SEO Is Marketers’ Top Priority During COVID-19, Survey Finds

In the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, many companies across industries see continued investment in SEO during COVID-19 as a priority. That’s the main takeaway from a survey by Conductor, a U.S. digital marketing company.

How Are Companies Managing Marketing During the Crisis?

Conductor surveyed 317 companies to find out how they were handling marketing during the COVID-19 crisis. Respondents came from a range of sectors: 24% B2B, 12% retail, 11% healthcare, 10% media, with the rest including automotive, travel, financial services, and manufacturing.

The verdict: even though marketing budgets are shrinking, goals haven’t changed. In many sectors, budgets are holding steady or dipping slightly. But 20% of respondents expect their marketing budget to drop significantly.

Given the evolving COVID-19 situation, what do you plan to do with your marketing budget?

• 45%: decrease slightly
• 27%: keep it the same
• 20%: decrease significantly
• 7%: increase slightly
• 2%: increase significantly

On marketing goals, 68% said they were staying the same (32%) or going up (36%). But companies know those goals will be harder to hit because of the pandemic: 86% said their marketing goals would be harder to reach this year.

SEO, the Channel That Matters Most

Hitting those goals takes several channels, and organic search (SEO) plays a major role. So Conductor asked respondents whether SEO was becoming more or less important during the crisis. The answer was decisive: 63% said SEO would become more important, either somewhat (34%) or significantly (29%). Only 5% said it would become less important.

SEO was also the best-performing channel in 2019 for 66% of respondents, ahead of paid search and email marketing, both at 50%. The message is clear: in tough times, don’t let up on SEO. Keep investing.

What was your best-performing channel in 2019?

• 66%: SEO
• 50%: paid search
• 50%: email marketing
• 36%: content marketing
• 26%: online advertising
• 18%: paid media buys
• 14%: social media
• 11%: webinars
• 8%: affiliate marketing
• 4%: influencer marketing
• 3%: subscriptions
• 3%: SMS
• 2%: push notifications
• 1%: in-app messaging

Respondents were also asked about the impact of a global recession. Cutting budget was the top response, at 58%. Investing in SEO came in second, at 34%, more proof of how much companies value it.

How would a global recession affect your marketing strategy?

• 58%: we would cut our budget
• 34%: we would invest more in lower-cost channels such as SEO
• 29%: we would raise the bar for ROI
• 28%: we would invest less in high-cost channels such as paid media
• 25%: we would reduce the size of our marketing team
• 23%: we would invest more in digital marketing

What the Survey Tells Us

The study shows that SEO plays a central role in business marketing. It’s the best-performing channel, and other research backs that up (here’s why investing in SEO pays off over time). According to Patrick Reinhart, a vice president at Conductor, investing in SEO now will pay off significantly once the crisis is over.

Bottom line: investing in SEO today sets your business up to benefit when the recovery comes. For practical next steps, read our COVID-19 marketing strategies for small businesses and our SEO tips for reopening after lockdown.

Convinced? Let’s Get Your Website Ready for the Recovery

Référenceur is a French-speaking digital marketing agency from Belgium and Luxembourg, and we work with businesses remotely, through video calls, shared screens, and monthly reporting. Get a free assessment of your SEO, or see how our SEO agency services work.