Why SEO is so important at this exceptional time
Search engine optimisation – or SEO – is a vital part of a business’ digital marketing strategy at any time, but it is particularly crucial during the unique circumstances surrounding COVID-19. A recent survey reveals two-thirds (66%) of marketers already saw organic search as their top performing channel in 2019, and 63% believe SEO will gain in importance during this phase.
We deliver SEO services as part of our technology PR offering and it’s clear to see why SEO is so important to our B2B clients at this extraordinary time. COVID-19 means companies’ everyday needs are changing rapidly and – as a result – they are looking for new and different business-related products or services they may not have used before. Companies must understand what their potential customers are searching for right now – including what search terms and phrases they are using – and ensure their website is optimised in such a way that it appears at the top of the search engine results page (SERP), where it is easy to find. They must also make sure that when potential customers visit their website it contains the right content to answer their specific search queries.
Another reason why SEO is so important at this time is that it is a relatively affordable marketing channel that companies can still invest in even if they’ve had to scale down more expensive marketing efforts such as TV advertising campaigns. SEO is a long-term marketing strategy and investing in it now – during the economic downturn – will put businesses in a stronger position for the recovery bounce and into the future.
Why SEO is important at any time
We’re often asked why SEO is so important, even during ‘normal’ times. Rather than reinventing the wheel we’ve borrowed a great explanation from the Digital Marketing Institute:
“SEO is significant because it makes your website more visible, and that means more traffic and more opportunities to convert prospects into customers. Beyond that, it is also a valuable tool for brand awareness, building relationships with prospects, and positioning yourself as an authoritative and trustworthy expert in your field.”
The main aim of SEO is to improve the ranking of a business’ website on the SERP for a particular search term. The higher the website appears in the results for that term, the better the brand visibility and the greater the chance a potential customer will click and convert. Once visitors arrive at the website, an effective SEO strategy ensures the site contains valuable, high quality content the user can navigate easily and engage with, ultimately helping to drive new business leads and build strong relationships.
Elements of a successful SEO strategy
There are multiple elements to an SEO strategy, and these can be split broadly into on-site and off-site SEO.
On-site SEO includes keyword optimisation, where carefully selected words and phrases are used in various elements of a website’s content to describe to search engines what the website is about. In-depth research is required to understand not just which keywords potential customers are searching for, but also to identify untapped keyword niches that businesses can capitalise on. Businesses need to ensure they have the right combination of keywords and that these are placed naturally within high quality, long-form content rather than being repetitively over-used. Businesses need to continually monitor and optimise their keyword strategies and also need to implement an effective internal linking structure.
Off-site SEO involves any work completed away from the website to help bolster search engine rankings. This includes generating high quality backlinks to specific pages on a business’ website. Backlinks indicate to the search engines that a website is trustworthy and illustrate authority. However, high quality link building takes time as businesses need to ensure their links come from relevant and reputable websites with sufficient domain authority.
We offer SEO strategy as both a stand-alone service and in conjunction with wider PR campaigns. But the second is the preferred option simply because the two services complement each other perfectly, with a thought-leadership content strategy helping to organically build valuable backlinks.
SEO is vital at any time but, with the COVID-19 turbulence bringing rapid change in business needs and driving potential customers to search for new services, having an effective SEO strategy in place is more valuable than ever.
Now you know why SEO is so important, please get in touch at hello@teamgingermay.wpstagecoach.com to find out more about the SEO services we offer.