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COVID-19 challenges webinar - the impact of coronavirus on organic search.

Picture of Raza Kazi

2 mins read

There’s no doubt you have concerns and questions about what’s next for your business. We’re in an unprecedented situation and the coronavirus pandemic has already impacted many individuals and businesses. To do our bit, we decided to bring along five industry leaders for our webinar series: helping marketing and sales professionals navigate the challenges caused by COVID-19.

At Digital 22, one of the tools we use for our SEO efforts is SEMrush. It makes sense, considering SEO is a huge part of inbound marketing. So, our final guest of the week was Fernando Angulo, Head of Communications at SEMrush. If you couldn’t make it to the live webinar, you can still check out the video below - free and ungated.

 

Spoiler alert - nobody really knows what will happen next. We can all only focus on what’s happening now and why. That’s exactly what Fernando did. He highlighted what Google looked like back in 2010, how it evolved in 2018 to provide clearer results and also what happened when the BERT algorithm came into play.

But in 2020, there’s been another big change. When you search coronavirus, you’ll see something totally different as with this implementation, you’ll get the news, you’ll get top stories, FAQs and lots of information that’s visible. There’s also red text to show which information is important - this isn’t something we’ve seen in the past.

Fernando also explained that this situation is impacting local SEO. Google now highlights which restaurants offer takeout options and Google Maps is following its lead by showing availability using a second title.

Make sure to hit the play button to hear more about SERP volatility, how it’s slowed down in April 2020 and why that’s a good thing. Also, make sure to stick around to the end as Fernando explained why remote working platforms, home fitness, streaming platforms and food delivery companies are the biggest winners in organic search.

He also showed data highlighting how events, airlines and hotels have suffered the most. For a quick takeaway, here are some tips Fernando mentioned you should action:

  • Fix or remove thin or outdated content and aggressive ads.
  • User experience wins, so improve the relevance of your content.
  • Ensure there are no technical SEO issues.
  • Answering any COVID-19 questions or comments? Make sure you do it with empathy.
  • Publish educational, informative and inclusive content to show you’re not on the sidelines of this situation.

He went into more depth for the tips above and shared even more. I highly recommend checking it out, as he may also have answered any lingering questions you have.

Joining Fernando this week, we had four other expert guests to help you in these testing times. Earlier in the week, we were joined by: 

As I mentioned, SEMrush is a valuable tool in the Digital 22 offices. We use it ourselves and also for our clients as it plays a pivotal role in our inbound marketing efforts. A common theme all of our guests shared was that you shouldn’t stop all of your efforts entirely. 

However, inbound itself can be quite a beast to get your head around, especially if you’re new to it.

To understand the ins and outs of inbound marketing and just how much is involved (and why it actually works), I’d recommend checking out (and bookmarking) the all-in-one guide to inbound marketing. From SEO and PPC to content marketing and social media, there’s so much involved you need to be aware of.

Get your copy of the all-in-one guide using the link below.