The Importance Of SEO In A Post-COVID Recovery Phase

The Coronavirus pandemic waged war on the global economy by forcing entire countries into lockdown, and disrupting multiple supply chains. During that time, many businesses were thrown into a state of limbo where the business week came to a grinding halt, forcing them to rely on government aid packages to pay employees and maintain cash flow. Some businesses managed to weather the storm and develop new methods of serving their customers, which helped offset the damage, but many more were incapable of operating at all.

 

Whatever side of the spectrum your company fell on, there’s no denying the importance of a strong strategy for jump-starting your business as we begin returning to normal operations. One of the most important (yet overlooked) facets of this strategy is SEO, or search engine optimization. Neglecting this can have a dramatic impact on your company’s bottom line, especially as we begin making headway against the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Most companies tend to think of SEO as the search rankings on popular engines such as Google, DuckDuckGo or Bing, but that’s a generic take on the formula. The true premise behind SEO lies in organic traffic that moves as naturally as possible through the search engine formula, and is tied directly to your company’s website. These search engines take an analytical snapshot of your website, and the content within it, such as videos, images and text to determine if the information is relevant to the audience. These methods are becoming more sophisticated by the day, especially as companies like Google continue to fine-tune their search algorithms. For example, this blog article was typed on Google Docs, and within this single paragraph, Google was able to accurately predict what my phrasing would be.

 

For this reason, it’s important to understand that these search engines are difficult to fool. This is good for the consumer, as companies are continually forced to refine their website content, and keep abreast of modern design standards. Failure to abide by these ever-changing guidelines can result in your company ranking lower in search results, or being stuck on that dreaded second page!

 

Years ago, SEO was considered the wild west of the digital marketing sphere. Rules were scarce and rarely supported, which led to an emergence of “Black Hat” SEO techniques that were designed to artificially boost a company’s search rankings in order to achieve the top spot. Those days are largely over. Google and other search engines can now determine if disreputable digital marketing companies are using these techniques, and can punish them outright through a variety of methods which can have disastrous consequences for your business. Fear not – this is a good thing. It has caused most digital marketing companies to maintain impeccable standards, while weeding out the bad ones entirely.

 

SEO is so important, especially on the heels of a unique disaster such as the Covid-19 pandemic. There’s still plenty of time to optimize your company’s SEO in preparation for a full re-opening of the economy, but those days are coming to a close. Even the threat of a possible second wave won’t be enough to force countries to adopt the exact same lockdown procedures as before, which means your company needs to be ready for an influx of business. Working with the right digital marketing agency will allow your company to not only optimize its SEO rankings, but beef up your website’s impact at the same time. Many companies don’t realize that the aforementioned website content plays such a huge role in overall SEO rankings, which means it pays to have the right digital marketing firm taking a long, hard look at your site.

 

Keep in mind that some companies have taken the Covid-19 lockdowns as a sign that the business world was put on PAUSE. This is actually the wrong way to view the situation, as these companies will have a much harder time regaining the traction they might have had, before Covid-19 hit. Proactive companies have maintained their SEO rankings through a combination of organic content, website optimization and a strong social media presence, all of which tie together. If your company failed to take these steps over the last 3 months, don’t fret! There’s still time to reverse the situation, and the results can be seen in as little as 1-2 months, if you act now.

 

The early bird gets the worm, as the old saying goes. This goes double for prepping your company to emerge as an industry leader in comparison to your competition. Covid-19 will soon be a thing of the past, especially with multiple vaccines already in development. Though we will feel the economic effects for at least another 2 years, things will largely return to normal. A year out from today, we’ll be back to normal operations. Waiting for that time period is a mistake, however. There’s plenty of opportunity to take advantage of the missed opportunities left open by your competitors, and rise to the top. Make sure your customers know you’re there, and you mean business! A strong SEO strategy is paramount in achieving this goal.

 

For more information on how Operatio Marketing can help you optimize your SEO rankings and prepare you for a post-Coronavirus recovery phase, please contact us today. Let’s work together for the betterment of your goals.

