The Effects of COVID-19 on Small Businesses and their SEO

The Effects of COVID-19 on Small Businesses and their SEO

The novel coronavirus pandemic will contribute from a complete shutdown to a significant increase in purchases in certain regions, in some way in all sectors and companies. It is difficult to understand the full significance of the worldwide act to limit the spread of viruses.

Other meanings can be seen everywhere, and in the long run, changes will become increasingly complicated by the day and become a more critical economic aspect.

COVID-19 has had long-term effects on small businesses (both good and bad). In theory, it is possible to return to a new normal life in a few months, but for some companies, the transition isn't so easy.

At the same time, other businesses have or are increasing online purchases, emphasizing their convenience during COVID, which has led to larger consumer transfers and more profitable revenue streams. 

Given the different influences and perspectives, it will be interesting to see what's happening from the SEO agency perspective.

What is the level of interest, and what does it mean for a wide range of consumer behaviors?

Impact of COVID-19 on SEO 

Last month, the entire SEO community discussed the latest outbreak of COVID-19 and its implications for SEO traffic and efficiency.

We found that the organic performance of websites in different sectors has dropped significantly. At the same time, organic customer traffic has exploded.

There are several additional features on the search engine results page (SERP) that are not available on many search engines (such as Google).

The economic instability and uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 outbreak have had different effects on different companies and sectors. According to an expert SEO consultant, from March 12th to 16th, 2020, changes in natural flow and revenue were more evident.

He also found the following:

”Micro-niche e-commerce sites, that is, sites offering specific niche products or services, have a natural 25% reduction in performance. These sites also lost 35% of their genuine income during that period. The organic performance of online supermarkets and food websites increased by 56%. Even with this website, natural revenue increased significantly by 188%.”

Recognizing the role of SEO during abrupt changes

While it is currently difficult for companies to predict how long COVID-19 will have a significant impact on the economy, they know how SEO fits into short- and long-term marketing strategies, during which they need to understand how SEO is designed effectively.

Unlike most professional channels, SEO cannot straightaway change short-term urges through organic search.

In the current situation of financial uncertainty in many companies and sectors, the long-term nature of search engine optimization should be reflected to assess compensation and natural marketing priorities in the coming months.

Digital Transformation for safe and Suitable businesses

One more possible impact of COVID-19 is the company’s urgent need to assess the digital transformation of products and services.

With the introduction of COVID-19, the conference switched to digital video streaming, and film companies have also launched new films for streaming services as needed.

Many other companies need to reconsider how they reach customers within social distance and live streaming might be the answer.

Adjusting to instant and important changes in search behaviors

During this period, companies like supermarkets and pharmacies have altered their product interests drastically; now looking specifically for new brands and services to better serve the customers during COVID. 

On the contrary, as consumers rapidly change their priorities during this period, most brands considered “essential” products and services significantly reduce the search.

Brands should monitor their organic search results and sessions shortly and plan to update their past forecasts and reports to take into account the impact of COVID-19. If you can prove to be a valuable asset and supportive service during this time, you're likely to gain more traction. This all starts with your SEO and keywords. 

Author: Dave Jones

Dave Jones is a web content writer, and guest blogger, who offers content writing services to online business owners including SEO and Digital Marketing, Website designing and development, logo design and corporate branding. If you need a reliable guest blogging or content writing service, contact Dave at davejone00@gmail.com