Right now: SEO is the key for small businesses during Corona

The pandemic will not overshadow every issue in the world forever, and it takes time to advance in search engines anyway. SEO strategy is the effective and inexpensive way to stand out, retain customers and re-attack immediately upon returning to normal

Search engines are one of the main conduits we have to awareness, the heart and ultimately the customer’s wallet. Quite a bit of time, thought and budget is directed to SEO in order to jump higher, be perceived as more relevant and be exposed to as many pairs of eyes as possible, with the aim of generating more leads and hopefully also transactions. In the days of Corona, the picture is more complex. But even now – and perhaps especially now – the SEO strategy is critical for businesses, and especially for small and medium-sized businesses.

General web traffic is now skyrocketing, but not necessarily through search. The big jump comes from other directions: online meetings, family meetings and online lectures, Zoom studies, supermarket shopping and banking, gaming, streaming, smartphone apps and social networks. In all of these, search engines have no real influence. The sharp increase in what is consumed through them is experienced by sites relevant to current affairs, i.e. the pandemic: news sites, health services, tax authorities, Ministry of Education updates, and so on.

In contrast to this exponential increase in browsing and content consumption, small businesses are actually experiencing a decrease in traffic. As long as they deal with topics defined as essential or relevant, they are in the picture – but then they are obviously competing with large and government sites and have difficulty standing out. If their topics are not essential, and especially if the business is temporarily closed, SEO seemingly has no importance. Well, only seemingly.

Not about traffic alone

As massive and dramatic as it may be, and even if we think it has always been here, and despite all the long-term changes it is expected to cause in consumer culture – the pandemic will pass, or at least diminish. It certainly will not forever overshadow every issue in the world. On the other hand, other issues that bother our customers will remain relevant in the future. And it is precisely in them that we have a way to stand out, differentiate ourselves from our competitors, jump high in Google and accumulate traffic and interest.

But SEO is not about traffic alone. Quality traffic is just as important – those who came to us out of a genuine interest in our products or services, and are likely to be more inclined to consume them. Therefore, even if it is not certain that they are interested or able to buy at the present time, it is definitely worth keeping in touch and painting them as leads for future realization.

It is also important to remember that SEO is a long-term process: a new website does not gain the trust of search engines overnight. This process is done step by step, item by item, gradually and steadily. It is common to claim that the fruits of investment in SEO are only seen after 3-6 months. Another interesting statistic in this context is that only 1 percent of the top-ranked pages on Google are less than a year old. This takes time, and some of us actually have plenty of time now.

Another point is the search engines themselves, which, even if their direct contribution to our “non-essential” websites is not at its peak right now, their power and variety of applications are booming. People who used to listen to the radio now get their news from Google; elderly people who used to rely on caregivers now use voice support. So search platforms are a good place to advertise and promote content, whether through PPC or organic SEO.

Evergreen Content

What is true for organizations in general is doubly true for small and medium-sized businesses, the main victims of the period. Consumers are now looking to support small businesses over large corporations, and blue-and-white products over international platforms. Therefore, intelligent use of SEO is required at the local level: from “open now” and “near me” searches, when given the traffic restrictions, the business closest to the customer’s home is important, to a smart reference to the online store or information about the expected opening date and new stock waiting for the end of the lockdown.

In general, it is important to remember that consumers are not always in a hurry to become customers. Sometimes there is a long way to go before this romance is built. A blog with relevant and high-quality content, promoted with a good SEO strategy, is important in building trust and brand identity. Thus, at the moment of a long-awaited return to consumption, the potential buyer is likely to prefer the brand that he has encountered again and again and that remains top of mind, rather than the one he has never heard of. And ultimately, unlike PPC, for example, SEO is a tool that we have for free.

Precisely now, when the pressure of running a business is fading a little, it is time to invest in long-term SEO. Also address Corona, but publish quality content on topics that are evergreen – temporary. Update existing content. Create or update the business profile on Google. And publish content in local media with a link to the website. For businesses that have been forced to close their doors, who are feeling the economic slowdown and cash flow difficulties well, SEO is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to stay in the customer’s awareness and even expand the circle. Even if it does not prove itself in the near future, it will certainly help return to normal.