If we were to make a list of the “years the world changed,” 2020 would definitely be up there.
In just a few short months, both businesses and consumers have rushed toward the digital landscape, altering shopping habits and operations in almost the blink of an eye.
If that sounds like an overstatement, consider this:
At the beginning of 2020, only about 4% of workers in the U.S. clocked in remotely.
During COVID-19, that number sprang to 77%. PwC believes that some 55% of workers will continue to remain remote at least part-time.
Likewise, McKinsey suggests that the “flight to online” is more than just a reaction to lockdown. It’s a new way of interacting with brands and it’s here to stay.
Remote work and digital operations are now the new norm, two things that many businesses will struggle to adapt. But growing in this direction is already proving critical if you hope to have any chance to survive.
From positioning your brand online to digitizing your operations, you’ve got your work cut out for you. You need the right tools as much as you need the right people with the right expertise.
Here’s why, and how platforms like Fiverr Business can help.
Why SEO Is More Important Than Ever
Remember all those internet gurus who were once claiming that “SEO is dead”? Boy, are they turning out to be dead wrong!
SEO will be dead when search engines are dead, and if there’s anything getting more central to our lives right now, it’s Google.
In 2020, we saw a tremendous shift toward digital business due to many of the events that transpired.
Google, which handles 92% of all search traffic, reportedly handled an average of 3.5 billion searches each day (or 1.25 trillion searches yearly) in April 2020. Fast forward to September 2020, and that number had doubled – we rounded out the year with an estimated 2.5 trillion searches.
What are all those eyeballs looking for on Google?
Your business – and its content.
Why Content Strategy & SEO Strategy Are Business Strategy
Content – your blogs, webpages, even lead magnets like your ebooks – have long had a reputation for being busywork. For many years, that’s how businesses treated it: endless lists of topics and keywords and editorial calendars … and all for what, again?
Well, because everyone was doing it.
And while everyone is still doing it, the fact that people primarily turn to Google for answers means that content is your key to getting discovered. Without it, you have no hope of surviving this new digital reality.
The statistics don’t lie.
Content creates:
- More chances to get found. Brands with a blog have 434% more indexed pages on Google than those without one.
- More reasons for others to link (and drive traffic) to you. Brands that blog regularly get 97% more backlinks than those without one.
- More consumers a reason to buy from you. Brands that post 16 or more blogs each month generate 5x more leads.
In short, blogs mean more spots on Google, more people talking about you, and more leads. Your content helps you get found on the search engines, but you still have to help the search engine find it.
That’s the role of SEO.
If you still believe that SEO is only about creating keyword-stuffed pages, you’re about 15 years behind.
These days, search engine optimization and content creation are very closely linked. In fact, good SEO strategies emphasize brand building – and you can only build a brand by developing a reputation for putting out high-quality, authoritative, trustworthy content that positions you as an expert in a field.
See where this is going?
In this new era where everything is moving digital, you must be using content strategically, to position yourself as the authoritative answer that your target audience is looking for in Google.
If it helps, think of it this way: your optimized web content is how you put yourself in the direct digital path of your customers. You must do that now, because…
You Don’t Have Time to Wait Months to ‘Get Discovered’
The fact that the daily search volume on Google doubled in just four months tells us that a new norm exists. Getting your content and your SEO up to speed to win you those organic spots in the SERPs can help you take advantage of this.
But you need to do it now. Not in another year. Not even in another four months. That means nailing:
- The right keywords. You’ll need to look for specific, long-tail keywords with low competition – the ones that your competitors missed.
- The right content. Like making a strong first impression, emphasize ultra-authoritative content from the start.
- The right team. From your core team to your auxiliary freelancers, having the right team assembled gives you the tools and expertise you need.
Think that’s too much work?
Imagine paying thousands of dollars for PPC ads every month – only to have them take all of your traffic with them the moment you stop paying.
Now imagine creating a single, comprehensive piece of pillar content around which the rest of your content is developed that holds a top spot in the SERPs for two years – and how many leads that single piece can generate – without you lifting a finger.
That’s the new normal that you must embrace. Here’s how to do it.
How to Get Seamless Collaboration with a Remote SEO Provider
Embracing this new digital reality may require bringing new talent on board.
For many, that’s an SEO provider who can help steer your brand toward visibility in the search engines.
But before you reach out for that specialist, make sure you’re prepared to support seamless collaboration with your remote SEO provider and the other members of your team.
Here are five ways to seamlessly work with a digital provider.