The holidays are upon us and nearly everyone is ramping up their advertising to make the most of the season. Christmas marketing is one of the most important actions you can take to maximize your return on SEO in the final months of the year.
This quick guide is designed to help you determine whether or not your holiday SEO plan is in good shape.
Seasonal Site Optimization
You’ve probably sent out advertisements letting everyone know that your store is open late through the months of November and December, but if you haven’t posted your updated hours on your website, you could be missing out. Doing seasonal site maintenance to address these questions will keep you from answering dozens of phone calls about your expanded hours as well.
This seasonal focus also gives you the opportunity to provide some great localized keywords that relate to the holidays and your products specifically. Posting holiday specials and changing your e-commerce page slightly to reflect the season can help get your customers in the mood to celebrate by spending more.
Start Earlier
Launching your holiday SEO blogs on Christmas Eve means that you missed the boat. The rule of thumb is that you should start putting your holiday keywords into play 45 days in advance of your major sale events, and continue sending out reminders in the final weeks and days.
Many people begin researching what they want to buy well in advance of making an actual purchase. You need to get them into your sales funnel sooner rather than later.
Help Ease the Shopping Process through Social Media
More and more websites now allow users to place items on their wish lists for a later date. This is your chance to use Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and other social media outlets to take advantage of this consumer habit.
For instance, if women have a wish list full of cosmetics, you can create a social media post that recommends the 10 most wanted products from your store to send out to the men in town. They’ll appreciate the tips.
Expand Your Link Capacity
Links help search engines verify the quality of your content. During the holiday season, we will see a number of product reviews being posted by bloggers and industry experts. These reviews constitute a way for you to get your products linked by trusted professionals who have a large following. You can even create your very own gift guides to boost your results.
The holidays come and go in the blink of an eye, so you need to be prepared with a great holiday marketing plan well in advance. The longer you wait, the more customers you lose to competitors who are already driving the right keywords.
Let Us Help
Whether you need to update your site for the season or produce more targeted content to reach shoppers this holiday season, there are plenty of opportunities to get in on the shopping frenzy. To learn more about holiday SEO and best practices, contact V Digital Services today.