How to market your business in a time of uncertainty

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, described the coronavirus pandemic as a nationwide “economic emergency” and acknowledged that businesses large and small had not “faced an economic challenge of this size in the peacetime era”.

As growing numbers of businesses are forced to close their doors as part of self-isolation regimes designed to protect society’s most vulnerable from the threat of COVID-19, it’s more important than ever for businesses of all shapes and sizes to have an online presence.

While the commercial impact of reduced physical footfall is certain to be damaging for many businesses, those that can operate and sell their goods or services online are well-placed to benefit from shifts in consumer behaviour in the coming weeks and months.

That’s why it’s more important than ever for businesses to be agile and allocate time and energy into digital marketing to help maintain a sense of normality and give your brand a competitive edge over fellow retailers that may be slower to react online.

The huge benefit of digital marketing is that it is wholly measurable. Business owners can obtain a very detailed overview of their return on investment (ROI), determining the digital channels that generate the highest number and the best quality of leads – making every penny count.

Whether you are a landscaping business, an electrical wholesaler or an accountancy firm, organic search marketing is important to build a brand, develop trust and advocacy from regionalised and localised consumers and cement your business as an expert in its field. Search marketing is a long game. Now more than ever, it’s crucial to stay the course and ensure your website is optimised for relevant traffic that still needs you.

The issue for many small businesses is that they simply don’t have an accurate benchmark of their online visibility and presence, compared with other local or regional competitors.

Benefit from free audits of your business’ online visibility

Unity Online are committed to providing businesses with free audits of their website’s search marketing performance and visibility. For time-poor business owners, their audits can provide a clear overview of how your website is performing in the major search engines, pinpointing key areas for improvement that could be the difference in these troubled times.

The comprehensive search engine optimisation (SEO) audits are undertaken online, with no physical contact necessary with the team of digital consultants. They are ready and waiting to assess the following search metrics for your business:

• Common SEO factors
  We’ll assess the various on-page ranking factors and SEO best practices for the entirety of your website.
• Speed optimisation
  We’ll test the page speed of your landing pages to ensure loading times provide the best possible user experience.
• Server and security tests
  We’ll make sure your website is secured with Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) to protect the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive data shared by consumers to your business.
• Mobile usability
  We’ll measure how effective your website is at providing an intuitive, cross-platform user experience.
• Advanced SEO factors
  Our Google Analytics certified consultants will also delve deeper into more technical SEO aspects of your website.
• Backlink profile analysis
  We’ll assess the volume and quality of links pointing back to your business from other websites.
• Organic and keyword rankings
  We’ll provide a clear benchmark of your website’s performance for revenue-driving search terms and pinpoint high-volume, low-competition keywords to target in future.
• Competitor analysis
  We’ll compare the organic search presence of competitors in your region, to give you a clear picture of where your business stands.
• Content quality checks
  We’ll review all on-page content to guard against duplicate content issues that can affect search rankings, whilst ensuring your copy provides the best possible user experience.
• Effects of Google algorithm changes
  We’ll keep our fingers firmly on the pulse of key updates to Google’s algorithms and ascertain whether your website has been affected.

In the face of adversity, Unity Online implores businesses to take a different digital path with their qualified team of in-house digital specialists.

To arrange your business’ free SEO audit, get in touch with Unity Online today and they will do the rest.