How to take advantage of a spike or increase in website traffic during the pandemic

Have you heard? There’s a global pandemic going on 😷

We’re now several weeks in and the initial shock over COVID-19 has passed… but now we’re faced with this “new normal” situation and everyone’s doing their best to figure out how to ride it out… and even make the most of it. Some even find themselves in the unexpected position to thrive!

Day to day life as we knew it is on hold and this pandemic has changed EVERYTHING for who knows how long. It’s an upheaval for everyone’s personal life but it also has direct implications on business, work, and finances too.

Everyone is at home, mostly indoors, and social distancing is in full swing. All I can say is thank goodness that spring is in the air and the flowers are starting to pop!

We’ve also seen a complete disruption of digital behaviour and the craziest thing is that it pretty much happened over night back in mid-March 2020! We’re all spending an insane amount of time online, basically glued to our screens, phones, laptops and TVs …. but not always in the ways that you might expect.

This situation means different things for different people, brands and businesses - and yes, that means your website and it’s traffic are going to look different from what you’re used to.

News flash: the pandemic has brought about a massive change in consumer habits and purchasing priorities, and that is seen especially clearly with people’s internet habits and what’s going on online.

For some industries and niches, the pandemic has brought a significant drop in website traffic and business. They’re taking a beating and every day is a struggle to stay afloat and figure out the best way to keep the lights on without going under. A drop in website traffic isn’t just a blow to the ego - it has a real impact on a business’s bottom line which affects real people and their families.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom for everyone!

This global pandemic has been a blessing and business for many industries and they’ve actually found that business is booming and better than ever!

You might have unexpectedly found yourself in this joyous situation and maybe you’re like, wow ok website traffic has spiked or majorly increase and business is thriving as a results! If you have, that’s awesome and I hope that you are able to make the most of this truly insane situation! I’m here to help you out as best as I can and share my tips and recommendations for fully taking advantage of this positive change in website traffic - for however long it lasts.

In this blog post, we’re going to go over what to do if your website’s traffic has spiked or increased because of COVID-19.

Whether you’re an independent content creator/blogger, a small business or brand, or a bigger company, I want you to take a step back and look at this increase in traffic & business with clear eyes and your head on straight. Now is your time to shine and truly hit the ground running so that you can make the most of this boom.

After you’ve read this post, I want you to feel like you have a plan and actionable steps that you can follow to max out your situation, and hopefully keep riding that higher website traffic and set your business up for future success.

Updating your website during the COVID-19 pandemic

Let’s cut right to the chase: we’re several weeks into the COVID-19 global pandemic and sh*t’s getting real.

These are absolutely wild and crazy times and I often catch myself thinking, what in the actual heck is going on right now?!?!?!?!?

We’ve never experienced anything like this - the whole Corona virus situation and it’s impact on the world is truly unprecedented.

Personally, I feel like I’m stuck on an emotional rollercoaster and I don’t know when it’ll end. Some days are great, I feel high vibe and excited about work…. whereas other days are a struggle because I get so caught up in the hardships and challenges we’re facing collectively.

That being said, now more than ever I want to SHOW UP and YOU in any way that I can! Whether that’s my audience of casual blog readers, my amazing newsletter community or my beloved clients & customers, I am here to help you as best as I can.

My area of expertise is obviously Squarespace web design/development and Squarespace SEO, so that’s what I’m going to go over here today.

My inbox has BLOWN UP over the past few weeks with panicked questions from people who need help with their websites now. Many businesses are moving online (no easy task), and everyone is looking for help updating website content, collecting orders, setting up email newsletters to communicate with clients & customers, ramping up SEO... it’s a lot!

In this blog post, I’m going to share actionable updates you can make TODAY to your website to make sure that you’re totally covered during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will use lots of Squarespace-specific tips/recommendations but even if your website runs on another platform, I know you will still find these instructions helpful!

Can SEO really drive more leads for your services-based business?