Operatio Marketing: Sensyst Case Study

The benefits of having a fully functional and dedicated digital marketing agency at your disposal are self-evident only when the numbers are there to back it up. By investing in a digital marketing agency, you have an opportunity to see, in real time the organic ROI that can be generated from online campaigns and advertising initiatives that drive traffic to your website, spur lead growth, and provide more business opportunities.

 

At Operatio Marketing, we’ve always been firmly committed to working with our clients at their level, by acting as an extension of their existing team. By striving to understand a client’s business model, company culture and customer base, we effectively become attuned to their needs, while providing them with much-needed advice and guidance when it comes to strengthening their online digital presence.

 

This is evident in the relationship we have developed and maintained with Sensyst, a very popular consultancy which helps customers design trendy, attractive and functional office spaces that meet their demands and needs. Sensyst understands the importance of identifying the internal cultures of the companies they work with, including their employees, corporate creed and business goals. Meanwhile, Operatio Marketing mirrors this approach by working directly with Sensyst as an add-on module to their existing operations, which is designed to fit seamlessly into their team roster.

 

Sensyst President Rod Perry recognizes the importance of this kind of working relationship between consultant-style firms. After all, hiring an agency with such a particular specialization is entirely the point. From Sensyst’s perspective, they wish to help their clients plan out the most effective and striking office space designs imaginable, for the benefit of their customer’s internal culture, employee morale and operational efficiency. At Operatio Marketing, our perspective is to put Sensyst’s name in lights by highlighting their already established reputation, and driving organic traffic to their site, while generating new lead prospects. While discussing the topic with Mr. Perry, he replied “[Operatio Marketing] was the first company that actually came to us with a plan and a strategy, and tried to understand our business first, rather than treating us like just another account.”

 

Mr. Perry was able to see the results of his partnership with our team at Operatio after Sensyst’s ad traffic increased by 200 percent, not to mention an increase in web traffic. Our digital marketing strategy with Sensyst was designed to be fluid, and able to change on a dime, depending on market conditions and shifting industry trends. By throwing the one-size-fits-all approach out of the window, we were able to concentrate on Sensyst’s needs, and give them a clear path towards opening up new business by talking specifically to the customers most interested in their services.

 

A key component in the success of Sensyst’s digital marketing strategy involved being able to control when we spoke to these customers, as well. By strategizing pay-per-click, social media campaigns and SEO search rankings, we were able to reach Sensyst’s target market and communicate directly with them when the moment was most opportune.

Though not impossible, it’s difficult for any company, no matter how talented, to run an internal marketing and advertising campaign. Every company wants to focus on what they do best, and deliver the greatest standards to their customers. Reaching those customers however, is the real challenge. Running advertising and marketing campaigns internally presents an exceptionally difficult set of circumstances to overcome. After all, it’s much harder for companies to distract themselves with shifting patterns in the digital space, from adjustments in Google search algorithms, to changes in responsive website trends. By the time a company decides to wade into the tricky waters of SEO and social media, it’s easy to get lost.

 

Mr. Perry experienced this first hand when Sensyst attempted to run their own marketing strategy, which quickly mushroomed into an endeavor that was very difficult to keep up with. That says nothing about Sensyst’s competence, and everything about being forced to juggle everyday operations with the side business of running a marketing campaign. By off-loading this particular part of the business to a dedicated digital marketing agency, Sensyst (like any company) was free to focus on the excellent, dynamic service and skill set they provide to companies. Meanwhile, in the background, Operatio Marketing was busy maintaining Sensyst’s search rankings, social media content, blogs and digital ads, which continued to interact with new and existing customers on a personal level.

 

Sensyst continues to enjoy the success of working with Operatio Marketing, as we in turn continue to deliver for them without shirking our responsibility, and our commitment to that success. The mark of a great digital marketing agency lies in how they treat their clients. Unfortunately, many agencies are more interested in landing the contract, rather than delivering on the promise. We refuse to go down this road. Instead, we maintain a close, transparent working relationship with our clients, and communicate with them consistently via regular meetings, where we can discuss changes to their existing marketing strategy, develop new ways for them to adapt in their marketplace, and (most importantly) provide real, tangible numbers and results they can see, in real-time. This helps Sensyst gauge the level of ROI they’ve made on their initial investment, which is great news for everyone involved.

