As a business owner, you know that due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, it has not been “business as usual” for nearly a year. With widespread lockdowns across the world, consumers and businesses alike have had to increasingly turn to digital solutions. This can be seen in lifestyle shifts like increased usage of meal delivery and grocery pick-up services. While these particular changes might seem small, the truth is that the shift to digital business models has been revolutionary for companies worldwide.
While businesses around the planet have scrambled to adjust their business models and find solutions that work for today’s reality, one form of marketing has proven time and again to be both efficient and measurable: search engine optimization (SEO). Both Google and SEO grew immensely during the last financial crisis. Here are just a few reasons why SEO is indispensable in the age of COVID-19 and beyond:
- SEO reflects the voice of the customer.
If you track and measure the searches that bring visitors to your website, you will see which search terms and phrases are being used most often and how well your website answers those queries. This gives you valuable insight into what your customers are looking for. Put simply, they search for what they need.
For example, if you notice that searches are increasing for how to fix a damaged hearing aid, or how to adjust a hearing aid’s volume, you can take this as a cue to play up these services and highlight them both on your website and in your practice. Few other forms of marketing provide you such a direct glimpse into the voice, needs, and desires of your target market.
- It is cost-effective.
While some people might think that SEO is completely free, it often is not. For maximum optimization for your hearing healthcare website, you will likely need to work with a professional who knows all of the ins and outs of SEO for fields like audiology. Certain search marketing tactics cost as well, such as Google Ads. But while SEO might not be totally free, it is cost-effective. When done right, SEO can give you a huge return on a relatively small investment.
- SEO is constantly evolving.
Yes, this is a pro, not a con! The world of SEO is always growing and shifting to better meet the needs of consumers. Of course, this means that you cannot have SEO “done” for your website just once and then leave it be for years. SEO is fluid and, as noted, responds to the voice of the consumer.
These constant shifts allow for greater opportunities. New technology, like artificial intelligence (AI), is moving into SEO to give better responses to customers’ queries. Because SEO will always respond to consumers, you will have frequent opportunities to sharpen your blade and make changes to your website and optimization efforts in order to gain new customers. For more information about the recent shift in consumer behavior and business marketing, and how you can take advantage of these changes to grow your hearing practice, we welcome you to contact us today at AudiologyPlus.
