Is your business ready for the holiday? Just as gift buyers may not feel like they’ve gotten everything done before the holiday season arrives, so too may the gift sellers. We provide SEO services (among many others) and this is the time of year when every little bit really does count. Even with Thanksgiving essentially upon us, there are some steps you can take to capitalize on the busiest shopping time of the year. 

The right SEO tweaks can make all the difference in driving traffic, increasing conversions, and boosting overall sales. 

“The Best Ability is Availability” 

The last thing you want is for a prospective customer/client to reach out to you during this season only to find that you aren’t available. 

By that same token, you also don’t want to plan for a massive change to your website that isn’t guaranteed to be done when you would like. 

Whether you rely on in-house staff or outsource to an eCommerce-focused digital marketing agency, aligning on timelines with website development teams is especially critical during this time. 

For example, if you plan to implement or test new site features, ensure your developers have enough lead time to complete updates well before the holiday rush. 

Similarly, if your plans involve major site migrations or other intensive updates, timing is everything. Launching significant changes too close to the holiday season can introduce unforeseen complications, potentially disrupting user experience and conversion rates. 

To avoid such pitfalls, ensure that these updates are fully completed and tested long before the season peaks. If the timeline is too tight, it’s often better to postpone major updates until after the holidays. This approach minimizes risks and ensures your site operates smoothly during the critical shopping period.

Can Your Customers Know Definitively When and How They Can Do Business With You? 

For businesses with physical locations, accurate local business listings are an essential component of holiday SEO. Platforms like Google My Business (GMB) allow businesses to control their online presence, ensuring customers can find the correct address and hours of operation. Update your listings with any holiday-specific hours to avoid frustrating potential customers. 

GMB isn’t just for “brick and mortar” businesses. Not at all. In fact, online-only businesses can also benefit from GMB by claiming their listing and enabling features like Google reviews, which boost credibility and increase visibility in local search results.

‘Tis the Season to Make Use of Seasonal Keywords 

Consumers often use different search terms during the holiday season. Aligning your content with these seasonal keywords can significantly boost visibility. 

For example, a BBQ wood pellet company might target keywords such as “Black Friday BBQ deals” or “wood smoker holiday sale.” Our SEO services have helped companies from a wide range of industries to grow during the holidays. 

Selecting high-relevance, low-competition keywords tailored to holiday-specific searches can help your content rank faster and more effectively. Avoid overly competitive general terms, which are difficult to rank for during the holiday season, and instead focus on long-tail keywords that reflect specific customer intentions.

To identify the most relevant seasonal keywords, analyze your target audience’s purchase behavior. Start with broad terms like “holiday gift ideas” and refine them based on the preferences of your ideal customers.
Have You Looked at What Worked Last Year? 

A retrospective analysis of your previous year’s holiday performance can also provide valuable insights for planning. Before you rush to make a lot of new content, review search terms and pages that generated the most traffic and conversions during the last holiday season. 

Armed with this information, you can refine your approach to prioritize the most effective tactics for the current season.

Build on What You Have 

Refreshing existing holiday content is one of the most efficient ways to maximize your SEO efforts with minimal resources. If your website already features holiday-themed content from previous years, update it with current trends, products, and messaging. 

For example, a holiday gift guide can be enhanced with new product links and updated visuals to maintain relevance for this year’s shoppers. Repurposing content is another effective strategy. Transforming an older blog post into a social media infographic, a TikTok, making a podcast about it, or something similar can extend the lifespan of your content while keeping it fresh and engaging.

All the Internal Linking Was Done With Care 

By interlinking relevant pages on your website, you enhance your site’s navigability and strengthen its authority on holiday-related topics. This strategy not only helps search engines understand your site’s content hierarchy but also keeps users engaged by encouraging them to explore multiple pages. 

For example, linking a holiday sale landing page to a gift guide or product-specific page can drive more traffic to high-conversion areas of your site.

Mobile-Friendly Website Even if the Weather Outside is Frightful 

Finally, maintaining a user-friendly website experience is paramount during the holiday season. Even the best SEO strategies can falter if your site isn’t optimized for performance. 

Ensure your site loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and offers seamless navigation to prevent losing potential customers to frustration. Additionally, streamlining checkout processes can significantly improve conversion rates.

SEO Services All Year Long 

By following these strategies, your business can effectively navigate the challenges of holiday SEO and position itself for a successful end to the year. 

Our SEO services have helped businesses maximize their online visibility and performance during the holiday season and beyond. With proper planning and execution, your holiday SEO efforts can deliver meaningful results that extend well into the new year.

To see how we can help your company, schedule a free consultation today.