 

For more information on how Operatio Marketing can help work closely with your company to deliver a professional, polished digital marketing campaign that yields true results, why not get in touch with us today? We’d love to speak to you!

The Effect Of COVID-19 On The Real Estate Industry, And How To Cope

Like many industries and economic sectors, the Real Estate market has taken a hit over the last few months as the Coronavirus pandemic swept through across the world, triggering a series of economic landslides. While the nature of the issues surrounding the world economy are unique, they have nevertheless created an anomaly in the form of a rather unorthodox recession that could last up to 2 years.

 

With government mandated lockdowns in effect, and social distancing measures put into place, there was really nowhere for the Real Estate market to go. Banks lowered interest rates, which served no true purpose, as nobody was willing to invest during such an economically unstable period. What we were left with was a housing market on hiatus, even though the Canadian government deemed Real Estate agents as an essential service.

 

One of the major hits against the Real Estate market involved the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic breakout. The spring season was effectively a wash, after estimates had predicted a record-breaking season. In February, housing sales were already higher than normal, signaling an early start to a very profitable season. That all came to a screeching halt when Coronavirus struck, and people were forced to stay indoors while businesses were shuttered (some for good).

 

To compensate, some Real Estate agents got creative by prioritizing the digital space. Virtual meetings between agents and prospective buyers and sellers became a top priority, much the same as other industries had leveraged the online sphere in an attempt to craft new ways of doing business. Open House demonstrations largely ceased in favor of virtual showings, especially after the Real Estate Council of Ontario and the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board weighed in.

 

Big cities like Toronto will weather the storm, even through the longer term, however. The mixture of limited inventory and pent-up demand means that the market in Southern Ontario will spring back much quicker than predicted, if the numbers prove to be correct. Other parts of Canada will see fluctuating results, especially when it comes to smaller municipalities largely dependent on small businesses that may, or may not have gone under.

 

As we climb out of the tail-end of the Coronavirus pandemic and enter the recovery stage, things will largely get back on track as they were before. The fallout will remain for the next 12-24 months, but it’s a great time to leverage digital marketing in preparation for the economic rebound. Real Estate agents should plan ahead when it comes to their digital presence, their websites and advertising mediums, such as social media. Planning an effective digital marketing strategy right now will help boost business when buyers regain a stable financial footing. Many are willing to buy right now, provided the market shows signs of recovery. That means lining all your ducks up in a row to take advantage of the massive consumer demand in places like Southern Ontario.

 

Having a strong social media presence is again, key to effecting an excellent digital marketing strategy. Real Estate agents work best when they’re down-to-earth, personable and friendly, which means keeping in touch with potential clients on various social media platforms is an absolute must. It’s also a great medium for showing off houses available for purchase.

 

Similarly, all social media accounts should backtrack to a Real Estate agent’s website, with an easy to access list of available homes for purchase. This is where SEO becomes an important and vital component of the process. Real Estate SEO is particularly competitive, which means getting the right digital marketing team on the job is crucial for standing out from the competition. They know the ins and outs of the SEO sphere, and they’ll work with you to push your name higher in search rankings, while continuously monitoring patterns and trends to maintain your standing. A great digital marketing company will provide tangible, real-world results that you can see via regular reports, to track your progress.

 

Similarly, Pay-Per-Click marketing can be beneficial for Real Estate agents, especially since rates are still down due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Take advantage right now, to boost your leads! Again, your digital marketing company plays a huge role here. Managing PPC campaigns can be complex and time-consuming, so it’s better to hand it off to those who understand how it fits together with the scale of your overall campaign. By tying everything together into a cohesive platform, Real Estate agents will be ready to get back to work, and put buyers into new homes.

 

For more information on how the right digital marketing campaign can jump-start your post-Coronavirus Real Estate sales boom, get in touch with us today!