Want to know how to react to and benefit from changes in demand? In this webinar, our SEO Consultant Sally will share her insights to help you maximise your revenue from organic search no matter the circumstances and ensure that you’re primed to win big when consumer spending returns to more buoyant levels.

1. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Controlling the
controllables
How to benefit from
changing consumer
demand

2. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
A little bit about me
• Senior SEO Consultant
• 7 years in the industry
• Background in both SEO and PPC
• Experience across multiple verticals including B2B and luxury
e-commerce
• Email sally@builtvisible.com

3. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
“The only constant in our
industry is change”

4. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Everything we do is at the
mercy of our environment
• Algorithm updates
• Search engine guidelines
• Crawling / indexing
• SERP landscape
• Organic competition
• Search demand
• Reporting (GA4)
• …

5. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Everything we do is at the
mercy of our environment
• Algorithm updates
• Search engine guidelines
• Crawling / indexing
• SERP landscape
• Organic competition
• Search demand
• Reporting (GA4)
• …

6. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

7. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

8. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

9. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

10. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

11. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Brand demand increased by
+50%

12. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
That equated to +223,000
monthly searches

13. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

14. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

15. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

16. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

17. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

18. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Great! So now what?

19. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

20. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Focus on “controlling the
controllables”
This is a big part of the Builtvisible
ethos
It’s a term in sports psychology that refers to how
high-performance teams put 100% of their energy
into the things they can control.
As marketers, to maximise our impact in these
challenging times we need to make sure we’re
putting all of our energy and effort where it counts. Rankings
Visibility

21. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
“The highest performing teams and individuals, in both sport and
business, have fantastic control of their controllables. It separates
the best from the rest.
Those that truly understand what they can and can’t directly affect,
are laser focused on the things that they know will make a
difference, not distracted by noise or reliant on the luck the draw.”
Geoff Griffiths, CEO at Builtvisible

22. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
A framework for controlling
the controllables
1 Be crystal clear on
performance
2
3
4
5
Get smart with your budget
Pay close attention to
consumer trends
Create positive brand
associations
Continue to develop brand
awareness

23. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
A framework for controlling
the controllables
1 Be crystal clear on
performance
2
3
4
5
Get smart with your budget
Pay close attention to
consumer trends
Create positive brand
associations
Continue to develop brand
awareness

24. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Reporting: focus on 3 core areas
Report on
the right
metrics
Benchmark
against
competitors
Segment
your data

25. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Reporting: focus on 3 core areas
Report on
the right
metrics
Benchmark
against
competitors
Segment
your data

26. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Don’t just report on traffic and
conversions!
These two metrics are at the mercy of
outside factors
Traffic
Conversions &
revenue
Rankings
Visibility
How many users came to your site from the
organic search results?
How many conversions and how much revenue
have you received from organic visitors?

27. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Changes to rank are the best
true indicator of performance
This is ultimately where we have the
most tangible impact in SEO
Traffic
Conversions &
revenue
Rankings
Visibility
How many users came to your site from the
organic search results?
How many conversions and how much revenue
have you received from organic visitors?
How have ranking positions changed across the
keywords that are important to your business?

28. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Visibility is a more
sophisticated metric than
rank
By incorporating keyword search volume,
it conveys the impact of rank changes
Traffic
Conversions &
revenue
Rankings
Visibility
How many users came to your site from the
organic search results?
How many conversions and how much revenue
have you received from organic visitors?
How have ranking positions changed across the
keywords that are important to your business?
What share of traffic are you receiving from the
keywords important to your business?

29. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Reporting: focus on 3 core areas
Report on
the right
metrics
Benchmark
against
competitors
Segment
your data

30. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
At an absolute minimum, split
by brand & non-brand traffic
As SEOs, non-brand is where we strive
for the biggest impact
This is because brand traffic is heavily influenced by
user demand, which is something we have little
control over.
Rankings
Visibility

31. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Then you can segment by subfolder,
intent, product type and more!
This allows you to really drill down and see the areas where
you’re performing well and which areas may need attention.

32. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Reporting: focus on 3 core areas
Report on
the right
metrics
Benchmark
against
competitors
Segment
your data

33. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Including competitor data places your
performance in context
This allows you to see how you’re really doing.

34. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Including competitor data places your
performance in context
This allows you to see how you’re really doing.

35. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Including competitor data places your
performance in context
This allows you to see how you’re really doing.

36. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Competitor data is often the
key that gets stakeholder buy-in

37. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
A framework for controlling
the controllables
1 Be crystal clear on
performance
2
3
4
5
Get smart with your budget
Pay close attention to
consumer trends
Create positive brand
associations
Continue to develop brand
awareness

38. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
“In uncertain times, the best strategy is
adaptability.”
Michael Mankins, Global Partner at Bain & Company

39. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 1
User demand is at it’s peak

40. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 1
User demand is at it’s peak
Lots of customers are
looking to buy

41. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 1
User demand is at it’s peak
Lots of customers are
looking to buy
Invest more in bottom-of-
funnel activities, such as
PPC, to hit strong
conversion targets

42. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 2
User demand is weak

43. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 2
User demand is weak
Fewer users are looking to
buy

44. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 2
User demand is weak
Fewer users are looking to
buy
Invest more in brand
awareness and top-of-funnel
activities, such as content
and digital PR

45. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Case study: re-purposing
£78,000 over three months
Unlocking efficiencies with an SEO and
PPC cost analysis project
For a food takeaway client, we discovered they had
spent nearly £80,000 in three months bidding on
keywords where they already ranked in position one
in the organic search results.
This spend could have been more effective in areas
where the client didn’t occupy position one of organic
search, or could have even been moved to another
digital channel altogether.
Rankings
Visibility

46. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Now is not the time to be
cutting costs in your SEO
department

47. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
SEO is an ‘always on’ activity
SEO is not like paid advertising; you can’t turn it on and off as
and when it suits.
In the organic channel, it takes time to gain momentum and to
see the results of your hard work.
It therefore requires a long-term commitment to really reap the
rewards.

48. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
A lot of the work we do in SEO is about
performance protection
If any one of these charities had stopped investing in SEO,
they would have fallen behind their competitors.

49. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Just because you stop investing
doesn’t mean your competitors
will

50. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand

51. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
A framework for controlling
the controllables
1 Be crystal clear on
performance
2
3
4
5
Get smart with your budget
Pay close attention to
consumer trends
Create positive brand
associations
Continue to develop brand
awareness

52. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Demand doesn’t simply go up
or down, it also shifts
As marketers, it’s our job to identify
these shifts and to respond accordingly
We recently found that demand for buying cars
hadn’t decreased across the board in response to the
rising cost of fuel.
While users were searching less overall, the demand
for cheaper vehicles had actually had gone up.
Rankings
Visibility

53. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 3
User demand has shifted

54. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 3
User demand has shifted
Users are still
looking to buy but with a
different focus

55. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 3
User demand has shifted
Users are still
looking to buy but with a
different focus
Build landing pages to target
this intent, and use bottom-
of-funnel activities to
maximise ROI

56. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Never make assumptions –
always look at the data!

57. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
38% of travelers were more likely
to plan or book a ‘once in a
lifetime trip’ than ever before
Many travelers wanted to make up for
lost time following the pandemic
These were the findings of a 2022 study conducted
by Google.
Rankings
Visibility

58. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
A framework for controlling
the controllables
1 Be crystal clear on
performance
2
3
4
5
Get smart with your budget
Pay close attention to
consumer trends
Create positive brand
associations
Continue to develop brand
awareness

59. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Even the worst economic
downturns don’t last forever

60. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Make sure that your brand is
the one consumers turn to when
they’re ready to start buying
again

61. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
“Google Search is always working to better connect people to
helpful information.
The helpful content update aims to better reward content where
visitors feel they've had a satisfying experience, while content that
doesn't meet a visitor's expectations won't perform as well.”
Google Search Central

62. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Creates positive
brand sentiment
Increases
conversion rates
Lowers cost of
acquisition
Improves SEO
performance
There are many
benefits to
strong user
experience

63. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
1. Help users find what they need
Strong internal linking is not only beneficial from a technical
SEO perspective but also provides a better experience for
users.

64. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
2. Anticipate your users’
needs
Uncertain times call for more clarity
and reassurance for customers
This can be achieved with strong on-page copy
that’s informed by your sales teams and help
centre representatives.
Find out what customers are frequently
reaching out to ask, and make sure intent is
effectively answered in your web pages.

65. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Octopus Energy does a fantastic job
with this

66. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Octopus Energy does a fantastic job
with this

67. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Octopus Energy does a fantastic job
with this

68. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
A framework for controlling
the controllables
1 Be crystal clear on
performance
2
3
4
5
Get smart with your budget
Pay close attention to
consumer trends
Create positive brand
associations
Continue to develop brand
awareness

69. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Even if people aren’t buying,
they’re still searching

70. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Demand for “city breaks”
UK government
announces first
COVID restrictions

71. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Demand for “top cities”
UK government
announces first
COVID restrictions

72. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 2 (revisited)
User demand is weak

73. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 2 (revisited)
User demand is weak
Fewer users are looking to
buy, however many are still
actively searching

74. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 2 (revisited)
User demand is weak
Fewer users are looking to
buy, however many are still
actively searching

75. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Example 2 (revisited)
User demand is weak
Fewer users are looking to
buy, however many are still
actively searching
Invest more in brand
awareness and top-of-funnel
activities, such as content
and digital PR

76. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
It’s crucial you continue to
invest in brand promoting
activities
It places you in a strong position for when
spending returns to more buoyant levels
Digital PR and content strategies can help you to
achieve this.
Focus on producing and promoting high quality top-
of-funnel content that genuinely helps users, by
contributing to current conversations and answering
any questions and concerns that users may have. Rankings
Visibility
Awareness
Consideration
Evaluation
Conversion

77. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
59
DA
35
TF

78. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Questions?
sally@builtvisible.com

79. Controlling the controllables: how to benefit from changing consumer demand
Thank you.
Sally Poundall
Senior SEO Consultant
sally@builtvisible.com