How to Optimize SEO for Consumer Holiday Trends
Once Halloween ends, it’s officially the start of the holiday shopping season. So what does this mean for your business? It’s time to roll out a content marketing plan for the holidays, when buyers come out in droves to purchase presents.
The great thing about holiday marketing is that as you pivot digital marketing tactics to engage holiday shopping traffic, your business is poised to hit the ground running as the new year begins. Discover the difference between holiday marketing and digital marketing for the rest of the year and how it can benefit your business and enhance your SEO.
How is Holiday Marketing Different?
Holiday marketing means engaging buyers with promotions, specials, targeted advertisements, and sales that you don’t push as frequently throughout the other months of the year.
Of course, the objective is to ensure a profitable season. Still, use digital marketing to your advantage. You’ll find that you can reap the rewards of great holiday marketing going into the new year and beyond, making a can’t-miss holiday marketing campaign even more essential.
The holidays are also a great time to win over brand-new customers that may become loyal buyers, so you’re marketing to a wide audience. The holidays are also the perfect opportunity to raise brand awareness, especially to potential buyers who haven’t been aware of your brand until they started shopping for the holidays.
Basically, holiday marketing is every company’s big chance to increase site traffic, acquire new customers, and increase sales volume. A good holiday marketing campaign benefits both a business and a buyer, providing perks for both parties. Buyers get what they want at an affordable price point, and companies are rewarded with increased revenue and new, potentially lifelong customers.
Digital Marketing for the Holiday Season
This year, holiday marketing is markedly different due to the constraints of the pandemic. How can you prepare your business for the ramp-up to holiday shopping?
The pandemic has inspired a few different shopping trends since 2020:
- People are shopping earlier.
- People are still spending a lot of money on gifts.
- Consumers desire options when it comes to shopping, whether it’s delivery, pickup, curbside, or more traditional options like in-person shopping and online buying.
A digital marketing campaign for the holidays in 2021 should lean on a few up-and-coming marketing tactics:
- Make customers feel special and “seen” by creating more personalized interactions and campaigns. This could mean YouTube content, tailored emails, interacting with buyers via social media/email/chat, or offering above-and-beyond customer service, such as gift wrapping or speedy shipping (due to the shipping issues the pandemic has brought with it, this is a big one)
- Get on social media and start hashtagging! Many products have gone from obscurity to popularity just from being featured in a TikTok or Instagram Reel, so make sure your company stays super-active and engaging during the holiday shopping period, and honestly, all year! Studies show that buyers are more prone to buying from brands that feature heavily on social media.
- Don’t just think about holiday marketing as something that ends on January 1. Consider creative attempts to keep buyers interested in your brand all year, and focus on customer retention, not just acquisition. Think outside the box!
Increasing SEO During Holiday Shopping Season
One of the perks you’ll find as you implement a content marketing strategy for the holidays is enhanced SEO. It’s natural that your awesome marketing plan would lure new buyers to your site, but do you have what it takes to increase SEO during the year’s biggest shopping season?
To make sure you can get the benefits of holiday shoppers, assess your website. Does it load quickly? Is your mobile site speed optimized? Many shoppers browse and buy from mobile devices, so this is necessary. Ensure your site won’t crash under the weight of holiday shoppers.
Ensure you have specified landing pages for holiday shoppers, and note your keywords. Refresh content to include recommendations for out-of-stock items (or a system for ordering by a certain date), a shipping FAQ page, and an easily accessible way to contact customer service. 
Create some gift guides or holiday-centered content that you can post on your social media to get more traffic to your site. Gaining new customers will boost your SEO, and hopefully, with the right content marketing strategy, you’ll see new buyers again before the next holiday shopping season!
