How To Be An Effective Marketer & Remain True To Your Brand In Today’s Complex Climate

Human behavior is shifting dramatically due to COVID-19 – similarly, online search behavior is changing. Many industries were well poised for shifts in the market and online interactions – just as many are struggling to adapt. There is plenty of room for small businesses and young brands to find their footing amid today’s challenges. New research consolidates information from tens of thousands of advertisers to understand the impact of COVID-19 on pay-per-click advertising. There is no shortage of viable, tactical ways companies can adjust their plans to mitigate losses and maintain momentum during the crisis.

First off, and perhaps most obviously, brick and mortar businesses are taking a big hit. If you’re a small business and are not already online in some capacity, now is the time to design a simple website, optimize your site for Google search, get social media up and running, get active on Google My Business, and start selling products online.

Next, COVID-19 is dominating search terms. This does not mean that your business needs to somehow push out content relating to the virus just to maximize traffic – however, having a good sense of today’s search trends and following the types of searches that are peripherally relevant to COVID-19 and your business can help you to understand people’s priorities, interests and needs.

Because people are spending so much time at home and are sedentary, mobile traffic has gone down about 25%. The “mobile-first” philosophy that has dominated tech and SEO for the past several years is being challenged for the first time. Desktop traffic is slightly steadier – making mobile search a lower priority campaign strategy for PPC and beyond. Moreover, while searches on Google are declining somewhat, cross-network opportunities are rich – in general, internet use is up about 50% since the pandemic took root. People are still active on the web; they’re just looking in different places. Advertising across social media websites and video platforms are huge opportunity areas given people’s digital habits today.

If you’re looking for ways to adjust to today’s increasingly complex digital ecosystem, ASTRALCOM can help. Get in touch today.