It’s undeniable that we are living through a time that will feature prominently in the history books. Not only is the world faced with a virus more threatening than one in living memory, but a vicious oil war is wreaking havoc on the world’s economy, and the plague of locusts in East Africa all but promises famine for much of the continent and the Middle East, as well. To many, it feels like the world is in chaos.
Fortunately, it isn’t. In fact, in a few weeks to a few months, the world could be back to normal (or close enough to normal) and the last thing you want is for your business to be back at square one. Even as various economic forces compel you to cut back on business processes, you absolutely don’t want to eliminate your marketing efforts — and you especially want to focus on maintaining your SEO. Here’s why.
There are some business processes that offer immense benefits with just a brief, one-time project. For example, it might take you a few weeks to redesign your logo, which could make your business much more attractive to your audience. SEO isn’t like that; it takes months to see a benefit from SEO, and it takes years to crawl your way up the rankings.
This is largely due to how Google assigns points to different factors within its ranking algorithm. The age of your domain matters, and so does the amount of content available on your site. Plus, it takes time to optimize each page of your website, and it takes time to build a network of backlinks that tell Google your site is valuable and authoritative. Often, you need to check and recheck your links to ensure they remain active and accurate because other websites are also growing and changing to catch Google’s eye. Even as you complete all these processes, you still need to wait for Google to recognize the changes to your site and reward you with a higher ranking, and it can be a while before Google’s spiders circle back around to you.
Because it takes so long for SEO to work, the last thing you ever want to do is take a break from it. Hitting pause on your SEO endeavors right now could undo all the hard work you have invested over prior weeks and months, seriously setting you back once the crisis ends. It is best to continue SEO operations as usual to ensure slow, steady growth that accomplishes your SEO and business goals.
Something that few business leaders understand is that SEO boasts the best ROI of all marketing efforts. That’s because when people head to the web with an intention to make a purchase, they usually start with a Google search for the items or services they need. Businesses that have invested more heavily in SEO appear closer to the top of the results page, attracting more views and driving more sales.
In times of crisis, when sales are few and far between, you want to invest in the practices that return your investment and then some. SEO is all but guaranteed to increase traffic to your website, improve the experience of site visitors and convert in higher quantities. Thus, if you fear that you might lose business during this downturn, you absolutely should not ignore SEO.
No man is an island — and no business cannot successfully complete SEO without reaching out to fellow businesses. Not only do you need to rely on SEO services to see efficient improvement in your search ranking, but you also need to coordinate with other websites, social influencers and your online community of clients and customers to build links and content.
You need that community of businesses to help your organization survive in these downtimes. By working together — by continuing to spend on services you need and speak well of services you enjoy — you can keep the economy going and survive until you see blue skies. Plus, it can help your emotional and mental health to speak with other business owners and learn what they are doing to stay positive during this crisis.
However, your business community isn’t the only community generated by SEO. Content and SEO are closely intertwined, and content tends to attract audiences who interact with one another and your organization. Even if your community isn’t making purchases now, maintaining your community is a smart way to build your buyer base for the end of the troubles.
Times are tough right now — for everyone, not just for your business. Fortunately, by focusing your efforts on the right business practices, you can survive and even thrive during this crisis.
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