A Look at the Covid-19 Search Trends and Their Impact on SEO
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that 2020 was one of the darkest years and we all know the reason behind that. Yes, you guessed it right “Covid-19 pandemic”.
This pandemic not only had an impact on people’s lives but also on the online world. People are still trying to manage their daily routines and processes with the best practices and this has led to significant changes in the way of search the information online.
Marketers shouldn’t ignore this point. If they understand these important search terms, it will help them to plan the outreach strategy to make sure they can meet the audience's needs along with learning about the concerns and issues related to focus. Also, many changes that have occurred due to this pandemic will stay permanent as people needed to reexamine every aspect of their lives as well as businesses.
Similar to marketers, SEO professionals need to note this point. Due to Covid-19, businesses realized the benefits of SEO and this was an unexpected result.
There was a highest-level spike in Google Search interest in SEO when the pandemic had just started and still remains the same as businesses are trying to stay visible, relevant, and viable.
Let’s take a look at the 4 ways SEO was impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Search for Pandemic-Related Topics Increased
It’s been a year and we aren’t still able to forget Covid-19. We have been looking for answers to many questions over the past year and are still looking today.
It is important to get access to accurate and updated information about it and this is the reason Google is prioritizing this so that it becomes easy for users to find information.
When you search for different queries related to the virus, Google displays various sources on the first page which include a summary of cases in your area, testing information, statistics, ways to cope with the pandemic, and news updates.
Apart from the virus information searches for music, fitness, hobbies, and outdoor activities also gained a grip with the continuity of lockdowns and restrictions.
Over the past year, there was a significant change seen in people’s lives and this gave rise to new interests and various sources for helping them.
This means businesses can offer valuable services or content to their audiences by finding new ways which will help them gain more attention as compared to the past.
Lastly, know your audience’s needs and keep your business updated with the trend to offer them valuable content that they actually want to see.
Search for Local Businesses has Gained Traction
The COVID-19 pandemic has also badly affected local businesses.
In the current situation, just keeping your business running has become harder than ever. Yet people are aiming to help the small businesses in their location.
Since travel is restricted, the speed of the supply chain has decreased. In this situation, consumers have found local businesses as a safe and convenient option.
According to the Accenture survey, 84% of the respondents will continue to shop in neighborhood stores or buy more locally sourced products even if the pandemic gets a halt.
Due to this, small businesses have found it beneficial to invest in local SEO.
Make sure that your business is visible when people are searching for nearby places to complete their needs.
The information related to local businesses has changed faster during the pandemic. For example, the business owners needed to add extra time for cleaning and reduce their hours of operation.
Moreover, some of them needed to include information related to curbside pickups as well as deliveries if they offered these services.
The search for businesses that offer take-out, pickup in-store, buy online and other contactless services will continue.
Ensure that your Google My Business page is updated so that potential customers can easily find what they need and will be able to continue the business.
Apart from this, local businesses should have an online presence with updated information on the website. Also, relevant information related to COVID-19 will help the users.
This will help Google to trust the information about your business and consumers will have a good experience while doing business with you.
People are Turning More Towards Online Shopping
Those who weren’t interested in online shopping started shopping online after the pandemic.
The shops that sold non-essential products needed to close and even after the unlock people felt more comfortable shopping online.
Even the stores needed to restrict the number of people visiting the store at once, leading to a decrease in the sale they might have made earlier. Online shopping is a safer choice as well as convenient for all.
The Global Connected Consumer Index stated that 28% more consumers shop online weekly as compared to before the pandemic.
This has encouraged physical shops to start eCommerce stores.
Having an online store makes it easy for the stores for continuing their business even if their customers are at home.
But it won’t work if you just set up the online store and wait for the customers to visit.
Evergreen Content Is Gaining More Importance
Since nothing is certain, some of you might think that outsourcing SEO services or managing it on your own won’t be worth it, in particular for those businesses that needed to shut down for some time.
But it’s all reverse formula.
Using SEO is possible for businesses and they should use it even if not operating like normal, particularly in terms of content then may it be posting a new piece or updating the existing ones.
It is important to target COVID-related keywords but that’s not just the way SEO can help businesses get leads.
Currently, topics related to pandemics are trending but those won’t always.
Long-lasting results are what SEO offers. But it takes months to get the results and so, can seem to be a disadvantage but it can add a big value during such a condition.
Evergreen content helps any business for a long time and now is a good time to work on that.
There won’t be many who will be purchasing more products now, but this content will help them to be ready for future purchases.
Conclusion
No doubt the pandemic has forced many businesses to make changes but has also proved that SEO is most important for them and especially for the small and local ones.
Today, we are highly dependent on the internet, hence, SEO is a key resource for businesses that want to get visible online and sell their products.
Ensure that you optimize your business for search especially when such a crisis occurs.
