The holiday season may seem distant, but initiating holiday SEO strategies early is crucial to maximize traffic and business during this peak period. Failing to prepare can leave your business caught off-guard. Moreover, maintaining an SEO-optimized website year-round is essential for maximizing business opportunities. Holiday SEO tactics closely mirror effective year-round strategies. Here are seven SEO activities to kickstart now in anticipation of the Q4 holiday rush.
A prevalent misconception among businesses is that all keywords are monetizable, whereas the reality is that 92.42% of keywords receive ten monthly searches or fewer. Monetizable keywords are those that offer two primary benefits: driving sales from your audience and ensuring profitability before budget constraints arise. One of the most critical SEO tasks is to optimize for these keywords. Begin by categorizing or segmenting keywords based on user intent, then prioritize them based on potential sales. Monitor search volumes and aim for top three positions in search results. However, be cautious when competing against larger sites for specific keywords.
Creating unique content on landing pages is a consistent holiday SEO technique. Many SEO efforts may fall short or be challenging to execute if the site isn’t designed for SEO integration. Ideally, the website should feature a design that complements real-world marketing applications. Ensure that key marketing channel landing pages have opportunities to showcase a mix of unique, keyword-optimized images, text, and video. For instance, consider optimizing the user experience by providing clear call-to-actions (CTAs) or next-step instructions, while ensuring that additional elements don’t hinder page load times.
Structured data, in essence, is markup around webpage content that highlights its purpose. Paired with Schema, it enables search engines and data aggregators to process the intent of the page. This is how Google identifies a 5-star review on a product page. With Google’s evolving technology, it can better understand structured data and the offerings of your webpage. Incorporate structured data wherever possible without overdoing it, ensuring Google has a comprehensive understanding of your site and is more likely to recommend it to a diverse range of searches.
This SEO activity focuses on link building. A concerning trend in search results is Google favoring information aggregators over actual sources, with 90.63% of pages receiving no organic Google traffic. These aggregators may offer lower-quality information, leading to a poor search experience. Leverage this trend for holiday SEO by identifying sites ranking highly on terms related to gift-giving, types of gifts, or sales by category and reaching out to collaborate. Getting your products on these sites now will provide a significant advantage over waiting until the holiday season.
Mobile optimization for web pages is more critical than ever, with over half of internet traffic originating from phones. Your site must be user-friendly and load quickly to provide a positive user experience and rank well on Google. Focus on optimizing your page for fast load times and ease of use on mobile devices, which may require time and effort depending on your current site’s state. Starting now is crucial.
This holiday SEO activity involves incorporating keywords into social media content. With billions of users across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch, social media is a powerful tool for influencing audiences. Collaborating with influencers who trend on topics aligned with your SEO keywords can enhance market saturation. Regularly distribute SEO content on these networks to improve rankings, build links, and ensure content indexing and crawling.
This SEO activity is straightforward: utilize keywords in social media content. Social media’s vast reach allows you to influence a global audience. Influencers can amplify your message, making your brand more visible. Regularly posting SEO content can improve rankings, build links, and ensure content indexing and crawling.
This SEO activity involves making a significant impact in your industry, aiming for viral status. Whether it’s through bold statements, generous gestures, or something quirky, such as KFC’s gaming console, the goal is to generate buzz and discussion about your brand. This strategy can be risky and requires substantial brand support but can yield significant rewards. Create a memorable experience, but avoid causing a negative ripple effect.
While not all SEO activities are easy to implement, they don’t need to be done simultaneously. The key is to increase brand awareness through responsive mobile sites, structured data, monetizable keywords, or bold actions. Regardless of your chosen approach, initiating efforts now ensures you can achieve your holiday SEO goals and potentially exceed them. Invest in strategies today and monitor your progress over the next few months.
