As sales in practically every business hit their yearly highs in the holiday season, there’s a lot you can do in terms of holiday SEO to ensure you’re not left out in the cold.
In this comprehensive guide, we cover everything you need to know to perfect your holiday SEO campaign, from leveraging holiday-specific keywords to understanding the nuances of local SEO for the holiday season, and much more.
Of course, SEO results take time, so if you’re concerned that you’re too late to capitalize on the holiday boom, don’t worry. Firstly, you’re not alone; most marketers admit to being slow to get around to it. And secondly, in SEO, it’s always better late than never. So, whether you’re gearing up for Black Friday SEO or refining your holiday SEO, here are the actionable tactics you’ll need to boost your organic presence through the holidays.
Why Holiday SEO is Different
Holiday season: a time when bells jingle, lights twinkle, and website traffic skyrockets. Seasonal SEO is a beast of its own, distinct from the usual run-of-the-mill strategies. Here’s what sets it apart:
Spikes in Traffic and Purchasing Intent
Did you know that during Black Friday 2022, online sales reached a staggering $9.12 billion in the U.S. alone? It’s no surprise that online shopping activity revs up during the holidays.
And it’s not just about the increased numbers. Visitors coming to your site during this season are often primed and ready to make a purchase. Their intent is strong—they’re looking for deals, gift ideas, or those festive pajamas for the family photo. And when purchasing intent is high, the conversion potential is golden.
| Keyword: | perfume | gift card | “for men“ | “for women“ |
| 2020 Quarterly Average Search Volume (in millions) | 8.8 | 14.4 | 17.3 | 20.4 |
| 2020 Holiday Season Search Volume (in millions) | 13.6 | 20.7 | 22.3 | 25.2 |
| 2020 Holiday Season Search Volume Increase | +54.4% | +44.5% | +28.8% | +23.2% |
| 2021 Quarterly Average Search Volume (in millions) | 12.4 | 14.6 | 20.1 | 25.8 |
| 2021 Holiday Season Search Volume (in millions) | 18.8 | 20.5 | 24.1 | 28.5 |
| 2021 Holiday Season Search Volume Increase | +51.9% | +40.8% | +20.0% | +10.6% |
| 2022 Quarterly Average Search Volume (in millions) | 14.8 | 17.0 | 19.6 | 24.1 |
| 2022 Holiday Season Search Volume (in millions) | 20.9 | 23.3 | 21.8 | 25.0 |
| 2022 Holiday Season Search Volume Increase | +41.2% | +36.9% | +11.3% | +3.9% |
Here’s how you can make the most of these holiday SEO trends.
1. Capitalize on Seasonal Keyword Variations and Trends
Pop quiz time! What do “summer dresses” and “winter coats” have in common? Yep, they’re both seasonally driven keywords. But here’s where the holiday season gets tricky: it doesn’t just change the weather; it changes how people search. Let’s unwrap this.
What are Holiday-related Keywords in SEO?
Regular SEO: ‘Best laptops under $1000’. Holiday SEO: ‘Christmas deals on laptops under $1000’. See the difference? During the holidays, the search intent often tilts towards gifting, deals, and time-sensitive purchases.
For example, look at the table below to see how searches related to “best X” change during the holiday season.
| Rising Searches: Q2 2022 | Rising Searches: Holiday Season 2022 |
| national best friends day | best black friday deals |
| best portable air conditioner | best cyber monday deals |
| chrisley knows best | best christmas movies |
| best mosquito repellent | best white elephant gifts |
| best cd rates | best thanksgiving movies |
| best sunscreen | best pumpkin pie recipe |
| best books of 2022 | best turkey recipe |
| best potatoes for salad | best stocking stuffers |
| best podcasts | best gifts for women |
| best dad jokes | best snow boots |
Holiday SEO keywords gain popularity super quickly and then fade away just as the holiday season winds down. Notice how search intent also changes: searches with commercial or transactional intent almost double during the holiday season.
Action Tips
- Modify your product and service keywords by adding holiday-themed words such as “gifts,” “Black Friday,” “holiday deals,” and so on.
- Use tools like Google Trends and set the date range to the last holiday season. Spot upward trends and take notes.
2. Utilize Past Holiday Data
Data is gold, especially when it comes to preparing for the holiday SEO hustle. Instead of shooting in the dark, base your strategy on what’s already proven to work.
Identify which past holiday campaigns worked and why
Remember that super successful ad campaign from last December? Or that one blog post that went viral? It’s time to do a little forensic investigation. Determine the exact elements that made it resonate with the audience. Was it the festive theme? The emotional appeal? Or that irresistible discount you offered?
Action Tips
- Dive into your analytics. Pinpoint your top-performing pages in organic search from the last holiday season.
- Leverage your paid advertising data. Find the campaigns that performed the best during the holidays to identify the products and services that consumers want the most. Use this to structure your holiday SEO campaign.
- Break down the elements (like CTAs, visuals, and headlines) and repurpose them for this year.
- Use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to check where your competitors were getting backlinks and traffic last holiday season. Look for content gaps or better ways to present similar content.
- Get ahead of the competition by using trend reports and forecasting tools like Trendstop, WGSN, Trend Hunter, Exploding Topics, and so on.
3. Create Engaging Holiday Content
Alright, now you’ve honed in on those sparkling holiday SEO keywords. What’s next? Turning those keywords into dazzling content that leaves users with that warm, fuzzy holiday feeling. Here’s how to get your content sleighing (see what I did there?) the competition.
