Four months into 2020 and COVID-19 has already disrupted nearly every facet of daily life.
There’s been a shutdown of activity across sectors—entire cities have gone into lockdown mode, public spaces have been emptied, and major events have been canceled.
Today, I’m going to walk you through a process that will enable you to make the right choice for your business.
What We’ll Cover:
- What is the long-term vision of your business?
- Do you think your customers are spending more time online?
- Is digital marketing becoming more important?
- Will investing more in SEO now give you the upper leg?
- Is now the time to finally overtake your competition?
- Is digital marketing something you can control?
So, Should You Cancel SEO?
All of us are having to make significant changes to our personal lives in order to adapt to this new normal. At the same time, businesses are bracing themselves for the impending economic impact that will result from people altering their behaviors for the foreseeable future.
The crisis has posed quite a few challenges for marketers as everything from search engine optimization (SEO), to media consumption habits, to budgets, have experienced radical shifts over the past few months—some good, some bad.
For example, from January 13, 2020, to March 9, 2020, Google search ads saw a seven percent decrease in impressions. But brands like Daillyburn.com have experienced a 300 percent uptick in organic search visibility between January 19, 2020, and March 19, 2020.
For companies to best position themselves in these uncertain times, their 2020 SEO strategies and roadmaps may be worth taking a second look at.
All this considered, you might be asking yourself—do I want to continue investing in SEO and online digital marketing in this rapidly changing environment or is now the time to scale back?
You don’t have to decide just yet. Here are the main points you need to consider:
Think about the long-term vision of your business industry
For your business goals to come to fruition, you need to start with the end in mind.
Most successful businesses have a mixture of short-term plans and long-term plans.
A short-term plan could include gaining 10,000 Instagram followers in a month or launching five new products within a calendar year. A long-term plan based on those short-term plans is to build the company’s reputation through community outreach projects.
Start off with your long-term vision and work your way back.
Do you anticipate that your industry is going to grow over the next six months? How about over the next one or two years?
Or do you think your industry is going to shrink?
How do you plan on mapping out your long-term plan? What will Q3 and Q4 look like once we know more about COVID-19 and the situation will be under control?
Do you think your customers will be spending more time using search engines?
As millions of people continue to practice social distancing across the country, total internet hits have spiked by between 50 percent and 70 percent.
But, what will this increase in digital consumption mean for you and your brand?
Depending on your industry, assess whether your customer base will be using the internet more in the future, particularly after they’ve been spending so much time online already during the quarantine.
Would it be fair to assume that this change in events, in general, is going to have more people using the internet in the future?
Do you think that the importance of digital marketing is going to grow as more people go online?
While the full marketing impact of coronavirus on consumer buying habits and digital marketing is largely unknown, it’s important to monitor the changes that can be measured.
As more people are embracing “work from home” policies and spending the majority of their time on their phones, we’re seeing the highest number of people online right now in the history of the world.
In a situation that is subject to such rapid change, marketers need to know how to adjust and adapt just as quickly.
With that being said, if you believe that the popularity of digital marketing is going to skyrocket, then it’s probably a good idea to focus your efforts on SEO sooner rather than later.
Do you think investing more in SEO now is going to pay dividends for you in the future?
The evolving nature of COVID-19 means that businesses need to start planning ahead, especially when it comes to SEO.
With millions of people browsing the internet during this crisis, is now a time where SEO is something that you can consider pulling back from?
Or will you continue to uphold the same practices as before the lockdown?
Perhaps you’re considering investing more in your SEO strategy?
If you do decide to invest more now, is that going to put you ahead of your competitors in the future?
Where are you in the market? Is this an opportunity to finally overtake your competition?
What’s going through your competition’s mind right now? Probably the exact same thing that’s going through your mind right now.
This begs the question—should this be viewed as an opportunity to fall back or push forward?
The reality is that we’re currently in a state of panic, which means plenty of your competitors are holding back.
But as the data has demonstrated, anything you post online right now will be consumed at a higher rate than ever before. So, maybe this isn’t the best time to lay low.
In fact, maybe this gives you a chance at an opportunity to finally surpass the competition?
Is digital marketing one of the main things you can control right now?
There may be a ton that’s out of my control in the current economy, but one thing is for sure—the success or failure of my digital marketing strategy is in my hands.
As a business owner, I’m taking this as an opportunity to set up the best SEO strategy on the planet. I’m setting this over time so I can build traction and gain momentum, so that when Q3 and Q4 hit, I’m dominating the market—all because I took a risk.
Do you want to be one of the businesses that have an inspiring comeback story towards the late end of 2020?
If that’s the case, this is the time to start positioning yourself correctly.
Wrapping up
In the wake of COVID-19, rethinking your marketing strategy is more important than ever.
Remember—you know your business better than anyone else. That’s why before you make any decisions, take the time to accurately evaluate, prioritize, and execute your plans with both the short-term and long-term in mind.
You want to be able to set yourself up for success when the market rebounds in the (hopefully) near future.
