With the coronavirus invading the world, running businesses is more challenging than ever. The challenges range from switching to the remote model to maintaining continuity and cutting down costs. When you think about cost-cutting, your marketing expenses would be the first ones to bear the brunt of the pandemic. Businesses dealing in non-essential commodities, in particular, would consider cuts in marketing budgets. Are you in two minds about continuing your SEO initiative in the current situation? Clearly, giving up on SEO during a crisis does not make sense, even if sales are coming in a trickle. Let us give you some good reasons why you shouldn’t do it.
Reason #1: SEO is not only about traffic
If you think that SEO is merely about increasing website traffic, you need to get your facts right. It is also about making you visible on the top so that your business earns trust and credibility. Going slack with the initiative is the worst thing to do if you want to rank on Google through the pandemic and sustain your position as well. Giving up now is something you cannot afford to do because climbing back can be a big challenge later. Moreover, SEO makes sense because improves the chances of getting qualified leads so that you don’t run out of business at this critical juncture.
Reason #2: Local search is crucial
As there are restrictions on movement and providers are not opening as usual, consumers are keen about searching nearby businesses. In this situation, local searches are more crucial than ever and local SEO can cover you on this front as well. While it can help you appear in local searches, you can also use it to update information such as reopening dates and business hours. If you fail to use this tactic, it could mean lost opportunities for your business.
Reason #3: Get a competitive advantage
Another simple reason to keep making efforts to appear on top of searches is that all your competitors are probably doing it. Stopping or cutting on SEO budgets increases the risk of being left behind, in terms of online visibility and trust. The pandemic will end sooner or later but you won’t be able to survive if your brand happens to lose its grip on the market and consumers. So you must certainly continue doing the good work amid the crisis and pandemic.
Reason #4: It is cost-effective
Compared to paid strategies like PPC marketing, SEO emerges as a far more cost-effective option. This makes it a smart approach when it comes to advertising your business even with tighter budgets. You just need quality content along with the right techniques for backlinks building to get tangible results. In fact, posting good content in the right places gives you better chances of connecting with the audience and keeping them engaged with your brand.
Now that you probably understand the value of SEO even during pandemic, you would want to go the extra mile rather than give up on it. After all, perseverance and consistency are the secrets to survival through the toughest times.
