We talked to Dr. Caroline Phillips on How Alba SEO Services adapted to the Pandemic, and this is what she had to say about it.
First of all, how are you and your team doing in these COVID-19 times?
Working remotely isn’t a problem for us as a team, and we keep communication open over Slack and Zoom. We’re all doing well and working hard to help our clients during these difficult times.
Tell us about you, your career, how you founded or joined this company
After being made redundant from an IT job in 2011 following the financial crash, I initially started an online business 2011 based on an idea I had. I knew that it needed to gain traffic to be successful. So I self-taught myself SEO and was successful in getting my first business to the top of Google. I decided to use this knowledge by offering it to other businesses as a service. And so Alba SEO Services was born. I continued running both businesses up until 2019, when I sold the first business to a competitor.
How does your company innovate?
We innovate by listening to our client’s needs and try to help them make better decisions about their business based on marketing. We use a very bespoke reporting system, unique to us, which helps our clients understand each month where their marketing budget is going and what is generating results for them.
How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?
The Coronavirus pandemic has meant that more businesses are seeking to go online, and this has meant that more businesses are looking to get more visibility in the search results. So we are busy helping lots of businesses get more visibility. The key to success is to respond to the ever-changing online landscape and adapt to new searches and keywords being used. Lots of different searches are being done which weren’t done pre- pandemic. Successful businesses will research, explore and adapt to these.
What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to navigate this crisis?
We are doing many Zoom calls to meet clients and discuss their campaigns or to meet new businesses who want to use SEO as a marketing channel. In the past, we have met clients in person if they are local. However, using Zoom has been more efficient for us, and we’ll probably continue with this after the pandemic. Taking on a new team member has been tricky as I have to mentor them remotely and train them online. But having clearly defined goals and ensuring that communication channels are always open help.
Your final thoughts
A blend of marketing channels is recommended to be successful online, and just focusing on one channel is not enough. So a mix of SEO, review management, social media marketing, content marketing, PR is going to get your brand noticed and credible, leading to more confidence in your services or products. This will lead to more sales.
- Spokesperson: Dr. Caroline Phillips
- Company: Alba SEO Services
- Website: https://www.albaseoservices.co.uk/