6 Ways Marketing & SEO Can Help Businesses Combat the COVID-19 Impact

The vast majority of British businesses are taking steps to protect their employees and those who buy their products or services from the spread of COVID-19. From allowing employees to work from home to temporarily shutting the doors to their physical stores and switching to online-only, the measures we take today can look after the wellbeing of all involved. The UK government is putting plans in place to look after those most vulnerable and to aid businesses who face an uncertain future. Along with the government efforts, however, there are steps you can take as a business owner to put yourself in a strong position. Concentrating on your digital efforts has never been so important.

Firstly, Don’t Panic

While this may seem the time to stop all marketing efforts, perhaps in a bid to save money, this knee jerk reaction is only going to harm your business. SEO, in particular, takes several months of work to see a significant difference. It’s a long game, and you have to be in it to win it. That means halting your SEO strategies today will see your business fall behind in a couple of months. We don’t know the effect COVID-19 is going to have on the economy, but what is certain is the fact we will return to normal. However, those who stop their marketing today won’t.

It won’t just be you panicking. When your competitors stop their SEO efforts as a knee jerk reaction, your business can continue to thrive and overtake them in the SERPs. They will lose engagement; you will gain it.

6 SEO Tasks You Need to Do Now

1. Site-Wide Content Audit

How many times are we told that ‘Content is King’ in the SEO world? Now is the time to see if your content really is ruling your site’s SEO.

Not many business owners will keep a detailed plan of all the content on their site, but this is your opportunity to assess what your site is offering, and how it can be improved.

To undertake a content audit, start an Excel or Google Sheet (however best you work), and create a tab for:

• The pages on your website
• Blog posts
• Videos
• Whitepapers
• eBooks
• And so on

Of course, just knowing what content you currently have isn’t enough. You then need to assess it carefully. What can you repurpose? Which pieces got the most shares and backlinks? Which sections get the most traffic on site?

After understanding this data, there may be chances to update with fresh content, optimise your site for new keywords, add new CTAs, and add more internal linksHyperlinks, also known as links, are the connection points on a webpage that take you to other webpages. to new or different products and services.

Don’t forget: updating your content now will give you the chance to market and promote these pieces when business begins to pick up again – which it will.

2. Add Videos to Your Content Offering

Don’t ignore the power of the humble video with regards to SEO. An engaging video enables you to appear in YouTube searches, target long-tail keywords, and even trigger featured snippets.

Videos are easy to watch, easy to share, and easy to engage with for clients and customers alike. They also give you the chance to show you’re a trustworthy, authority figure within your niche.

While business may be quieter, you can spend more time building up a content library – video must be part of it. A study by IMPACT conducted in September 2019 discovered that if you mention the word ‘video’ in your email subject line, the click-through rate increases by 13%. These are clicks you need in times of economic downturn.

Not only do you need to concentrate on the video content, but you also need to ensure any subtitles are clear and easy to digest. A vast majority of those on social media will watch a video without any sound. You may have a presenter who sounds incredible and knowledgeable, but the likelihood of them being heard is smaller than their words being read.

Spend time perfecting your subtitles before publishing your video. You can use online tools to do this task, but these are rarely perfect. We all know an instance where a caption doesn’t reflect the content. Don’t let your video become known for the wrong reasons.

What’s more, you can use direct quotes from your videos alongside images on Instagram and Facebook to further promote and gain engagement. We suggest creating images of 5 quotes for a short video, and 10 quotes for a longer, more in-depth video.

3. Show Your Website Some Care & Attention

Is your website looking a bit tired? Do you have links that lead to 404s? Take a moment to assess and audit your own site, and then fix these issues as a priority task.

After all, if you want your clients to trust you know your SEO stuff, you can’t present them with an out of date, unloved site.

4. Update your Google My Business Listing

Have your opening hours changed due to COVID-19? Let your customers know by updating your Google My Business listing. You need to update your opening hours and business description now, including making sure your contact details are correct in case customers are trying to reach you.

5. Remove Unnatural Links

Unnatural links happen, and they are not always intentional. Learn today how to find unnatural links before you receive a Google penalty. Unnatural links include:

• Link farms or PBN (private blog networks): Stop using these immediately.
• Low-quality directories: A tricky one to discover whether it’s an unnatural link. If it doesn’t offer the user good value, don’t use it.
• Blog comments: These were once a common practice to build a backlink profile using blog comments, but these links don’t offer value to the user. Stop adding your website link to blog comments.

You can find these by performing a backlink audit. Luckily, our expert SEO team can help with that task.

6. Build an Outreach Strategy

How you reach out to your customers and clients, especially during this confusing time, is dependant on your business. However, don’t let these communications stop. While you may need to alter what you discuss in your communications (now isn’t the time to promote a COVID-19-inspired sale), you can still offer reassurance. Not only will the reassurance be appreciated, but it also keeps the social connection fresh. Let your clients know your teams are always dedicated to providing the best service. Let customers to your stores see how you are looking after your staff. These will all be well received.

Lastly, Take Care of Your Staff & Focus on the Future

Now more than ever, your staff are the backbone of your company. Ensure you take care of their wellbeing, taking into account the measures the government is putting in place to keep everyone safe and well. Focusing on the future is crucial. Plan for a swift and smooth recovery, and you will ensure your business thrives.