Building Trust During Trying Times
As more and more cities go into lockdown and isolation, there has been an increased sense of fear and confusion in many. With the number of people working from home or losing their jobs increasing every day, there has been a dramatic increase in the usage of search engines.
Whether it is people searching for jobs, food delivery services, or any number of other things, more people are searching across the board right now. This presents a unique situation for businesses and websites how may be wondering what to do in the wake of all these sweeping changes and troubles.
The answer may not be immediate or simple, but this is a period of great opportunity for companies to improve their visibility online. With more eyes on SERPs and traffic all around increasing taking time to improve your SEO can help set you up for a better ranking, and higher website performance.
It might seem like an odd point to do so, but now more than ever is the time to improve and focus on your website’s optimization.
More Consumers are Using Search
As it was just mentioned, more people are turning to search. This is because as lockdowns and periods of isolation expand to include more people, many are adjusting how they are shopping by turning to online solutions. In a recent study, as many as 47.2% of all people in the US using the internet said that they were avoiding shopping centers and malls entirely.
Because of this, readjusting how you market and present your business is important. Renewing your SEO efforts is a cost-effective measure to help in economic downtimes and periods of financial uncertainty.
Here are a few ways to better utilize SEO for your website.
Adjusting for Current Shopping Habits
Obviously, this presents a rather difficult situation for shops running an onsite storefront. Without customers there is no incoming business, which means no incoming revenue.
For many businesses, they already have a digital storefront, but it may not be the focus of their day to day operations. It is time to change that. As more people are shopping online exclusively, and more likely to do so in the future, it is important that your digital storefront is up to date and properly optimized.
This includes making sure that titles and descriptions for products and services are up to date and accurate, taking time to ensure that you are using keywords and keyphrases.
Ensuring Best Blog Habits
We’ve talked a lot about blogging and best blogging practices here at SEO Market Pros, but we do that because its important. Blogs are places to increase your overall keyword and keyphrase density, as well as let people know what is going on in your business during times like these.
Your regular customers are going to want to know what is going on with your organization, and via blog posts, you can keep them informed, while also providing a benefit to your website. Providing regular articles with updates as to the nature of new product, changes in the business, or just relevant topics are all great ways to keep that conversation going when people are not in store.
It is important to remember though, that doing so from a place of authority and integrity always remains paramount. If you are writing about new topics (like say for example, COVID-19), or trying to educate and inform your audience, make sure to do your research and link out to reputable sources.
Blogs are powerful tools, but they need to be used responsibly. Check out some of our other articles on blogging and make sure that when you are using yours, you are properly equipped to make the most out of them.
Consider Ditching the Sales Pitch for Now
Many, many people are feeling the financial strain right now. Because of that, it might not be the best to be making pushy sales pitches. Rather than trying to pressure into spending money that they may not have, adjust your tone of voice and approach to be understanding and reassuring.
- By shifting your focus to being one of hopefulness and trying to provide a message of comfort, you can help provide people a message that things are going to get better, and that you and your business are there with your customers alongside them.
- It is also important to make sure that if you have made any promises recently, that you are following up on them, and ensuring that they are being seen through.
- Proving that you are reliable is important even in the best of times, but in times of stress or great upheaval, it becomes even more important to stay true to your word.
People are looking for stability wherever they can find it, and if your organization is not, it can suffer as a result. For now, put yourself in the shoes of your customers before making any public statements and consider what they might need to hear right now.
Building Trust In Trying Times
Of course building trust should always be a focus of your business. Presenting an honest service to your customers is an important part of any successful organization. But bringing everything that we’ve talked about together can be distilled into one point: You have to make sure people trust you now more than ever.
Letting people know what measures you are taking to deal with the crisis, how they are being implemented, and keeping a transparent line of communication regarding your policies is more important than ever. Many companies were coming under the lens for how they treated their employees and operated the workplace before the crisis, and now it is a more important topic than ever as the safety of all are involved.
By providing that information you’re not only telling the consumer that you are doing the right thing, but you’re providing that information with confidence that you are handling the crisis with aplomb. This can go a long way in ensuring that your brand and business are trustworthy and will make the grade for people’s attention and their purchases as the situation continues to evolve.
Understanding the Ever-Changing Situation
Taking care of all these things for your website is something that can take a good bit of time and will require constant attention as things change and evolve on the search algorithm. This is also applicable to the changing situation with COVID-19, which will require you to make sure that as new information arises and impacts your business, you are diligent in ensuring that you keep communication with your consumers.
The situation will likely continue to evolve as the weeks draw on. With isolation periods being extended across the U.S. it is likely that this stay at home period is here to stay for a while.
But, that is why this is important. By performing SEO for your website, and making sure you are having an open conversation with your consumers and audience, you can set a good foundation for the future that will allow you to adapt and weather these turbulent times.
Now more than ever, it is hard to tell what the future brings, but by working hard, working safe, and working together, we all can benefit and make it through these turbulent times.
