How COVID-19 has Influenced Search Behaviour

We all are aware of the COVID 19 pandemic also known as Corona Virus.

Everybody is locked in their homes and have started practicing social distancing as a precautionary measure. Countries have imposed lockdown as a measure to curb this virus. Nobody has any idea as to how many people are affected and how many more will be affected. There is a cure as of now as well which makes the scenario even grimmer.

In India, the cases are growing at a rate of 1500+ a day and now the new cases that are showing up are asymptomatic which means they are not showing any symptoms. This has induced panic among the residents.

This lockdown has also had an adverse impact on businesses. Most of the industries have been severely impacted due to the lockdown and the impact of this lockdown is expected to stay even after this pandemic has ended.

The travel industry has taken the worst hit. Aviation and Transport are industries that are also suffering as they have lost their source of revenue and are facing layoffs and salary cuts. The companies who could afford to pay the employees in the lockdown are doing so but not every company can do so.

OYO one of the hotel industries’ biggest layers has sent its employees on an 8-week unpaid leave and has also announced a salary deduction 25% of all the employees.

The digital marketing industry has also been influenced by this COVID 19 induced lockdown.

The search trends have seen a sudden shift and there has been a change in the search behavior of the users as most of the users are staying at home.

From an SEO role standpoint, this is a very crucial time as one must adapt to the rapidly changing scenario.

The websites that were serving non-essential commodities have seen a negative impact on their traffic while the websites providing essential commodities and services have seen a rapid increase in the traffic volume.

All the E-Commerce websites that are selling essentials have notice skyrocketing traffic. There has been a sudden increase in search for Hand Sanitizers, Masks, and Toilet Paper.

The websites dealing with health and wellness content and products have also seen a rapid surge in the traffic within a noticeably short duration.

The travel industry even though it is not operating has been noticing a moderate increase in traffic which is mostly due to the people looking for cancellations and who are looking for cheaper flight tickets after this lockdown. As people are thinking that the Airlines will be providing tickets at a Very Discounted rate after this lockdown is lifted.

These industries are focusing on ORM (Online Reputation Management) and Consumer Support.

Content-based websites or Blogs have seen a high rise in the traffic as people are searching for what is happening and want to stay updated & the most recommended are the top guest post sites. The same goes for news websites as their traffics has skyrocketed because people are trying to find out what is happening in and around their country, states, and cities. So, all the news platforms from International to Local are seeing a rise in traffic.

As per Google Trends people across the globe have been searching about Corona Virus Tips, Prevention, and Symptoms. It is one of the trending searches in every country. There has also been an increased number of searches for Free Certification Courses as many people are trying to utilize this time to upgrade their skills.

Even the entire education industry is shifting, most of the institutions that operated physically have started a shift to the virtual mode so as the students do not face any problems and also to sustain and survive in the upcoming days.

The platforms and websites that support virtual classes and provide these service have also seen a positive impact in their traffic as well as their business.

The OTT platforms have also seen a huge demand as a result these platforms have reduced the Video Quality to Standard Definition to prevent overload. The OTT platforms like amazon prime video, Netflix, and others have seen an average increase in 30% of traffic within one month.

To keep up in these rapidly changing scenarios most businesses have developed specialized content pertaining to the current times to provide the users with information and to sustain during this shift.

Here are some keywords with their search volume which garnered most of the searches in India ever since this lockdown started: –

1. Coronavirus – 550K
2. Coronavirus Symptoms – 110K
3. Coronavirus Prevention – 2.9K
4. Grocery – 74K
5. Lockdown – 54K
6. Hydroxychloroquine – 11K
7. Covid 19 Tracker
8. Coronavirus Cases
9. Aarogya Setu App

With the consumers shifting their attention an SEO needs to be observant and needs to adapt to these rapid shifts.

You will have to understand the shift and the changing demographic of your niche in a better manner.

And remember we all are together in this situation and we will eventually overcome this problem and emerge stronger than before.