Brands are overlooking search engines as a major customer communication channel and, as a result, are putting their post-pandemic recovery at risk, a new report from Yext argues.
Yext, an AI search company, recently surveyed 200 UK marketers and decision-makers to discover how they engage with customers. While almost all (85 percent) chose their website as one of the two most important communication channels, just 12 percent selected ‘search engine listings’.
Search engines (namely Google) have become a battlefield in recent years, with businesses going out of their way to make sure their websites appear as high on search results as possible for certain keywords.
As Google has a set of rules governing how it lists results, optimising websites to fit these rules (known as search engine optimisation (SEO)) should be an important goal for marketers.
The good news, Yext claims, is that businesses understand the need to diversify their communications platforms and improve engagement. A third consider expanding the number of channels a priority going forward, ahead of being able to instantly update the website and mobile apps with new information.
“It makes for uneasy reading when you see that UK businesses are struggling in their ability to communicate effectively with customers, and spells for disaster when you look at their ability to reopen effectively and get back to business,” said Jon Buss, Managing Director, EMEA at Yext.
“With reopening on the cards for the majority of businesses, now is the time to seize the opportunity and jumpstart their post-pandemic recovery, with quick and accurate customer engagement.”
