There is no doubt that the Coronavirus is having a huge impact on businesses all over the world, with many having to rely on the government to keep them functioning on a day-to-day basis. The result of this is that a large number of businesses are now analysing their monthly spend to determine what areas they can cut back on to free up hugely vital funds at this extremely difficult time, with marketing usually being the first to feel the pinch.
However, when it comes to online marketing, SEO (search engine optimisation) is now more important than ever before, and here’s why:
You Can Benefit From Competitors Pausing Their SEO Activity – Now is a time for businesses to stay strong and look at how they can benefit from the current levels of uncertainly that face companies worldwide. Many of your competitors will be doing exactly what we have mentioned above and will be looking to cut back on their marketing spend, which presents you with a huge level of opportunity.
Keep your SEO campaign active, add fresh content onto your website, gain quality, industry-relevant backlinks into your key web pages and, in time, you should see a healthy rise in your organic visibility levels on Google for a range of targeted keyword searches.
Content. Content. Content! – We all know how much Google loves fresh, unique and engaging content, but many of our clients struggle to find the time to create blog articles for their website due to their day-to-day tasks constantly getting in the way (and we know exactly how that feels, trust us!). However, this period of downtime for many clients presents a huge window of opportunity and it is vital that it is grabbed with both hands.
If you are currently working from home and find yourself at a loose end, we recommend that you start to compile a list of blog posts that you would like to create over the coming weeks which, if you have access to your website’s CMS, can then be published, promoted on social media, and provide additional organic visibility on Google and the other major search engines.
Now is your chance to create that content that you have always wanted to write but never quite found the time to make it a reality.
People are Still Searching for Products/Services – Whether your services and/or products are aimed at businesses or consumers, it is important to remember that they are still trying to live their daily lives in as normal fashion as possible, despite the fact that the majority of us all now working from home offices. This means that, whatever you might think, people are still interested in the services and/products that you provide, so ensuring that you still have a strong organic presence on Google is vital.
It’s Not Just Organic Either – The current worldwide situation provides us all with a chance to re-focus our social media campaigns and, potentially, reach an audience that we were not able to hit previously. Just look at Joe Wicks, who is providing free exercises classes every weekday morning to people all over the world. Now, Joe Wicks was hugely successful fitness trainer before the Coronavirus outbreak but, I think it goes without saying that he has now reached far more people worldwide than he ever dreamed was possible.
Consider what you could be doing to maximise your social media presence at a time when more people are accessing Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media networks than ever before!
Many clients are asking us to temporarily pause their Google Ad campaigns as they don’t want to spend unnecessary funds at the moment. However, as Google Ads is a pay-per-click advertising method, it means that you are only paying when somebody clicks the link into your website, therefore they are actively seeking your services/products, which will potentially result in a sale or enquiry for your business.
If nobody is searching for your products/services, you simply won’t spend any of the budget you have set aside for your Google Ads. So, although you may receive less website traffic via Google Ads whilst we all recover from the impact of the Coronavirus, you are still likely to receive sales and enquiries by retaining your presence within Google Ads.
By contrast, choosing to pause your ads completely is likely to hurt you more in the short-term, so we recommend that you think this through before making any decisions to pull your ads.
Looking to start an SEO campaign, Google Ad campaign or enhance your social media presence? Contact the highly experienced Jump 2 IT Media team today to learn how we can help.