A recent survey of 600 U.S. and Canadian SMB owners and their employees found that 57% don’t have an SEO strategy — and 23% have no plans to create one this year.
A Pollfish survey commissioned by UpCity found that only 44% of businesses currently have an SEO strategy in place, while 34% have made it a priority for 2022.
These findings are surprising, though noteworthy for the relatively small sample size, against the backdrop of nearly two years of pandemic-related economic turmoil and corporate uncertainty.
Internet traffic growth 40% Globally in 2020, consumers’ information needs and shopping behaviors have changed dramatically due to lockdowns, fears and restrictions on businesses.
SEO search interest early surge At their highest level ever in the midst of a pandemic, as businesses scramble to be discovered by customers who suddenly seek out solutions for nearby food delivery, online banking and healthcare appointments, home office furniture and more.
Interest in SEO has always been strong because not only is it a valuable marketing channel, but it is a key source of customer insight in an age where historical data has proven largely useless.
SEO works, and businesses know it.
our own The State of SEO in 2021 Research shows that between mid-2020 and mid-2021, 64% of SEO professionals surveyed experienced increased traffic to their clients’ websites.
The SEJ also found that 74.3% of SEO budgets remained stable or increased during this time.
So it’s shocking that UpCity found that quite a few businesses don’t have an SEO strategy in place — at least for those involved.
Key findings from UpCity’s SEO SMB survey report
“We found in our survey that while many respondents are using SEO strategies, many are also combining their SEO practices with PPC strategies to create synergies between the two marketing channels,” report author David J. Brin wrote.
In fact, 50% of small businesses with an SEO strategy are also investing in paid search advertising, and another 30% plan to do so this year.
Selected PPC Advertising Platform
When it comes to where these small businesses are investing their PPC spend, UpCity found:
- 28% use Google Ads
- 17% use Facebook ads
- 14% use Instagram ads
- 9% use Amazon Advertising
- 9% use LinkedIn ads
Choice of Small Business Analytics Tools
When small businesses were asked which tools they use for analytics:
“We asked the community what do they use for their SEO analysis?” – UptownTop Small Business SEO Goals for 2022
When it comes to what businesses most want to accomplish in their SEO plans this year, UpCity found these to be the most important goals:
- Increase organic traffic.
- Convert more organic visitors.
- Strengthen domain authority.
- Earn more featured snippets.
- raise popularity of brand.
- Strengthen the internal linkage strategy.
- Improve page speed.
- Reduce bounce and exit rates.
- Create stronger backlink profiles.
- Diverse range of high-traffic pages.
On the other hand, you can choose to look on the bright side of UpCity’s data; 78% of businesses will prioritize SEO in 2022. This is good news for them.
Those who don’t plan to develop an SEO strategy this year or have not completed an implementation plan – may find it increasingly difficult to be discovered by new clients online.
You have to start somewhere.
Read more of UpCity’s findings in fullHow Small Businesses Can Handle SEO‘ Investigation report.
More resources:
Featured Image: Shutterstock.com/KrakenImages
