Better Mouse trap or smarter mouse?
With the global pandemic there comes fear and caution across all sectors of business. If you are not a government agency you are faced with preserving cash while your business weathers the storm. It doesn’t matter whether you are General Motors, Tesla, YMCA, Bank of America, or a start-up. One of the first places businesses go to preserve cash is with their workforce and this can be seen with the latest jobless benefit claims filed in early May of 33 Million People and climbing.
Sales and Marketing are usually the first to be impacted with lay-offs and furloughs. Interestingly, digital transformation of the buyers behavior and business is accelerating as can be seen in Telehealth, E-Commerce Business, and much more. Is your business able to continue bringing new customers to the “table” during this process? Much depends on your organization’s ranking in search engines and SEO work that was done pre-pandemic. Those who have made investments are actually able to grow their businesses or shrink less; those who have not embraced SEO and digital marketing have seen their sales decline and pipelines reduced to “dust”.
Twelve years ago we were in the midst of a recession and the world discovered that paid search could boost business but was expensive. SEO however proved to be a low cost per lead solution vs other forms of marketing. The key to winning the SEO battle is through the production of “thought leading” content that brings the community you’re servicing back to your digital home (Web-Site) again and again.
The other important thing to understand about SEO is that you must consistently create new content, blogs, and new links. If you stop your position will slowly begin to “melt” away; not because you are losing work you have done, but rather you are losing to the competition who has not hit the “pause” button.
Lastly, remember that the buyers purchasing behavior is forever changed due to the pandemic. Everyone is learning how to get buy without going to trade shows, without direct mail, without door knocking, and without face to face. In many cases the buyer prefers this method. Why go to the doctor’s office when he can see you in the safety of your own home? Why go to Walmart when Amazon can bring it to your door quickly for free?
Digital transformation is here to state and accelerate. Get your SEO partner to work with you to get the business flowing in your doors again. SEO takes time and there is no magic wand, so the sooner you start the sooner you will see gains and a return on investment. It’s not about a better mousetrap, it is about a smarter mouse!
SEO Strategies to Pursue During a Pandemic
Don’t paus your digital marketing during COVID-19.
Focus on the main things:
- Make your website fast. Check with GTMetrix and you can see how your site is performing. Work with a partner to lubricate, accelerate, and free your site from problems. Speed kills….rankings! (digital marketing)
- Make sure you have trackers on the site so you understand who is visiting and what they are reading. This gives you a quick understanding of the content buyers want and what they care less about. Often folks are surprised with what visitors are viewing and have been focused elsewhere.
- Give and give generously. Folks want content that can help them understand the industry and make decisions. If you teach them something they will begin to trust your company and consider your products or solutions. Companies continually honking their own horn quickly become the used car salesman no one wants to experience. If you build a relationship the rest will take care of itself if you have a quality solution.
- Keep being socially media active…you need to be a vibrant firm with lots of things to say otherwise it looks like you are out of business or severely wounded. Don’t overdo it but think about e-blast on a regular (not annoying) basis. I get a blast from one company every day with their catalog. I no longer open the email and delete it upon site. I don’t want to block it as I might be interested in the future, but come on, every day. We are amazed with “look at me” posts. “BEST WIDGETS SOLD HERE” Do you really need to “toot your own horn” about your wonderful widgets?
- Let people know you care and are taking care of yourself, your employees, your customers, and your business during this most difficult time. Show your team practicing safe distancing or explain how you are protecting your customers.
We know the world is facing difficult decisions in the coming months as the government helps phases away. Keep your “light on” and your “doors open” with digital marketing during the pandemic and your business will be one of the first to rebound when we head down the curve.
