The holiday season is a crucial time of year for businesses, and proper search engine optimization (SEO) can be the key to driving sales and seeing a return on investment during one of the most profitable times of the year. With everyone taking their holiday shopping lists online and checking them twice, SEO can give Santas around the world a helping hand.
To maximize your website’s visibility, the following holiday SEO tips can help you capture shoppers searching for the perfect gifts and optimize your SEO for the holidays.
Build a Holiday-Focused Landing Page
Jingle bells are ringing, and the search engine results pages (SERPs) should be singing with relevant holiday content. To make sure your website appears in SERPs, you can create holiday-focused landing pages with content tailored to the season. Because you may not want to disrupt all of the messaging on your primary site to avoid confusion, you can create a separate holiday page with festive graphics and messaging to capture those who are shopping with the holiday spirit, while still acquiring traffic from other pages that are focused on year-round content.
The best holiday-focused landing page includes:
- Clear and unique content that is relevant to the holiday season
- Descriptive titles, images, and descriptions with keywords associated with the holidays
- Offers, promotions, and discounts
- Links to other relevant pages on the website.
Utilize Seasonal Keywords and Phrases
To get the most out of your holiday-focused content, you must ensure it is optimized with keywords and phrases people search for during the festive season. For example, if you are selling furniture, mix up the keywords to include phrases like “furniture for holiday entertaining” or “holiday gifts for the home.” You can also keep an eye on trending topics to inform your keyword strategy for blog posts, social media, and other content.
Effective seasonal keywords include:
- Relevant products/services
- Gift ideas
- Discounts and promotions
- Holiday-specific words (i.e., Santa, presents, Hanukkah, etc.)
- Descriptions of related activities (i.e., holiday entertaining, decorations)
- Seasonal phrases (i.e., “Happy Holidays,” “Merry Christmas,” etc.)
Promote Your Holiday Deals
Making your holiday-focused deals visible to the public is essential for driving sales. With shoppers searching for the best holiday offers, it is important that you promote your deals on your website, in emails, and on social media so that potential customers can easily find them. You can also showcase your offers in meta descriptions and use them as part of targeted ad campaigns — for example, using dynamic search ads on Google Ads can help you capture people searching for discounts or offers related to your industry.
Utilize Gift Guides
Shoppers need guidance, and holiday gift guides can be the perfect way to provide them with helpful content that drives them to your website. Gift guides can also be an effective way to gain visibility and increase shares when it comes to organic and paid search campaigns. You can create an in-depth guide that features your products or focus on specific categories and include links to the guides from each page of your website.
The perfect gift guide will include:
- Product descriptions
- Links to your website’s product pages
- Tips for selecting the right gift for a particular person
- Easy navigation
- A compelling call to action to prompt readers to buy
Monitor Your Holiday Traffic
Monitor your website’s traffic during the holiday season with Google Analytics. This will give you insight into what keywords and content resonate with customers and help you adjust your strategy as needed. You can also measure your site’s performance by looking at metrics such as page views, conversion rate, and bounce rate. With this information, you’ll be able to identify any potential problems with your website and make the necessary changes to ensure you are maximizing the holiday season for all its worth.
Make Mobile Optimization a Priority
Last but certainly not least, make sure your website is optimized for mobile. The majority of holiday shopping takes place on smartphones and tablets, so ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is key. Deck the halls with responsive design, and make sure your website loads fast on all devices. This will give customers the best experience possible and make them more likely to buy from you than someone else this holiday season — and after the holidays are over.
Perfect Your SEO for the Holidays
By following these tips, you’ll be able to create engaging content and optimize your website for the ultimate holiday shopping experience. With a well-defined strategy in place, Frosty the Snowman won’t be the only one having a jolly good time this season.
If you are looking for more ways to make the most of the holiday season, consult with us at Imagine Monkey. Our team of SEO experts is knowledgeable and experienced in helping businesses maximize the holiday season for all it’s worth. Contact us today to get started.
We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and best of luck in all your SEO efforts!
