As a marketer, you know the crucial importance of monitoring consumer interest on an ongoing basis during the pandemic. One simple way to keep your ad content fresh across your brand's social platforms and in search results is to focus on your keyword choices in a whole new way.
Google data finds that 49% of shoppers surveyed say they use Google to discover or find a new item or product, so analyzing and selecting the right keyword strategy is crucial to boost your brand at this challenging time.
The great news is that revamping your keyword strategy to meet your existing and potential customers’ needs right now is easier than ever. Here are five out-of-the-box, highly effective rules you can immediately put into practice to accomplish this goal quickly.
Here are the moves to make:
Reevaluate your campaigns like your competition would.
The brands trying to outsell you are experts at seeing your copy strengths and weaknesses, as you are at seeing theirs. Do as your competition does — get completely objective and break down your copy critically.
Is every word, phrase and reference in your copy as relevant and timely as it can be considering today's economic and social conditions? Pre-pandemic copy that moved product because it's fun and frivolous most likely won't feel appropriate in tone today. Do a total overhaul on any ad that doesn't fit your audience's current needs, mood or circumstances.
Avoid keyword blocking.
The Drum finds that a "broad stroke" practice, in which marketers choose to avoid product placement or ads next to content that may be depressing or references negative topics, is outdated in the age of COVID-19.
Your consumers will not reject your product if it happens to be adjacent to a story about serious illness or even death in today's climate. These references are unfortunately a part of the pandemic, and people have had to accept this.
Since web traffic is extraordinarily high, you want your ads to be seen, so don't limit your exposure, and trust that your audience is discerning enough to separate your products from bad news.
Do detailed, local marketing searches of trending keywords.
Per Rio SEO, three important terms that marketers should look for are "BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store)," "contactless payment, pickup, and delivery," and "accurate store hours." Tailor your ad copy to show consumers in your area that you can fulfill their needs in these ways immediately and conveniently.
Be a people-pleaser to the max.
Ask your existing customer base to write an ad for a given product of yours that you want to push. Work up a campaign in which you publish their ads on your site and across your platforms, using their wording to ensure keywords that are going to sell.
A bonus to this approach is that you'll know what features your core audience likes about your product right now. You can then use that info to adjust your content and perfect new keyword effectiveness. Plus, when your customers see their ads published, they'll be pleased.
Perfect your pivot.
A Google blog from this year shows that reassessing campaigns on a constant basis is a necessity. Monitor your content daily and get rid of anything that feels dated or is not connecting with your consumer base. But, don't overthink things, as you may have in the past. Go with your gut.
Ride the wave of what society is experiencing on an hourly, daily and weekly basis and make adjustments part of your routine. This is a great way to ensure you'll be in sync with your customers — and that your keyword strategy will be a winning one.
