Protect Your Website from COVID-19 Fluctuations

Secure Your Website from COVID-19 Fluctuations

Now that COVID has passed into history, you should re-evaluate your search engine optimization strategies as consumer preferences online have altered significantly.

Optimizing digital content to increase online exposure and stay ahead of the competition is essential. Here, we offer SEO strategies and techniques designed to put you on the first page of Google SERPs - so youre more likely to generate visitors and increase revenue! Read on!


Search Engine Optimisation Variances Due to COVID-19

Search Engine Optimisation Variances Due to COVID-19

Lets first consider how COVID-19 affects SEO. Google has experienced several issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, they implemented extensive changes in response.

Changes were implemented across numerous areas, such as:

  1. The SERP
  2. Google My Business
  3. Google Ads

The SERP update marks just one step in an ongoing series of improvements that will take place.


What Has Changed With COVID-19 SERP?

What Has Changed With COVID-19 SERP?

SERP updates will begin by responding to the widespread coronavirus epidemic. Google made virus information more readily accessible for its widespread effects; further, these updates should help websites manage this crisis as newcomers flock in droves to them.


Features Of SERP Make Accessing Information Regarding COVID-19 Easier.

Features Of SERP Make Accessing Information Regarding COVID-19 Easier.

Current situations are unique. People turn to articles, experts, and news in times like these to gain more information on what the virus entails and possible treatments available while seeking updates.

Due to an influx of interest regarding this virus from users worldwide, Google has created various features designed to make finding all necessary knowledge quick and effortless.

Google has evolved these features over time; when the first virus spread, Google displayed information in an emergency notification panel - including warnings from the government and an overview of the virus itself.

Google took further measures, creating the COVID-19 website, which provided users with all the pertinent details about this virus.

It provided:

  1. Information regarding the global spread of influenza A virus.
  2. Keep people aware of any critical alerts with regular emails or text alerts.
  3. Donate now to help fight the virus! Contribute today.

Google was not pleased that users needed to navigate directly to an obscure URL to view a website in complete detail; only those familiar with SEO knew this URL, and many needed to utilize it more regularly.

Instead, at the end of every month, they created a site directly onto search engine result pages (SERP), displaying information directly when users searched terms like "coronavirus tip."

Google deserves much credit for making it so simple to discover information on COVID-19. Their sidebar feature allows users to read about global cases of the virus as well as symptoms.

Clicking tabs within this sidebar refreshes SERP results while keeping relevant info at the top.

After briefly touching upon the information found in Googles sidebar, its essential to recognize how detailed its statistics are.

They can be found just above virus basics. Viewing these graphs or diagrams as graphs or visual diagrams and being told when they last updated is essential information that users greatly appreciate.

Clicking any data panel allows accessing pages offering further in-depth views into the COVID-19 virus, for instance, showing its spread between countries; this knowledge benefits Google users as people seek knowledge as soon as possible about this virus.


Helpful Tips For Managing Organic Listings At COVID-19

While a crisis strikes, many websites, and organic rankings become vulnerable. Alerting customers of updates may prove challenging given all thats going on - which makes the newly released structured data markup from Developers.devs supported by Google the perfect solution! With formats for showing whether a site provides coronavirus testing facilities or temporary facilities dealing with pandemic issues, businesses also benefit by informing users as the global shift toward online work increases by creating labels that present announcements directly to users.

Many businesses commend the government for expediting coronavirus data collection.

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Post COVID Search Engine Optimization Strategies

Post COVID Search Engine Optimization Strategies

How AI Affects SEO

Google RankBrain is essential to your sites SERP rank and can continue to adapt over time, giving your page the boost it needs regarding visibility on SERPs.

Enhance user experience on your website to boost SEO. Your ranking depends upon how long users spend on the page and click-through rates; provide engaging, high-quality content that keeps visitors on for an extended period, which could boost rankings and bring greater business returns.

Your site ranking could be positively impacted if its easy and error-free to navigate.


Search Engine Optimization For Voice Activated Searches

Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri have made voice search increasingly prevalent. Longer phrases work best to optimize voice-activated searches; its voice activation feature works best when used for natural-sounding, longer queries.

  1. What will the most significant SEO trends of 2024 be?
  2. What are my options for optimizing SEO to accommodate voice activation on my website?
  3. Are Voice Search Technologies Capable of Optimizing SEO?

Shorter keywords work best when people search online since people frequently abbreviate words or phrases when typing searches.

It is wise to combine long and short-tail phrases when crafting content for writing purposes.


Position Your Mobile Website For Success Now

By 2025, 72.6% of Internet access will come exclusively through mobile devices; ensure your site is optimized to serve this growing segment of users.

Google has updated its algorithm, promising increased rankings for mobile-friendly websites when the changes take effect.

Crawling should become more straightforward to create an engaging mobile website experience - using identical meta tags between desktop and mobile pages can aid Google crawling for you!


Utilize Featured Snippets

Google search results now feature snippets as the initial response for any questions submitted through search.

