If there’s one thing that’s certain in business, it’s uncertainty”. – Stephen Covey

Coronavirus has brought the world to a halt. This is an uncertain time, where individuals are going in self-isolation and practicing social-distancing. Technology is the only connecting dot between people who are confined to their homes and waiting for the time to pass. However, this is not the time to give up and go with the flow. Our present will decide our future. If your business isn’t getting revenue and leads because of economic slowdown, this period could be an opportunity to up the game. It’s time to make your presence felt in the market.

But how do we do it? The answer is SEO. Since a sale is difficult because of the Coronavirus crisis, spending money on print advertising, lead generation, and other forms of ads doesn’t seem to be a promising idea. Businesses need something robust that strengthens their brand’s market position at present and generates revenue in the long-run. And SEO fits well in the whole equation. That said, let’s look more reasons to vouch for SEO amidst coronavirus crisis and economic slowdown.

Why doing SEO Makes Sense during Coronavirus crisis

1. To stay ahead of the competition

Many businesses are thinking of either pausing their SEO campaigns or lowering the budget. On the contrary, this is the time stand out. Stay connected with your audience, and they will love you more than your competitors. This is the right time to go aggressive with your SEO strategies.

2. For better brand positioning

Businesses can ramp up their SEO efforts to position their brand in a better way. Though the global economy is going through a phase of slowdown, people are spending a lot of time on the web. Look at this as an opportunity to build rapport with potential customers and penetrate new markets. Think of different ways to reach out to the target audience. You can run ad campaigns or come up with interesting posts to engage consumers. All these efforts will add to your branding strategy.

3. You can save more on paid campaigns

As a lot of businesses are keeping their SEO activities on hold, there’s a possibility that you might not get stiff market competition. Additionally, you might get a lower cost per link click on PPC and Facebook campaigns. This means you can reach out to a broader audience with more economical marketing spend.

4. To implement your future SEO initiatives

The world economy has crashed. It will take at least a couple of months for the market to show signs of improvement. But, when it does, expect to be rewarded; provided you have done your deed. Therefore, now is the time to work on an SEO strategy that will deliver expected ROI in third or fourth quarters, when consumer spendings improve.

5. Identification of future hurdles

Some tools can give you an idea of what to expect in search per se for the coming weeks. The impressions in Google Search Console, for instance, can help in finding out the time during which your business might get more or fewer sales. This way, you get time to identify the loopholes work on them to avoid any loss.

6. People will search for products/services that aren’t readily available

With many cities across the globe going on complete lockdown, there’s already a scarcity of products. People have no option other than to buy these products online. And when these goods aren’t available online, buyers will look for alternatives. Being on search results that people are searching for can mean a lot to your business. It’s time to leverage on the scarcity of specific items, work on ranking for those items and their alternatives, and build link building campaigns around them. And if you happen to sell any of the items that are in demand and not readily available, its time to make more profit.

To-dos for your SEO Campaign

7. Pay attention to timeliness and relevancy

We know what our audience wants to read about right now. Leverage the opportunity to come up with all sorts of communication material that can give helpful insights into the situation. Don’t sound like you are promoting your business. Instead, come up with content that is a mix of business and what’s happening in the world. You need to tell that you are mindful of the surroundings and genuinely want to contribute.

8. Optimize the content

All your efforts in creating a post around Coronavirus will go waste if your content cannot be found in search results. So, make sure that whatever you write is optimized for better rankings. This is where you need to focus on all the aspects of SEO.

If you are focusing on SEO and PPC campaigns on a short-term basis, make sure you know what’s trending these days. For instance, many people nowadays are looking for ways to boost their immunity. If you are a retailer of the immunity-boosting product, running SEM campaigns can bring you a real boost. Also, even if you don’t sell related products or services, having relevant content answering search queries can help.

10. Prepare for the future

We know that SEO is a long-term strategy. Do not cut down on your SEO budget, unless highly required. Create new landing pages, update the website, improve the server, there’s a lot you can do at the time of crisis, and this will be beneficial in the long run.

11. Beware of cheap SEO

We know that cost-cutting is everywhere. Businesses are already on a tight budget, which makes them naturally attracted to cheap SEO services. However, this is the time to seek the help of experts who will work today to strengthen your SEO for tomorrow. Reaching out to a cheap SEO services company means no rankings, no traffic, or maybe Google penalties, once the world gets over the Coronavirus pandemic.

What role does SEO play in the current scenario?

In a realistic scenario, no business can predict the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the duration of the slowdown. However, expect them to be careful about spendings and results when the market recovers from Coronavirus. This is the time when SEO can help in the long-run. We know that SEO is never a short-term strategy, but whatever efforts we put in today will impact the business in later months. Include paid and organic SEO in your marketing plans.

Final Thoughts

If you are thinking that SEO can save your website that is practically not generating any revenue during the Coronavirus crisis, you are wrong. It can, however, make you prepare better for tomorrow. We know that things will eventually normalize, and there would no longer be a threat to human lives by a virus. This is the time when people will come out of their homes, get back to routine, and probably travel. Having a well-optimized website that ranks for high-volume keywords would mean more business coming in.

So, plan well and pay attention to execution so that your SEO campaign gets the desired results. Good luck and stay safe.