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Is It Wise To Invest In SEO During Coronavirus? Semalt Knows The Answer


Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you're probably aware that 2020 has been the year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Not only has the crisis forced countries into national lockdowns, but international travel almost came to a complete standstill. That's before we even get to the serious health implications and ongoing risks of the pandemic.

But what does this have to do with SEO? Well, actually, quite a lot.

The scale of the coronavirus pandemic has led to many companies moving their businesses online. Often for the first time. 

This has coincided with people being confined to their homes and embracing remote working. Also, often for the first time.

As a result, the level of internet use has skyrocketed. And it's expected to stay that way as more companies evolve into online businesses and make working from home a long-term option for staff.

After years of experts predicting e-commerce and digitalisation would eventually take over from bricks and mortar businesses, it appears to be happening. Almost overnight.

That means the online world is about to become even more crowded, making it more important to invest in digital marketing and SEO than ever before.

Coronavirus and SEO

E-commerce and online businesses were already enjoying steady growth before coronavirus. But the pandemic has led to a boom in people shopping and conducting business online. 

So, if you have an online business but you don't know much about SEO, then this is a good time to invest in some SEO tools.   

Yes, even though a recession is expected to head our way.

As soon as people start talking about a financial crisis, it can be tempting to put your head in the sand and wait for it to blow over. But the businesses and brands that survive times of crisis are the ones that stay visible.

SEO can help a business to stay visible and even send new customers your way.

How? By ensuring your website is in tip-top condition and is optimized to be found by search engines like Google.

What can SEO do? 

In case you don't already know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

That means that a selection of tools and techniques are rolled out across a website so that search engines can find it in the vast world of the internet. 

With so much content available online, it can be easy for a blog, a landing page or an entire website to get lost in the crowd. But the more that content is optimized for search engine algorithms, the more competitive it becomes. That's when a website starts to appear higher up in the results.

Sounds simple, right?

It should be, but search engines regularly change their algorithms. So, what worked last year, or even earlier this year, might not work now.

However, there are some techniques that stand the test of time, and one of them is the use of relevant keywords.

Keywords are individual words or phrases that people are searching for online. 

For example, someone searching for chocolate might type into Google, "best milk chocolate" or "independent chocolate maker". If those words are featured in your website content in the right places, Google will find your site and rank it within the results. 

Even still, keywords alone are not a guarantee hitting the top spots. You then need to think about meta tags, optimizing headlines and images, link building and creating unique content.

That's where working with professionals comes in.

SEO and digital marketing experts are skilled at raising the profile of business websites. And in times like these, investing in expertise can go a long way.

Semalt is one such company that can help to get your website noticed. 

Semalt and SEO 

If you're not already familiar with Semalt, here is a quick introduction.

Semalt is a Full-stack Digital Agency based in Kyiv, Ukraine. It has a team of more than 100 creative IT and marketing professionals - plus pet turtle Turbo - and works with clients from around the world.

The core services at Semalt are SEO promotion, web development, advanced analytics, and explainer video production.

With a background firmly rooted in digital technology, Semalt has been creating unique SEO solutions for years to get customers to the top of Google search results. 

And, as anyone that uses the internet will tell you, the top spot is where all companies want to be.

Why? Because appearing in the top spot not only boosts web traffic and raises visibility, but it ultimately leads to attracting more customers.  

That's why SEO is so important. Even when facing a potential recession.

Still not convinced? Let's take a look at a Semalt success story. 

Increasing organic traffic


A UK-based online portal for searching and buying franchises wanted to boost organic traffic to their website.

As the business operated in a competitive niche, it meant Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns were expensive to run. That's why the business owner turned to SEO for an inexpensive way to generate more traffic.

After nine months with Semalt, these were the results: 
  • Organic traffic up by 303 per cent
  • 5,782 keywords in TOP-10
  • Visits per month increased by 2,184 
How did Semalt do it?

The team started by fixing technical errors like the website's PageSpeed performance and generating an up-to-date sitemap. Images were also optimized with keywords in alt tags.

Next, Semalt kicked off a link building campaign to align with a selection of keywords related to types of franchises. This got the website to rank in Google TOP-10, with a secondary customized campaign that reached the highly competitive Google TOP-5 position.

As a result, the client is now a leading company in the franchise trading industry. Impressive results after less than a year with Semalt. 

Getting started with SEO  

At Semalt, there are two ways to get started with SEO - AutoSEO and FullSEO.

Let's take a look at what you can get with each solution to find out which one is best suited to you. 

AutoSEO 

For smaller businesses that want to increase site traffic, AutoSEO is a great starting point. 

Perhaps you're not ready to make a big investment. Or you want to see some solid results first? Then AutoSEO is an inexpensive way to sample SEO, especially for beginners. 

The service starts with a report on the current status of a website. This is then followed by a full analysis by an SEO expert to spot errors and identify improvements to be made. 

Next, an SEO Engineer selects relevant traffic-generating keywords. Then Semalt's technology starts building links to niche-related web resources, with sites chosen according to domain age and Google Trust Rank.

Once the tools are in place, Semalt provides AutoSEO customers with daily updates on where the keywords are ranking. The team also prepares regular analytical reports to assess the success of the campaign.

All of this helps a website to move up the search engine ranks with AutoSEO promising 100 per cent effectiveness. 

FullSEO 

FullSEO is a step further. It provides integrated SEO solutions for larger businesses or people with several companies. It's also a great option for those ready to invest a little more money into optimising a website. 

The FullSEO package is based on in-depth analysis, with a focus on unique content creation. The aim is for significant website traffic growth and to send a website to Google-TOP.

With FullSEO, Semalt's team ensures that a website is fully compliant with SEO standards. This is done by: 
  • Creating meta tags for keywords
  • Improving the website HTML code
  • Removing broken links
  • Enhancing website interlinking 
Other benefits of FullSEO include full assistance from Semalt for website development and the creation of original SEO-friendly content.  

Working with Semalt

With both AutoSEO and FullSEO, you will work with talented Semalt writers, SEO specialists and engineers to optimize your website and create SEO-friendly content. 

Semalt's team has years of experience in creating unique content for the online sector. The writers are guided by SEO best practices and are committed to presenting a finished product that ticks all the right boxes. 

The result is a positive return on investment and long-term growth for your business. 

That's why it's wise to invest in SEO during coronavirus. 

In many ways, the future may be uncertain, but when it comes to growing an online business, SEO is here to stay.