It stands to reason that companies would begin reducing digital marketing efforts, due to the downturn in the global economy during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, while reducing marketing spending may seem, intuitively, to the be the smart choice, the drop in search demand for your brand and/or products may actually indicate that you need to take precisely the opposite action.
It may be time to increase your bids
You many have noticed that the prices of pay-per-click ads have been dropping in certain industries. This is because many companies have stopped or reduced their bids for ads. There has been no corresponding reduction in internet traffic, meaning that your audience is still browsing and is still there to see your ads. You can now reach them at a fraction of the price than you previously would have been able to. So, far from reducing your ad spend, it’s time to ratchet it up!
Email marketing still works
Even if you do decide to reduce spending in some areas of digital marketing, you should still keep your email marketing steady – or even increase it. Email doesn’t cost you much, so you have very little to gain from cutting it – and plenty to gain from continuing to use it extensively. You may not be able to influence search demand to your liking but you can compensate for this through upscaling your email efforts. Hitting people’s inboxes directly is more reliable than taking your chances with search engines.
Pulling back on SEO now will affect your rankings later on
While it may be true that there is a reduction in search demand, it would be very short-sighted to cut back on your SEO work as a result of this. Demand will return to normal and when it does, your SEO homework should all be perfectly executed so that you can maintain and even increase your rankings.
In short, while it may seem that a reduction in digital marketing is now called for, the best the thing to do is carry on regardless. Through increased pay-per-click activity – now at a reduced price, you can get much better return on ad spend (ROAS). Through continued email campaigns, you can maintain your presence in spite of search demand reduction. Finally, with sustained SEO work you can ensure that you’re in a prime position when search demand returns to normal.
WSI OMS can help you modify and perfect your digital marketing campaigns during the COVID-19 crisis. Contact us for more information.