COVID-19 has drastically transformed the search trends and our perspective towards online resources. Read out how SEO has evolved during this phase.
Even after a year, COVID-19 continues to disrupt the lives of people and businesses. Even though more and more people are getting vaccinated, the impact would still be felt for a long time. This pandemic has forced us to reevaluate and find new innovative strategies to make businesses work.
A couple of years ago, SEO was considered an option but not anymore. More and more businesses have realized the benefits of SEO and are approaching SEO professionals for great visibility and rankings online. In fact, according to Google Trends, the SEO search queries spiked to their highest level ever during this period.
Let’s have a look at the new search trends post COVID and how they are impacting SEO.
· Online shopping is the new norm
Most of the people who never shopped online till last year have started doing so during this phase. Even after the re-opening of the stores post lockdown, a majority of people feel that online shopping is more safe, comfortable and convenient.
All this has inspired the businesses to open their e-commerce stores or get associated with big retail giants such as Amazon.
An e-commerce store allows people to shop from the comfort of their home and get the things delivered without having to step out. Businesses are approaching SEO professionals for a strong online presence and search engine optimization of their ecommerce store.
Read More: How to build your website structure for a strong SEO foundation?
· People are searching for local businesses
Inevitably local businesses have suffered a lot during the pandemic. But, most of the people are still looking to support local businesses. Supply chain issues and travel restrictions turned out to be a golden opportunity for the local businesses to flourish. Local businesses offered the safest and convenient shopping option for the buyers.
Local SEO emerged to be one of the foremost investments for small businesses. Businesses updated their timings on Google My Business page and included other information such as buy online, home delivery etc and other contactless services. As more and more people are searching for local businesses online, all the local businesses need to keep their websites updated and make sure that they contain the desired information regarding COVID-19 so as to help users.
Read More: How to do keyword research for a new website? Tutorial for beginners
· Evergreen content out-performs
With so many uncertainties prevailing in the market, you may be tempted to think that getting SEO done for a business is not worth it especially for the businesses that are deeply impacted.
But, the truth is just the opposite.
Businesses must not stop their SEO efforts- whether it’s tailoring to new content or updating the older one. Targeting COVID-related keywords is important but relying completely on them won’t help. Topics that are trending right now won’t always be.
SEO provides you with long-lasting results. It may take a bit longer time, but investing in SEO at this time will reap heavy benefits in future.
Read More: How to fix Low Conversion Rate despite having High Traffic? | Conversion Rate Optimization
Conclusion
COVID-19 has forced us to make changes in the way we think/ shop/ do business. Also, it has proved the importance of SEO for businesses especially for startups, small and local ones.
As more and more people are becoming internet-reliant, SEO is the best investment for businesses who want to grow and become visible. Also, make sure to continue your SEO efforts irrespective of the scenarios to ensure that your rankings stay intact on the charts.
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