The festive season is on the horizon, bringing joy and merriment. For brands and SEO experts, this is the prime time to optimise their SEO strategy. Although it might feel like there’s time, the holiday rush can sneak up quickly.
Let’s dive into the most effective SEO strategies to ensure your brand remains prominent during this bustling holiday season.
Understanding the Local Trends of the 2023 Holiday Season
To craft a successful SEO strategy, it’s essential to be in tune with consumer trends for the 2023 holiday season. Research reveals that 21% of shoppers are making their holiday purchases by mid-October. With big-name retailers initiating Black Friday and Christmas promotions in September and October, staying ahead is crucial.
Anticipated consumer trends include:
- Generative AI: Innovative shopping experiences are gaining traction. Customers are learning about new products from Google Search Generative Experience and conversational AI like ChatGPT and Google Bard.
- Buy now, pay later: These options saw 7% of online orders in 2022, and given the current economic climate, this number might escalate.
- Discounts: Shoppers are on the lookout for discounts, with many willing to wait for the best deal.
- Mobile: Nearly half of online sales come from mobile devices. For local SEO, this means optimising your content for mobile search is pivotal.
5 SEO Strategies for Your Holiday Season
1. Localised Keyword Research
Delving into keyword research, find topics and terms that resonate with the local audience. While volume is important, prioritise user intent. Remember, consumers might be seeking general information or a specific product. Tailoring your content to their search intent is crucial.
2. Emphasis on Long-tail Keywords
Studies indicate that most consumers prefer information from articles over traditional ads. As such, you can focus on writing SEO-friendly articles for your strategy. Focusing on long-tail keywords, such as ‘christmas gifts for kids under $80,’ can be advantageous. Though these terms might have lower search volumes, their precision makes them highly effective.
3. Utilise Short-tail Keywords Strategically
Yes, long tail keyword is effective, but you still need to incorporate short tail keyword for your SEO strategy.
Reserve short-tail keywords for your product landing pages, targeting consumers in the buying phase. With significant competition in this area, it’s vital to optimise your most impactful pages for these terms.
4. In-depth Competitive and Consumer Analysis
Adopt a data-driven approach, harnessing tools like Google Trends to identify product trends. Assess previous holiday season performances, considering the highest traffic pages and effective search queries. To fine-tune your SEO strategy, keep an eye on emerging trends in your area and product categories.
5. Add Your Promotion on Your Local Page Like Top4
Promoting early on a local page such as Top4 can bring several advantages to your business. Not only is Top4 cost-effective, but it also allows you to integrate keywords, and promote your products with its promotion feature, among other benefits. This local page can serve as a valuable asset in broadening your online presence and boosting your holiday promotions.
Technical Adjustments for Optimal Seasonal Performance
The meticulous planning of your SEO strategy well in advance can give you a competitive edge, especially when considering the timeframes search engines require for indexing and ranking.
1. Early Landing Page Preparation
Prepare key landing pages in advance, tailored to anticipated holiday trends. Use a 302 redirect to hide them until required, allowing time for proper indexing. Quickly add new pages to your XML sitemap and navigation. Also, choose timeless URLs (e.g., “/christmas-specials” rather than “/2023-christmas-specials”) to maintain their authority and backlinks.
2. Regular Content Refresh and Rescan
Modify title tags, headers, and content as and when necessary. After any significant updates, prompt Google to scan the page again, ensuring the most recent version is indexed.
3. Semantic Optimisation
Embrace semantic SEO by leveraging related keywords, synonyms, and contextually linked terms. Such practices show search engines that your content is broad and of value.
4. Schema Annotations
By incorporating schema annotations on your seasonal product pages and articles, you heighten your chances of featuring in rich results, increasing potential click-through rates.
5. Promotion of User-driven Content
Encourage and showcase user content like reviews, feedback, and testimonials. This amplifies trust in your offerings and can enhance SEO.
6. Mobile Optimisation
Ensure that your festive content shines on mobile:
- Adaptive Design: Your website should adapt to varying screen dimensions and gadgets.
- Swift Loading: Prioritise rapid page loading for mobile viewers by compressing visuals, streamlining code, and using browser storage.
- Mobile-centric Content: Content should be segmented into short blocks, use readable typefaces, and have adequately spaced touch elements.
When is the Best Time to Begin Planning Your SEO for the 2023 Holiday Season?
A successful season of SEO hinges on timely preparation. If there’s one takeaway from this guide, it’s this: now is the perfect time to start preparing your holiday SEO strategy. Recent data from Think With Google shows people begin their holiday shopping much earlier. Last year, 70% of “Black Friday” shopping-related searches occurred in October.
It’s clear: customers are shopping earlier and spreading their spending across a broader timeframe. The seasonal landscape has expanded beyond just the November-December window. Begin ahead of time and thoroughly grasp the shifts in consumer behaviours.
Final Takeaways
A strong SEO strategy is paramount for businesses to thrive during the 2023 holiday season. Embrace early preparation and adapt to changing consumer behaviours.
Strategically plan your content calendar and emphasise flexibility to remain competitive. Start now to ensure your brand remains top-of-mind for consumers during this festive season.
To find out how we can help you with your Website + Marketing, using our unique location marketing platform called Top4 (Top4.online), get in touch today at www.top4marketing.com
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