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How is COVID-19 Highlighting the Importance of SEO During a Slowdown

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The fact that a pandemic has led to a boom in global internet usage should not come as a surprise anymore. Governments worldwide have taken steps to limit how people interact with each other to control the spread of the virus. This shift in consumer behavior has caused a massive transformation in the way we interact with each other and the brands we love.

Interestingly, businesses worldwide are witnessing declining search traffic despite the continuous rise in worldwide internet usage. But there is more to internet usage than just search traffic. People are using the internet more than ever for online shopping, streaming movies and online content, gaming, social interactions, etc. 

Small businesses and start-ups have taken the biggest hit due to a decrease in search traffic as more and more people search for health, medicine, and other relevant issues in response to the outbreak.

This article is for you if the pandemic makes you doubt your SEO and organic marketing efforts during the COVID-19 outbreak. It will help you get a clearer picture of whether or not you should care about SEO for your business during such times, and if yes, what are the tricks to ace SEO management services for growing and maintaining healthy website traffic.

Let us start by stating some hard facts about the current global situation – 

1. COVID-19 is a Search ‘Trend’

Even though search terms related to coronavirus are vastly overshadowing other searches, the pandemic will not be around forever. It is just a matter of time until COVID-19 subsides, and healthy life takes over. This statement does not, in any case, minimize the seriousness of the topic or the ill effects of a pandemic. Still, the inevitable truth is that nothing lasts forever, and coronavirus will be a thing of the past sooner than we realize.

A decrease in search volume for “COVID-19” over the past few months

2. Evergreen Content Is Your Best Bet

While trying to hit page one for search queries related to trending topics is something that all of us keep aiming for, the reality is that traffic garnered from trending topics comes in quickly and fades away even quicker. Hence, one should not undermine the value of writing content for evergreen topics related to your business line.

Even when the trending topic loses traction and stops pulling in traffic, evergreen content pages will always stay relevant and accumulate traffic long after the virality of the blazing trend is over. This analogy translates to the fact that producing evergreen content is still a good idea.

3. SEO is More Than Just Traffic and Rankings

Consider this – if you manage to pull in the right traffic at this time through proper SEO management services, this traffic will comprise high-quality leads that are interested in what you are selling amidst the backdrop of a pandemic. Hence, it makes sense to work on your website’s SEO not just to gain traction but also to attract qualified leads for later nurturing.

4. SEO Management Services Take Time But Give Reliable Results

Your competitors stand to lose out of this opportunity if they cut back and do nothing, and you will gain an edge over them if you continue to invest in SEO management services. According to a study by Ahrefs, 99% of the web pages which rank on the first page of SERP are older than one year. It means that investing in SEO-optimized; high-quality content is the best move as it will build up your content repository. 

As your website and its web pages age in the upcoming months, this factor will play an additional role in helping you achieve your dream of ranking on the coveted first page of search engines.

5. Online Search is Becoming A Second Nature To All Age Groups

The social-distancing norms that were put in place to flatten the curve have changed how we socialize and live together. An accelerated reliance on search engines is compensating for this lifestyle change. People are using voice-searches for getting things done, checking Google for updates rather than listening to the radio during their commute.

The rapid change in search behavior has caused significant search engines to further adapt and advance according to people’s changing needs. Hence, investing in search engine marketing makes perfect sense to enhance your online presence during such trying times.

It always pays to be reasonably optimistic about the future, and the same goes for your business. Even though the pandemic may get worse before it gets better, the silver lining is that you have enough time to build up a robust online presence by investing in SEO. If you are looking for help, the right digital marketing agency can do wonders for your website’s SEO health and beef up your online presence.

Get ready to show up when the search behavior normalizes again, and show your audience that you mean business. 

Contact us or email us at info@viramlabs.com to know more about how you can drive relevant traffic to your website using SEO even during tough times like a pandemic.