Holiday-Specific Landing Pages for Targeted SEO
The festive season brings with it a set of unique search queries and consumer behaviors. Capitalizing on these requires more than just sprinkling holiday keywords throughout your site.
Construct landing pages dedicated to specific holiday deals, promotions, or themes, with a focus on holiday season SEO keywords. These pages can be a beacon for holiday-related searches, drawing in traffic looking for festive deals or information. Here’s how:
- Identify the most sought-after products or services during the holidays in your niche.
- Develop dedicated landing pages for these products or services, ensuring they’re optimized with holiday-specific keywords.
- Include clear call-to-actions and interlink these pages with other relevant sections of your website for enhanced internal linking.
- After the holiday season, you can repurpose these pages for upcoming events or redirect the URL to relevant categories to maintain link equity.
Action tip: Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or SEMrush to find holiday SEO keywords tailored for your business. These keywords can guide the content and meta information of your landing pages.
Seasonal Content Ideas
Stuck in a content snowstorm? Think about your audience’s holiday pain points and address them. Overwhelmed with choices? Gift guide. Last-minute preps? Checklist. Feeling crafty? DIYs. Here are some ideas that never get old:
Gift Guides: ‘Top 10 Sustainable Gifts for 2023’ or ‘Budget-friendly Gifts Under $20’. Segment them for different audiences: ‘Gifts for Tech Lovers’, ‘For the Foodies’, and so on.
Holiday Checklists: ‘Everything You Need for a Perfect Holiday Dinner’ or ’10 Things to Do Before the Year Ends’.
Festive DIYs: ‘DIY Eco-friendly Wrapping Ideas’ or ‘Create Your Own Festive Candle Scents’.
Craft Compelling Titles for Improved CTR
One often overlooked aspect of holiday SEO strategy is the power of a compelling title. For example, take a look at the top search results for common queries like “best artificial Christmas trees”, shown in the image below.
You’ll often find a sea of nearly identical titles, lacking in creativity and differentiation. This is a missed opportunity.
A title is often the first interaction a user has with your content on a search results page. With a plethora of options vying for a click, a touch of creativity and skillful copywriting can significantly boost your CTR, which can indirectly enhance your rankings.
For instance, instead of the conventional “10 Best Artificial Christmas Trees of 2023,” consider using something like:
- 13 Artificial Xmas Trees You Won’t Believe Aren’t Real
- 9 Best Artificial Christmas Trees According to Decor Experts
Such titles not only promise value but also evoke curiosity, making it more likely for users to click on your content over others. And of course, higher CTRs lead to higher rankings over time.
4. Technical SEO Adjustments for the Holidays
Just like making sure your home’s ready for the holiday onslaught (think in-laws and hyperactive nephews), your site needs to be prepped for the seasonal rush. Enter technical SEO.
Be Ready for Traffic: Prepping for Black Friday SEO and More
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or even a sudden shoutout from a prominent influencer can cause unexpected traffic surges. Website downtime during high traffic can harm your SEO rankings, as search engines prefer websites that offer consistent accessibility.
So, how do you attract customers on Black Friday? By ensuring your website doesn’t go down when the party’s just getting started.
And if your site has long load times, bid goodbye to potential conversions. Especially during the holidays, if your deal or sales page takes forever to load, your potential customer has already clicked off and found another festive deal.
Action Tips
- Opt for scalable hosting solutions that can accommodate traffic spikes. Set up proper caching mechanisms and consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to distribute the load.
- Compress images without losing quality – free tools like TinyPNG and Compressor.io can help.
- Minimize unnecessary code.
- Use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to pinpoint what’s slowing down your pages and address those issues.
Mobile Optimization for On-the-go Holiday Shoppers
With 48 percent of all online holiday purchases in the US being made via smartphones, it is critical to ensure your site is optimized for mobile devices. Make sure that you…
- Implement responsive design.
- Test your site’s mobile user experience, ensuring buttons are easily clickable and text is legible without zooming.
- Use Google’s Mobile Friendliness Test to ensure everything works as intended.
5. Local SEO for Holiday Shoppers
When it comes to holiday e-commerce SEO, local elements play a crucial role. Local SEO for holidays is about more than just proximity—it’s about being the answer to those “last-minute gifts near me” searches.
Highlight Holiday Events Online
How do you use local SEO to boost your holiday sales? By regularly updating your online business listings. Also, promote in-store events, flash sales, or exclusive in-person discounts. Update your Google My Business (GMB) profile at least twice a week, if you can’t do it more often. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews—this can improve your visibility for local searches.
Action Tips
- Use GMB posts to highlight your in-store events.
- Ensure that event details, dates, and times are clear and prominent.
- Upload images from the location and from past events to give potential visitors a feel for what to expect.
- Update your GMB attributes to include holiday-specific services like extended holiday hours, complimentary gift wrapping, and so on.
6. Keep Engagement Levels High
Navigating the web should feel like gliding on a freshly iced-over pond, not tripping over tangled Christmas lights. Maintaining user engagement during the holidays can potentially decrease bounce rates, indirectly supporting SEO. Consider subtle festive theming to keep your users engaged longer.
Action Tip: Integrate holiday-themed graphics, banners, and icons. Don’t overdo it; subtlety can often be more effective. Animated snowflakes, festive color schemes, or a holiday mascot can go a long way. Canva has tons of great templates, and it’s easy to use, even for non-designers. And don’t forget to ensure these elements are mobile-responsive!