I’ve written before about why every services-based business needs an SEO strategy and I was happy to see that that blog post struck a chord with my of my readers. I received quite a few comments and emails about that blog post - people liked the post but they wanted to learn more about how to actually APPLY that strategy.

The number one question I received was “How can I use SEO to drive more sales/book more discovery calls for my services-based business?”. Fantastic question and I’m super excited to answer that in today’s follow up blog post!

Most of my clients are services-based business owners. I’d say about half of them run their businesses entirely online and rarely work with in-person clients, whereas the other half serve local clients and rely on their website to serve as their “online home”.

In both cases, these services-based business use their websites as a way to connect with their (potential, current and past) clients and customers, and promote their offerings online.

Services based businesses serve a whole variety of industries - we’re talking law firms, accountants, engineers, plumbers, florists, personal trainers, coaches, photographers, consultants, PR pros, social media managers, graphic designers, gardeners, dog walkers, psychics, bakeries, physiotherapists - you name it, the list goes on.

Some of these services must be performed in person (e.g., dog walkers, massage therapists, gardeners, etc.) but others can be done either in-person OR online/remotely (e.g., consultants, personal trainers, graphic designers, etc.).

Services based businesses can be one-off projects or ongoing, recurring services…. really, the sky’s the limit and there’s a huge amount of flexibility in services-based business models!

Almost all services based businesses, however, have a website. At this point, it’s pretty much a requirement because hardly anyone (except your granny) is going old school and looking up businesses in a physical phone book. Yes, we still rely on word of mouth and recommendations from our friends and family, but the trend is increasingly to connect with businesses online. More often than not, we check out a business’ website and then get in touch if we want to work with them.

But having a website doesn’t guarantee that potential clients and customers will find out about your business- far from it, in fact. All websites are not created equally! Different types of websites work in different ways. The requirements and strategy for a services-based business website is going to be totally different from a e-commerce shop or website that sells digital/physical products. Not only will the look & feel of these websites be different, so too will the SEO strategy and goals.

SEO can act as the perfect bridge between a website (think: business) and an online audience (think: future clients/customers). It’s the pathway that warms up a potential client to inquire about your service and ultimately book you out.

You already know that I’m a firm believer that every services based business needs and SEO strategy and beyond that, I know that SEO can directly drive leads and grow your business. SEO will help grow your website but it also connects you to a much wider online audience who can potentially become paying clients and customers. Which, if you’re running a services based business, is the ultimate goal!

In this blog post, I’m going to show you exactly how SEO can drive leads for your services-based business. Whether your website is on Squarespace or another platform, the goals and outcome will be the same.

10 reasons why you NEED to start pitching your web design/development services

Coming in HOT with a blog post that is equal parts motivation and tough love :)

We’re going to talk all about pitching your web design and development services and why it’s something you need to start doing TODAY.

There’s no doubt in my mind that by the time you reach the bottom of this blog post, I’ll have you totally convinced that pitching your services is the most effective marketing strategy, and it’s something you need to implement in your own business starting today if you want to see great results.

I am a massive advocate for taking inspired action in business. Whether you want to work with dream clients - trust me, they’re out there! - , make more money, develop a swoon-worthy portfolio, or generally get the most enjoyment out of the work you do, pitching will fast-track everything.

But I’ve got to tell you, pitchin’ ain’t easy.

Yes, pitching will get you in front of the right potential clients a heck of a lot faster than other marketing methods and is known to have a higher conversion rate… but that doesn’t mean that it’s simple or straightforward work. If it was, everyone would be doing it!

The fact of the matter is that pitching is a real skill and it requires a lot of strategy, resilience and proactive behaviour. But from my own experience, I can tell you that it pays off like you wouldn’t believe.

If you’re on the fence about pitching and wonder if it’s something you should try out, or if it could work for you, then I’m here to give you a friendly shove in the right direction. Pitching your services WILL work for you too and the fastest way to get the results you want is to simply get started.

Let’s take a look.

squarespace seo checklist

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squarespace seo checklist

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Thank you!