhere. Make sure prospects find you when they Google your industry!
Search Engine Improvements Are Long-Term Gains
Too many business owners get caught up in current trends and try to follow every hot topic and hashtag. Unfortunately, this takes a tremendous amount of work, and the gains don’t last.
This isn’t true with SEO. When you create relevant content using the right keywords, readers will stick with you over time. Pair that with a fast website, excellent security, and mobile optimisation, and you’ve got an asset you can bank on.
Working on your SEO during the pandemic is far from useless. It’s an investment in a long-term marketing strategy that will pay off handsomely for years to come. If you want consistent traffic to your website and leads for your business, you need SEO now more than ever.
E-Commerce Isn’t the Future, It’s Now
As we mentioned earlier, the shutdown taught everyone how to buy what they wanted and needed online. Even people who previously didn’t shop online now do, and enjoy the convenience of it.
SEO is an essential strategy if you want to sell products and services online. You want people to find your store when they search for specific products or keywords. You also want to capture those high-intent keywords that indicate someone is about to buy.
If you sell plumbing products, there’s a difference between someone searching for “why pipes leak” and searching for “1/4 turn ball valve.” The latter is much more likely to be ready to purchase plumbing equipment.
When you optimise for those keywords and create an online store that customers enjoy, you can capture more business than ever, even in a pandemic. Your store should be easy to navigate, and it should be just as easy to search your website as it is to search Google.
When you use SEO digital marketing to capture e-commerce traffic, you’ll boost your bottom line both now and in the future.
Small Businesses Need SEO Marketing
As a smaller company, you probably don’t have the large budgets and cash reserves of your larger competitors. That means you’re more susceptible to failure when there are major crises like a pandemic.
One of the best ways to stay afloat is to invest in long-term strategies like SEO marketing. Not only will they help you get the traffic you need in 2021, but it will also lay a solid foundation for the future.
When you use an SEO marketing agency, you can get the digital marketing strategies you need to stay competitive. If you’re ready to maximise your SEO footprint in 2021, we’re here to help. Simply contact us today for a free consultation!