SEO Tips: It is an undeniable fact that the world is facing one of the biggest public health challenges in the form of COVID-19. The pandemic has resulted in a considerable loss of lives, the social norms have been disrupted, and economies have come to a screeching halt.
This crisis has affected our personal as well as social life. People are being advised to follow strict hygiene to protect themselves, and they are also barred from stepping out of their homes.
As a result of the lockdown and social distancing measure, various big and small businesses are struggling to survive. While big companies have shifted their operation online, businesses with minimal digital presence are left to lurch in an uncertain situation.
The increase in internet usage during the pandemic has been positive news for many businesses. According to a survey conducted by Numerator Intelligence, 1 in 3 consumers indicated that the news of coronavirus has already transformed their shopping behavior.
Similarly, another survey by eMarketer revealed that 47.2 percent of US internet users identified that they are currently avoiding shopping centers and malls.
This is why businesses have started to rethink their digital marketing strategies and are taking an interest in SEO as a means of marketing. According to Google Trends, the search for the term ‘SEO’ has seen a spike in the United States since February 2020.
So, if you’re a wise proprietor, you can leverage this opportunity to expand your online presence by investing in an SEO campaign.
If not sure how SEO can save you, here are five tips to help you stay relevant, and on top of your consumers’ minds even during this global crisis:
Five Tips Why is SEO critical for small businesses to stay relevant
Tip #1 Enhance Online Visibility
As result of the pandemic, almost all outdoor activities have been banned, and the economy has suffered badly. Talk about the importance of businesses during coronavirus crises; they have a major role to play in reducing the economic impact of the unforeseen crises.
As people restricted their purchases to essential items only, many businesses are forced into closure due to no sales.
However, the pandemic has changed the marketing dynamics, and in order to survive, businesses are focusing more on improving their online footprint. Every business is eyeing to increase its online visibility to generate more sales and outshine competitors.
It is because, with many people stuck at home, internet usage has increased massively. To stay in the race of enticing customers, you must focus on improving your online visibility during the pandemic. Here are the few simple tips that can help:
- Publish SEO optimized content regularly.
- Stay active on social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Update your business website.
Tip #2 Target the Right Keywords
The changing nature of the search queries makes it difficult for businesses to achieve higher search rankings. Moreover, due to the closure of brick-and-mortar stores, almost every company is fighting for top search engine results, thus making the competition fiercer.
Research shows that 95 percent of people only look at the first page of search results. So, how do you ensure higher search rankings? The simple answer is ‘to target the right keywords.’ Wondering how to go about it? Here are a few helpful tips:
- Conduct thorough research, and choose high-volume keywords.
- Use different variations of your focus keyword to increase the chances of appearing on the first page in search results.
- Allow keywords to appear naturally in your content to avoid keyword stuffing.
- Don’t forget to insert your keywords in important places, like page titles, meta descriptions, and subheadings.
Tip #3 Create and Share Content that Builds Credibility
Brian Barwig, the founder of integrateddigitalmarketing.com, once said, “You can be best at SEO, and ensure business relevance by creating content based on what your audience is searching for.”
Delivering low-quality content to your audience during such difficult and uncertain times might turn them away from your business forever.
Thus, you need to create and share content that can help build credibility and win the hearts of your audience. Here are a few handy tips that can help you to establish trust among your audience and improve your SEO efforts significantly.
- If you want to create a positive impact, keep your audience in mind while writing the content.
- Write clear and catchy headlines and subheadings to keep your audience engaged.
- Don’t forget to add social sharing options in your blogs to increase the number of shares.
- Focus on your content marketing strategy to gain more leads form your content
Tip #4 Unlock the Power of Visual Marketing
The internet is filled with news regarding COVID-19, which is just making the readers more depressed day by day. Customers are increasingly looking for content that can distract them and take their attention away from the day-to-day doom and gloom.
Therefore, to grab the audience’s attention, you need to add compelling visuals to your content. Research conducted by Eye-Tracking Studies revealed that content with relevant images has the power to gain 94 percent more views compared to the one that is only comprised of static text.
So, if you want to achieve higher SEO rankings, you need to incorporate visuals such as videos and images in your content. The more eyeballs you manage to catch with your content, the higher you’ll rank in the SERP.
Tip #5 Hire an SEO Expert
By now, we know that SEO is crucial for your online visibility, especially for staying relevant during this crisis. However, ineffective SEO can harm your online business.
Therefore, instead of trying out yourself, you should consider hiring an SEO specialist who can employ the best practices for optimizing your SEO efforts.
Bottom Line
We all are well-aware that the COVID-19 outbreak has completely changed the way businesses are run. Therefore, your business needs to alter its overall marketing strategy accordingly to stay ahead of the curve.
With the increase in Google search queries day by day, it is quite evident that only an end-to-end SEO strategy can help. So, you should try the tips mentioned above and figure out what works for your business and your target audience.