They were first introduced in 2014 as an integral component of SEO; during lockdown, Google began prioritizing educational and credible sources over keyword density, so you should create content tailored toward fulfilling your audiences query (search intent).

Your content could reach higher on search pages by earning a featured snippet spot, giving it the upper hand against competitors and redirecting their traffic directly towards you and away from their sites.

Here are some great strategies for creating high-quality featured snippets:

  1. Content created specifically to answer a specific query
  2. Organize yourself and be 100% precise when making decisions.
  3. Understanding Your Researchs Goal
  4. Keywords that appear as featured will have an increased ranking.

Online Shopping Boom

After the implementation of COVID-19 in Australia, online shopping experienced exponential growth, reaching 57% by 2020 alone! Two events can explain this; the first was COVIDs lockdown that led to online purchases rising sharply, followed by its lockup causing surges.

By 2023, online shopping is projected to remain a prevalent pastime. How can you develop an SEO plan for your online store? Focus on using keywords with high search volume so visitors can locate products within it more efficiently.

Add keywords to the image title, alt tags, and title tags of images you publish online.

Indexing your website pages is another critical strategy if you want to appear in search results. Google wont index them, so that they wont show up there either; create a sitemap of your online shops pages and upload it into Google Search Console as soon as you do this.


Update To May 2020 Algorithm

Google initiated a major algorithm update on May 4, which resulted in decreased visits for many websites across various industries, particularly:

  1. Real estate
  2. Scientists can explain the origins of science
  3. Drinks and food
  4. Financial Services
  5. Beauty and Fitness
  6. Travel

Site traffic on popular sites such as LinkedIn, Spotify, and Pandora has recently experienced an unexpected decrease.

Have you noticed a similar decrease? To maintain healthy site visitors to your page and prevent losing it to competitors. Make sure your content updates frequently to prevent such loss.

  1. Subtracting unnecessary information.
  2. Update content, such as statistics.
  3. Rewritten articles provide more helpful information.

Add trending words or phrases in your content to increase traffic to your site and drive visitors there. This strategy could bring more visitors.


Indexing Mobile-First Starting September 2020

Google plans to introduce mobile-first indexing by September 2020. Theyll use your mobile content for indexing and ranking purposes; Googlebot crawls web pages using its SmartPhone Agent, as most internet users use mobile phones as access devices.

Ensure your website is optimized for mobile so users can access it through mobile devices. Also, ensure Googlebot can easily reach all content pages and resources contained on them.


Use Of Google My Business

Google My Business can be used as an effective means of increasing business traffic, whether online or in physical locations.

Claim and optimize your Google My Business page using SEO while filling out its information. Add as many relevant categories and keywords for your business into Google My Business as relevant, including local phone numbers and addresses, so that customers can locate you quickly.

Google My Business listings can increase page ranking for local searches. Please take advantage of this free Google tool and utilize its capabilities for the best possible SEO benefits.


What Impact Has COVID-19 Had On SEO?

What Impact Has COVID-19 Had On SEO?

To best comprehend how the COVID-19 Pandemic will impact SEO, let us briefly review its global impacts. Specifically during quarantine periods (typically occurring between February and May in most countries), what has become clear is an ever-increasing distinction between essential versus non-essential business operations.

Essential businesses such as food, energy, and health care are doing very well, and we anticipate this trend will carry forward into their reopening period.

Non-essential businesses, such as the Netflix streaming service, gaming, and video content, should also be paid attention to during reopening.

At present, everything seems unpredictable and unpredictable. We expect the trend to persist, with global economies falling further into decline and increasing unemployment levels worldwide.

What impact has this change had on SEO and search engines generally? In recent months, there have been significant shifts to the search ecosystem:

  1. GMB listings no longer support posting reviews - an impactful change that has negatively impacted local SEO rankings.
  2. Quality information is of utmost importance for keywords related to COVID-19. Only websites with exceptionally high E-A.T ratings will rank for them.
  3. Google Ads has taken measures to prevent advertisements that take advantage of the current coronavirus outbreak by blocking advertisements that mislead consumers, such as medical devices. You cannot run advertisements that could mislead potential purchasers.
  4. Markups for structured data (Schema.org), mainly to assist event cancellations and notifications related to the COVID-19 Pandemic outbreak.

As noted above, eCommerce essentials vs. non-essentials have seen significant shifts, with search volumes for essential services like health services and medical news/research increasing significantly.

In contrast, niche markets like travel and hospitality saw their search volumes decrease considerably.

Travel will see gradual improvements, while others, like financial services, may take until at least the end of 2018 to show any meaningful signs of recovery.

How should we respond to the reopening of this case? In this session, we will address short-term and long-term response strategies.

Also Read: What Is SEO - Search Engine Optimization?


Implement Fast SEO Strategies

Implement Fast SEO Strategies

Here are a few quick strategies we can implement right now and after the COVID-19 crisis to enhance SEO:


How To Adapt To Changes In The Behavior Of Searchers

Search behavior has changed dramatically over time, and we need to monitor both conversion and organic search metrics to plan out future SEO strategies.

