COVID-19 has turned our world upside down in many ways. Even SEO and digital marketing as a whole haven’t been exempt from some changes, despite taking place online. People’s lives have changed so much that it’s crucial for marketers to “read the room” and adjust their marketing strategies.
Marketers are having to get creative with their SEO strategies and to think long-term about the pandemic’s impact on their target market. If you’ve seen changes in your SEO results over the last few months due to COVID, then you may need to think about changing your strategy. Here are 5 tips to consider.
Is There Room to Expand Your Target Audience?
Lots of industries have expanded or collapsed during COVID, so now is a good time to reassess who your ideal clients are. Has your target audience shifted at all? Is there room for expansion? Right now, the world feels a lot like the Wild West, and you need to be willing to look at your digital marketing strategy and audience with fresh eyes and consider new possibilities.
With more people staying at home, some companies need to think about expanding their audience. Other organizations might need to niche down even further. As a marketer, you need to understand where your company’s products and services fit into the market.
Advertise on Apps Like Spotify
People are spending more and more time online during the pandemic. That’s good news for digital marketers, but it doesn’t mean you can just sit back and rake in new leads and customers with no effort. People are spending more time online, but they’re also changing where they spend their time, to a certain extent.
Right now, people are entertaining themselves with apps like Spotify and Netflix. These media apps are booming and while Netflix doesn’t accept advertising, some streaming sites do. Many marketers have ignored these platforms and types of advertising in the past because other sites and apps have performed more reliably. But now, a lot has changed. It may be worth taking another look at advertising on streaming platforms.
Test Out Philanthropic Marketing During This Time of Need
In the current climate, consumers aren’t going to look kindly on businesses that are just going on with business as usual, especially if they’re raking in the profits while Americans suffer. Companies are beginning to see that taking a stand for social and environmental causes isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also good for business and can boost marketing success.
Now is a great time to test out philanthropic marketing, with so many people needing assistance in the United States and worldwide. Netflix is a good example of this—they pledged to commit 2% of their cash holdings toward institutions and groups benefitting Black communities. Most companies don’t have the budget Netflix does, but philanthropic marketing doesn’t have to involve millions of dollars!
Focus on Evergreen Content That Will Last Post-COVID
Good marketers know that SEO is a long game. It takes a lot of consistent effort to build up a solid strategy that pushes a website toward the top of Google’s search results. While it might be tempting to create a lot of content that focuses on COVID-19 and other current events, it’s important to balance that content with “evergreen content” (content that will continue to remain relevant regardless of current events).
Evergreen content is great for marketers for a few reasons. First, it is extremely valuable to your target audience. It’s something they can refer back to over and over. You’ll also get more SEO value for evergreen content because you can target keywords that won’t fall out of “fashion” over time.
Finally, evergreen content is much easier to repurpose down the road. We won’t be dealing with COVID forever, and you need to think long term when it comes to SEO.
Adjust Industry & Platform Focuses
If your industry has taken a hit during COVID, then you are probably feeling the effects. But have you changed your marketing and SEO strategies to reflect the changing times? It’s important to consider what the changes mean for your long-term success and how to cope with them until the economy bounces back.
You’ll also want to think about other trends that are occurring due to the pandemic. At the beginning of 2020, mobile was the hottest trend in digital marketing. Now, with more people staying at home, you can’t neglect desktop users anymore.
COVID is challenging us all. With the future so uncertain, it’s tough for marketers to pivot appropriately and leverage SEO. But if you pay attention to the ways your market and your customers are changing during this time, you’ll be on the right track.
Janice Cooper is a data visualization specialist and data scientist who is always looking to share statistical information on culture, current events and marketing.
