One industry that didn’t see a downturn as a result of COVID-19 is SEO. With the scramble to move businesses online, the demand for SEO strategists has risen. However, crises such as COVID-19 tend to separate the amateurs from the professionals. Volatile markets have forced Google to adjust the SERP and as a result, everything we thought we knew about SEO and search traffic needs to be reevaluated.
E-commerce Sites Selling Essentials Have Gained More Traffic
It comes as no surprise that people are turning to the internet to provide the essentials for living. Just as stores have been overcrowded with people looking to buy food and other essentials, online sales of essentials has also grown. Businesses that sell items such as food, water, toilet paper, etc. have experienced rapid growth in website traffic. E-commerce SEO’s might be able to help deal with this by creating pages specifically for items in high demand. Reworking sites to make navigation easy will help increase the overall effectiveness of the sit to accommodate the influx of traffic.
Health and Wellness Search Traffic Has Increased
Aside from looking for essentials online, people have also increased their searches regarding health and wellness. One evaluation shows that this is mainly due to individuals searching for “Coronavirus Symptoms”. This is important because as individuals turn to search engines to answer medical questions, SEO’s need to make sure that sites are optimized and ready to answer these important questions.
People Are Learning How to Cook
One exciting aspect of these search traffic changes is that it seems more and more people are trying their hand at a new skill. As people are stuck at home, (or more likely unable to go eat out) they are searching for new simple recipes to try at home. One way to meet the increased demand for recipes is to use recipe structured data to improve the way recipes show up in search results.
Travel Sites Are Working to Boost Their Search Traffic
Another effect of COVID-19 on search traffic is in regard to travel websites. Several people are searching for canceled flights or planned vacations. However, a big reason for this increase in traffic has to do with people searching for cheap flights. As airlines have canceled flights, those still open are working to bring in new customers by reducing their cost. It’s important to note that while flight searches are up, hotel rates and cruises seem to be trending down. Travel SEO’s can deal with this change by closing monitoring search data to determine what aspects of travel need to present in order to boost sales and PR.
COVID-19 has created uncertain times for everyone. However, an SEO strategist can help the situation by analyzing data to help individuals find the information they need. Now, more than ever, people are turning to the internet to find answers, and it’s the privilege of SEO specialists to help present those answers in a clear manner by evaluating data and responding accordingly.
Effect Web Agency provides SEO services for local, regional, national, and international clients. Contact us to learn how you can improve your online visibility.
