7 Ways COVID-19 is Affecting Search Traffic & How SEOs Can Respond

Everyone in the world is excited to see the effects of coronavirus on SEO activities and search traffics. It is expected that the situations will favor the SEOs and will provide great results that will transition in great growth. The best thing about all this is that everything is organic, there are so many people online for most parts of the days. Companies just need to play it smart. There is a need to think of creative ways to keep the consumers and visitors engaged with the website or the brand. The search engine algorithms on which SEO activities are done, they all tell us to pay attention to content, images, and videos.

This is the best time for digital marketers to work with full force and utilize the content to its best potential. Search engines are happy that during lockdown most companies are using innovative ways to increase their online presence. People are using influencer marketing and content writing services to go to the places they have never been to before.

Ways in which this pandemic is affecting the search traffic around the internet

E-Commerce sites selling essential items are emerging

There are websites that used to sell essential items like groceries and medicines. All those websites are finally being used by everyone and that too extensively. There are some new websites that have emerged too. It is good to see people investing in this sector and helping people in these hard times.

Knowing that essentials are the only types of products that can be sold online or offline at this time. People are scared to go outside and hence are using online services to buy these things. This has made people realize the importance of such websites.

How to respond: The demand is high in this situation. E-Commerce sites are only delivering essential goods to people. E-Commerce SEO needs to create separate sections for high-demand products. Query data must be monitored closely.

Wellness sites are getting all the attention

People are also using wellness websites and applications. It is not safe to go outside even to buy medicines and to go for treatment in hospitals. Most of the private hospital are not properly functioning and all the doctors are focused on treating COVID patients. There have been cases where doctors got infected from the patients and patients got infected from the doctors.

This has increased the use of wellness websites. People have started taking treatments from doctors online and have started ordering medicines online as well. This is something that has increased their search rate and also the reach without them doing much. It is all the effect of the lockdown. People are also more conscious of their health than ever. It is good to see both people and companies grow together this way.

How to respond: People have become solely dependent on search engines for their queries related to health and wellness. This is a situation where things must not be taken lightly. One must provide trustable and verified content only as it is important and rightful to access expert content on the internet.

Publisher websites have an increase in demand

Because there is nothing to do, people are writing and reading more. This is the reason why there is an increase in the demand of publisher websites. There are people who are searching for “websites to publish a book online”, it is all organic and provides better results than all the times when they used to pay so much for their work.

How to respond: SEO can support these websites by checking whether they are error-free and by using the past search data to monitor where the visitors are going.

Recipe websites are experiencing an uptick

Everyone wants to do something productive in the lockdown. Most people want to become a Masterchef, even the people who have not seen the kitchen in their life. Anyways, people want to cook and most of them don’t know how to so there has been a huge improvement in the rank of some cooking websites. They post recipes and tips to make food taste better and that is what most people are searching for.

Everyone has been doing a thorough research and that is why these websites with just normal SEO activities are getting great traffic on their website. It is good to see people doing such things and improving the reach of these websites. They are the people who work hard, they really cook, experiment, and find new recipes for others. This is the time when they are finally getting their dues.

How to respond: Usage of recipe structured data to enhance the way of displaying recipes can increase and attract visitors. Companies must consider publishing recipes that require minimal and affordable ingredients.

Travel websites’ traffic is surging up

Although people are locked inside their houses, their wandering souls are still searching for places to visit. Maybe that is also the keyword that they are using to search for travel websites. There are many websites that have seen a huge number of visitors in the past few weeks. Either people are planning to go on trips once the lockdown ends or are getting crazy and just want to see how the outer world looks like through the photos on these websites.

Jokes apart, there are many people who are interested in reading about places that they want to visit. People didn’t get much time in their busy schedules and now when everything is on a break, they are doing what they wanted to do. There are chances that the tourism industry will see a huge upward trend and will get many queries.

How to respond: Travel SEO must keep an eye on the query data and watch what kind of locations the target audience is preferring. This data can be used to inform support and PR efforts.

Effect on restaurants

Everyone around the world missed eating out so much. Restaurants with social media accounts still managed to keep their customers engaged. They made sure that their customers still think about them and the food they serve and their ambiance. Even though they were unhappy with the fact that it is uncertain when they will reopen, they did everything that they could to make sure people remember them. Some of the restaurants started delivering food online when there was relaxation provided.

It was really great to see that people accepted the restaurants they loved even in these situations and trusted them. There was an upward trend in the reach of the restaurants that had great social media marketing campaigns. It proved essential to building the trust of the customers in the region and that is why people ordered food. Overall it proved to be a great time for the restaurants that used online platforms at this time.

How to respond: One must not completely rely on local SEO, rather keep a check on the status of COVID-19 too.

Volatility Is Present In Websites

The current volatility is affecting every website on the internet. As far as volatility is concerned, a website’s own data is its weapon. Benchmarks often provide great help but it is important to keep a close eye on the company’s own query data. This will not only help in identifying the drawbacks but also in catering to the needs of the audience. It will give a detailed result on whether the company is fulfilling the needs of customers or not.

In the present scenario, the brands need to reduce their campaign speed and focus on the situation more. But the organic search must go on so that companies get recognized by the users.

How to respond: Publishing purely original and trustable content will be the most beneficial work to do regardless of any company’s SEO program. It can help in gaining visitors as well as increase a sense of trust from the readers for the company.

The bottom line

In times of concern or uncertainty, e-commerce platforms are helping to make life a little easier for everyone by providing high-quality products and services. Everyone wants to use the e-commerce platform and considers how to hire a Magento developer to build an e-commerce website. This time is also used by extremists or leaders to advance advanced technological solutions in the e-commerce space. The largest retail segments have already considered providing well-equipped services as well as expanding e-commerce sales.

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Author: Samantha Warren

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