  1. Monitor your website performance closely to gain insight into user engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Data obtained can then be used for forecasting purposes.
  2. Use tools such as Google Search Console, Semrush Ahrefs, and Google Trends to understand changes in intent and search behavior better, monitoring keywords that relate to your business and topical issues relevant to it.

Keyword research has become increasingly critical as businesses seek new customers while retaining existing ones.

Businesses should focus on search metrics to ensure businesses can take advantage of opportunities.


Enhance Your Social Media Platforms, Website, And Other Platforms

Your website must be regularly updated to incorporate new information while adapting content to changing customer demands and visuals for close human interactions.

Businesses should recognize that reopening is imminent and follow local regulations and guidelines regarding availability communication through appropriate channels. Google Places allows you to add opening hours, COVID data, and other pertinent details for each location where your business exists.


Adjust Your Content Marketing Strategy Now

Customers may delay purchasing non-essential items until after the COVID-19 crisis subsides; once stores reopen, we should anticipate that interest in non-essentials will gradually grow as people transition back into our "new norm." Businesses can prepare by investing in promotional and content activities to address the consumer journeys consideration and awareness aspects.

You should provide educational material for consumers who may still need to be ready to purchase.

Create educational and informative content optimized for search engine optimization - this can be an excellent long-term investment for the final reopening.


Information Is More Crucial Than Promotion

Customers have shown increased enthusiasm to learn about new products and services during this lockdown period, so instead of concentrating solely on marketing campaigns, you should create an informational hub on your website that will foster leads to develop.


After The COVID-19 Pandemic: Implementing SEO Strategies

After The COVID-19 Pandemic: Implementing SEO Strategies

As soon as COVID-19 makes itself known, businesses must adapt. Now is the time to develop your B2B SEO plan in preparation for its spread - plan it now to be ready in case an outbreak happens in any part of your industry or beyond!


Assess Your Competitor Landscape

No matter your industry or niche, the COVID-19 epidemic will undoubtedly have some effect. Your competitive landscape might change after this crisis has subsided; some businesses might fail and create opportunities.

Yet, for others, this storm might bring challenges; taking on these new risks may offer new possibilities or present unique obstacles to your progress.

Before COVID comes into force, businesses should evaluate their current financial, product positioning, and online infrastructure status to understand where improvement opportunities lie and any possible barriers they will encounter post-COVID.

They will need to identify any areas for improvement, potential obstacles they will come across during the implementation of COVID regulations, and any issues that might arise afterward.

Understanding your competitors helps you develop more effective strategies.

Your SEO strategy might need a makeover to target new keywords or audiences. While we might not see significant shifts in target keywords across industries, they could show significant shifts regarding search intent or behavior - do your research and collect as much data as you can before changing!

Consider analyzing your Local Search rankings since Google unlocked restricted features from My Business during its lockdown phase.

You could spot changes or opportunities.


Your Digital Presence In Todays "New Normal"

The COVID-19 Pandemic has had an immense effect on the digital industry. People now understand digital products and remote working better; one way of future-proofing your business would be converting products partially or fully to digital formats whenever feasible.

Think strategically and prepare to adapt. Retool your content strategy for post-COVID usage; include adaptations like:

  1. Your content must convey physical distance and isolation; those affected remain here, even after the outbreak, at least for now.
  2. When selling physical products, be sure to include instructions on how to clean them as part of your content for SEO and traffic purposes. Doing this may increase customer retention while helping with SEO rankings and building an audience base.
  3. Maintain your FAQs appropriately; new entries must be created regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  4. Published videos (such as on YouTube). During quarantine, people watched more videos. This habit may continue post-quarantine as people become used to viewing more.

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Change Is Inevitable, So Embrace It To Prepare For The Future.

Change Is Inevitable, So Embrace It To Prepare For The Future.

Our understanding that the pandemic brought widespread changes is at the core of it all. SEOs are experienced at adapting quickly to change while finding creative solutions.

Scientists noted that gathering reliable data can sometimes be complex and challenging, given keyword tools that only report monthly searches.

Instead, real-time keyword information must be utilized and your website adjusted to meet current demands.

Our team understands the value of understanding searcher intent and meeting their needs throughout their journey.

If you want to explore this further, watch my webinar hosted with researchers, where we discuss customer experience from search through to purchase.


Final Thoughts

Google constantly revises its algorithm, making it essential to stay abreast of industry changes and how users access the web if you wish to stay ahead of your competition.

Staying aware of user habits allows for developing innovative SEO strategies. Are you curious to gain more knowledge on SEO and incorporate its use into your digital marketing efforts? Developers.dev can assist.

We as the best SEO Agency can assist in developing an SEO plan to boost organic site ranking.


References

  1. 🔗 Google scholar
  2. 🔗 Wikipedia
  3. 🔗 NyTimes