The COVID 19 pandemic has affected both small and large business enterprises in Canada. Lockdowns that were imposed in the early days of the pandemic are making a comeback in some cities. Although vaccines are under trial and a breakthrough can be expected, the reality is that the curve has still not flattened.
In this scenario, wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing has become a new ‘normal’. Rather than go to office and work, or go to a mall and shop, or visit friends & relatives and socialize, people are getting used to staying indoors and doing all these activities online. Even schools and colleges have closed and all classes and practical examinations are being conducted online.
SEO Services Calgary is now more relevant than ever before
As a result, usage of internet has increased manifold. Statistics for Alberta, or for that matter any province of Canada show that in Q1 and Q2 of 2020, the number of online users was far more than for the same period in 2019. Users have browsed the internet for various activities:
– Send or receive emails
– Search the internet for any product, service or information related to COVID 19
– Get online news
– Search for COVID 19 related updates
– Host or participate in online meetings
– Use a social networking site
– Check industry, growth and business forecasts
– Do online banking
– Check weather updates
– Send instant messaging
– Do job hunting
– Watch movies online
From the above, two trends emerge:
1. Internet usage has increased
especially activities such as electronic transfer of money, virtual meetings, online classes, online gaming, online shopping, movie streaming, instant messaging and more.
2. Online search has also increased
The focus is now on at-home activities, health, news, business forecast, online business opportunities, and other highly relevant industries. Searches related to non-essential businesses have declined.
Implications of increase in internet usage and search for SEO services Calgary
– For online based businesses, or where there are increased searches, SEO continues and will continue to play an important role. It will enable the websites of these businesses achieve higher rankings in search results and get more clicks than their competitors.
– These high growth businesses could either be large enterprise or even small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) located either in Calgary, or any other province in Canada.
– For businesses that are non-essential and temporarily closed, SEO is less important.
Why is SEO important during the COVID19 crisis?
COVID 19 is a trending topic
Worldwide, people are affected by the pandemic and they are searching for answers on questions they have on COVID 19 and related topics. It will therefore remain at the forefront of search for a long time, but not forever. On the other hand, evergreen questions related to SEO from your customers will remain relevant forever.
Evergreen content still holds the key
Trending topics related to your business might seem relevant, but are less likely to bring traffic to your website in future. There is a likelihood that higher authority websites and popular brands might come up in search engine results leaving your website behind.
It is therefore advisable to focus on evergreen topics in your niche. These topics are likely to stay relevant and garner organic traffic over time.
SEO Services Calgary is not just about traffic, but qualified traffic
SEO helps you generate high quality leads and nurture them. It helps you get not only any kind of traffic, but qualified traffic that is serious and interested in your products and services.
After all, the visitors to your website want to know more about you and your offerings. These are the kind of low hanging fruits that you are able to easily reach out to, engage with, and convert.
Gains from SEO accrue in the long term
A study done to correlate rank of a page on Google and its age concluded that that only 1% of web pages appeared on Google’s first page that were less than a year old.
This proves that the trust gained by search engines from a web page happens slowly, but surely. This is long term process and the more value that your web page generates for users, the higher will it rank in comparison to other pages.
Experts predict that search will become more important in future
It is a fact, that in the COVID era, while traffic to non-essential websites has dropped, traffic to search engines has increased. People are searching the internet now for even their smallest of queries. Voice search has also gone up.
This trend augurs well for activities related to search engine marketing in all its forms such as Pay-per-Click (PPC), local SEO, or organic SEO.
Significance of SEO services Calgary for SMBs during COVID19
From the above it is clear that a good SEO strategy is a must-have for businesses in Alberta to rank higher in search engine results in the COVID19 era. This applies not only to large enterprises, but to small sized and medium enterprises as well. Let’s understand why?
– Local search is important
This is true for small businesses, especially if their customers are doing searches based on “near me” or “open now” during the pandemic.
Even if their office is temporarily closed, it is worthwhile for owners to optimize their business, so that they can direct their customers to their online services and encourage them to order online. They can also share re-opening dates on their website.
Movement to support SMBs
Local SEO is also important as it offers SMBs the chance to piggy back on a movement that is underway to protect small businesses during COVID19. Local folks are motivated to use the goods and services offered by SMBs, rather than big brands.
SEO gives SMBs a competitive edge
Consumers prefer to buy from those companies about whom they have heard and are still hearing. In this respect, blog posts published as part of an SEO strategy help to build trust, familiarity and connectivity between the consumer and the brand.
Achieving a higher rank during COVID 19
It is always possible to rank higher on Google maps and appear on the first page of Google even during COVID 19 times when search is confined to terms related to the pandemic.
SEO requires only time, no money
SEO scores over PPC marketing because it is free. Website updates, content publishing and search optimization are all free. What is spent is just time to produce content and optimize it. COVID 19 is the best period to get started with SEO activities as more time is available.
Building an SEO strategy for SMBs during COVID19
SEO services Calgary can kick start your SEO strategy in simple steps:
– Create high quality blogs on topics related to your business.
– Update the content on your website and make it relevant.
– Focus on search items both related, and unrelated to COVID19.
– Conduct an audit of local listing.
– List your business in Google My Business.
– Get your business featured in a local media article and create a back link to your site.
Conclusion
SEO services Calgary helps small businesses cope with financial burdens caused by COVID19. It helps them become more visible on searches being done now, and also be ready for success once search behavior returns to normal.