Consumer needs and behaviors can change dramatically depending on the current economic climate.
However, one thing always remains constant: they always turn to SEO to help them survive and thrive.
In fact, smart companies can capitalize on this opportunity by recognizing this shift (turn) and adapting their content strategies to meet the need.
SEO Insights is a great place to find the latest trends in consumer behavior and intent.
Compared to expensive traditional media, the conventional wisdom of curbing your marketing budget—especially for SEO—is a short-sighted strategy that erodes your brand’s presence over time.
If you want to be in a position to grow during the recovery that inevitably follows a slump or slump, the forecast phase is exactly the time to invest in SEO.
According to the latest Gartner State of the Marketing Budget and Strategy Survey 2022For all “non-paid” channels, SEO is a top priority.
These are some of my thoughts on why
The consumer is looking at all economic conditions
Yes, consumer needs and behaviors can change dramatically depending on the current economic climate.
But they don’t stop or disappear completely.
Your clients may have greater concerns about the family budget and display low business intent as a result. Maybe they are not in the market to buy.
They will be again someday, though.
Sales are a cycle. While some markets see demand declines, others see upswings.
For some, it may be a time for them to learn, plan, and educate themselves on their options.
SEO is a long game and the rules are constantly changing
You can’t simply pause SEO – well, you can, but that means a lot of catching up to do when you “turn it on” again.
Google’s algorithms are constantly changing and updating as the search engine strives to better meet the needs of its users.
Instead of cutting back, tough economic times are when you can focus and invest in improving your user experience, solving persistent technical issues, and speeding up your site.
These goals might be lower on the list of marketing priorities when times were good and sales were plentiful.
Other times, however, you may find it makes more sense to reconsider your ad spend due to your audience’s potential lower search intent.
In this case, you can reallocate part of the budget, ensuring that SEO intent statements and channels such as PPC work.
You should also focus on technical SEO and your website’s journey and performance.
Experience will matter and help you convert opportunities – opportunities you can’t afford to miss before competitors grab them.
- This is also a good time to review existing content and find new ranking opportunities with different terms for keywords. Update content, group content by topic, identify content gaps, and update calls to action (CTAs) to ensure a more cohesive customer journey.
- For example, if you’ve posted product reviews in the past, you’ll want to reconsider them. Google’s product review update targeting low-quality reviews is rolling out in 2022, and it’s more important to ensure that the content is of higher quality.
Search Engine Optimization can deliver wins in the short, medium and long term
A solid SEO program forms a solid foundation for your entire web presence. But it can also help your business stay flexible and responsive to rapidly changing circumstances.
Economic uncertainty may call for quick action to create marketing efficiencies.
It also helps protect the brand from external threats or transition to the emergence of opportunities.
In these circumstances, SEO data is crucial to keeping the pulse on the market.
However, activating the insights from that data is an important next step:
- It doesn’t do you much good to know that their market share is shrinking There is one kind of salable product If you lack the resources to plan and implement campaigns About this product.
- Prioritize your SEO by ensuring you have a fixed budget for it And executive support keeps your resources and team in position to act.
Remember when the initial pandemic scare shut down much of the world’s economy?
Consumer informational needs exploded, and service delivery models changed almost overnight.
Companies that were able to quickly update their Google Business Profile listings with current hours, curbside pickup and online ordering availability, etc., became some of the first to move.
The demand for search engine optimization has risen to an all-time high.
Not only has this translated into business success, but these companies have also been able to instill a sense of stability and calm among consumers in an otherwise turbulent time.
Brand protection is essential at all times
Consumer behavior can be unpredictable, fragmented, and even irrational in times of uncertainty.
SEO helps a brand actively listen to audiences, triage issues, and combat negative brand sentiment in real time.
As mentioned earlier, SEO insights are a major source of this business intelligence.
- What are consumers looking for, How does that evolve?
- What do these queries tell you about commercials or other types of intent Lead search activity?
- How people behave in search and on your siteAnd what new opportunities does this present?
Online reviews are another rich source of visibility and potential liabilities if not managed properly.
Google is clear: Companies should respond to searchers’ comments, messages, and questions as quickly as possible.
Your company’s review profile—average star rating, review volume, and recentness—can affect your local ratings, too.
It is essential that you have:
- Technology for monitoring revisions Across all platforms relevant to your business.
- Triage system for escalation of serious complaints to the right person for rapid intervention.
- Policies to respond to the review. Templates that can be customized based on review content can help here.
Depending on your industry, economic uncertainty may increase the volume of revisions. Having this foundation in place will enable you to add and scale resources as needed.
Brand protection has to come from the content team, too.
If you work in financial services, for example, you may find that your customer base has a lot of questions about how current conditions are affecting them and their families.
They may have questions and concerns about employment, taxes, stimulus, or support programs that were not top of mind before.
Your business can not only act as a thought leader but provide real solutions and value to customers that earn their trust and loyalty over the long term.
E-commerce, retail and travel brands will be looking for insights and trends on demand fluctuations and category fluctuations in goods, products and services.
Understanding these trends early will help content teams create and target accordingly.
You’ll need a content team that’s skilled at producing these opportunities, crafting targeted content, and who can leverage technologies to improve and promote it for maximum impact across all the platforms your online audience is on.
As a bonus, this program can help you outpace any competitor (or perhaps negative content about the brand) with positive stories and helpful content instead.
conclusion
Whether the markets are up or down, the talents of the SEO team are urgently needed to find new opportunities, combat immediate threats, and lay the foundation for successful recovery.
The role of Business Intelligence is crucial to understanding the environment in which you are currently operating.
Organizations that “pause” them can damage the investments you’ve already made and leave you struggling to catch up with forward-looking competitors.
SEO can have the effect of smoothing out peaks and troughs.
The data you produce is as close to the voice of customers in real time as you’ll ever get.
Compared to other channels, it is not only the most cost-effective; It also increases value across your entire business.
More resources:
- Local B2B SEO: The Complete Guide to Local Businesses
- The Complete Guide to SEO: What You Need to Know
- How SEO Professionals Can Thrive in a Slow Economy
Featured Image: Anything Is Possible / Shutterstock
