Here’s the deal: people need products and services. Even during a pandemic. In some cases, especially during a pandemic.
And guess what? Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are still the best ways to reach customers.
As long as you’re paying attention to user behaviour, that is.
The way your customers looked for you yesterday is different from how they’re searching for you today. And it will be different again tomorrow.
According to Tony Wright of Search Engine Journal, “There will be business winners and losers in this new global normal. And many of the winners will invest heavily in search engine marketing.”
What Happens to Website Visibility When You Stop SEO?
SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. When you call a halt to your SEO efforts, search visibility drops, and it’s difficult to recover.
When you stop optimizing your website for search, you run the risk of:
- Losing rankings for target keywords
- Losing organic traffic from those keywords
- Losing valuable domain authority
- Decreasing the chance to score quality back links
- Losing visibility for “near me” searches (to your Google My Business listings)
- Slowly losing your audience as your website goes dormant
- Falling behind your competitors who have continued (and even stepped-up) their SEO game
SEO is like a muscle: easier to maintain than to gain.
When you have solid rankings and visibility in organic search, we strongly recommend doing what you can to, at the very least, maintain it. Once the SEO ball starts rolling downhill, it’s very hard to stop the momentum.
Survival of the Fittest Marketing Strategy
Darwin’s adaptation theory (aka: survival theory) is an organism's ability to adapt to changes in its environment and adjust accordingly over time.
Businesses that adapt their search marketing efforts today will be primed to lead tomorrow … when things normalize. And things will normalize.
Here are some ways ACT360 is helping to keep you on track during these difficult times:
- Scale back if you must, but don’t STOP. We’d hate to see you undo all the hard you’ve put in up to this point. Ask us about payment options and potential discounts. We’re committed to helping you through these tough times.
- Let us review some of your other marketing efforts (free of charge). A second set of eyes may be all it takes to uncover creative, new ways to save and/or reallocate money.
- Don’t hesitate to ask questions and share ideas. We’re working closely with our clients to customize marketing strategies on the fly, so let’s keep the lines of communication open.
SEO is a Long Game
It is SO important that businesses stay the course right now. The fact is some companies won’t be the threat they once were before the pandemic. They’ll make mistakes, they’ll mismanage money and resources.
Some of them will fall by the wayside, giving your business the opportunity to climb to the top. Believe it or not, this crisis is levelling the playing field, giving small- and medium-sized businesses the chance to rise.
The key is to take a moment to evaluate your current marketing strategy and adjust to ensure you’re keeping in line with your customers’ needs. Deliver what they need, when and where they need it, and you’ll come through these challenging times just fine.
Ready to reevaluate your marketing strategy? We may be practicing social distancing, but we’re here for you. Talk to us today.
