Issue #42: Digital Marketing in Covid – What We’ve Learned
Web traffic up, web traffic down, leads up, leads down, engagement up, engagement down… yes, this is the roller coaster of digital marketing in Covid 2020! Over the last 5 months, we’ve helped hundreds of clients navigate this unique time in online marketing history from website optimization to social media marketing to paid digital advertising. While it’s been a wild ride indeed, we’re excited to share of few of the lessons we’ve learned:
When life gives you lemons, make online lemonade.
In March and April, when most markets were in full shutdown, many companies experienced a dip in web traffic and search volume. However, as the majority of businesses pulled back from paid advertising, we encouraged our SEOversite and iScreamSocialMedia clients to ramp up paid social ads and PPC, making the most of lower cost-per-clicks and stealing market share. As May arrived, we saw a 10%-20% year over year (YOY) increase in web traffic, which doubled in June and July, showing a 25%-40% YOY increase. That’s tremendous success in the world of digital marketing!
Make hay when the sun shines online.
Hold on to your seatbelts, because another drop may be around the corner… We anticipate web traffic and leads will stay stead or decline, potentially through the end of October or beyond. In part, the back-to-school season and end of the warm weather causes this time of year for many businesses to be weak. Further, when traffic tends to increase for products and services as cold weather hits, people are indoors shopping online more, folks plan for holiday surgery, vacation, and gifts, we may experience headwinds due to a cure or possible Covid-19 cure being announced leading to more people staying inside anticipating their dose of a vaccine or similar solution. In other words, the rollercoaster will continue.
Over the last 5 months, we’ve learned, and we predicted in advance, that in a pandemic, you will have good months and bad months, but it’s how you take advantage of the bright spots that count. For instance, Google searches for “what’s open near me” have increased by more than 60%, so optimizing your Google My Business and SEO gives you an edge over local competition. Additionally, 45% of consumers report spending more time on their smartphone since the pandemic, so it’s prudent to invest in improving your mobile website experience to get higher peaks and less dramatic drops.
Digital Marketing in Covid – Keep the Engine Running
Even in a shutdown, amusement park roller coasters still need to operate daily for maintenance. (These oversized teddy bears sure had fun during the shutdown!) Similarly, when our clients temporarily closed last spring, we still advised continuing current digital marketing efforts like SEO, which always needs a consistent and long-term commitment in the same way electricity and water are an integral part of daily business life, in addition to investing more in Google Adwords and Facebook Ads. Those that did are now reaping the benefits of record-breaking lead count (our clients are seeing an approximate 30% increase in leads from this time last year), organic traffic, and total website visitor count.
Get out of your comfort zone online and listen to the digital marketing experts
Have you been conservative with digital marketing since Covid? Working with our team is like putting your hands in the air on Splash Mountain – it’s scary to let go, but we’ll make sure you arrive safely to your destination having more fun than you thought you would. In the last few months, those who selected SEOversite improved their Google search rankings and organic traffic from SEO, won business online with new website designs, drove local leads through geotargeted Facebook and Instagram advertising, captured more Google leads with high-performing pay-per-click Google Ad campaigns, and built customer engagement through creative and authentic social feeds. We’d love the opportunity to serve your business too.
If you feel your digital marketing has stalled, or worse declined, reach out to learn more about the innovative ways we are helping our clients take advantage of this prosperous time online, and customize your strategy, and how that’s led to our 2020 inclusion (our 3rd year in a row) on Inc. Magazine’s list of the 5,000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America.
Get in touch here or call (305) 455-0720 for a free strategy chat with our team.