Heads up: it may only be September, but if you’re not already preparing your holiday content marketing strategy (and thinking about SEO!), then you’re missing out on conversion opportunities and sales. We know, we know — nobody likes to start thinking about the holidays before the fourth quarter, but consider this: In 2017, $5.03B was spent in Black Friday sales, with an astounding $2B of that spent on mobile alone! And, Cyber Monday 2017 was the biggest single online shopping day in US History, with $6.59B in sales.
With foot traffic decreasing in traditional brick and mortar stores, and with “Pre-Black Friday” sales beginning right after Halloween, it’s time to invest in a solid digital marketing strategy. And of course, for optimal results, SEO should serve as the foundation of the strategy (because how can you sell anything if consumers can’t find your website?). Here are three ways you can help prepare your company to have the most successful holiday season ever:
- Keyword Research
- Optimize
- Seasonal Content
1. Conduct Keyword Research
With so many brands wanting to capitalize on holiday revenue, make sure you are going after the best SEO keywords for your brand. Keywords are the search phrases you want your site to appear for when people Google or use a search engine. Look at your competition, and check out search console and analytics for traffic to your site. Consider the search volume, landing pages, and how to implement the best SEO keywords in your content.
2. Optimize Existing Pages
Ranking for these keywords will take around 3 months, so you’re going to be cutting it close, but we’ve seen more incredible things happen. Optimize your content by adding the keywords throughout your site (see number 3 below), but don’t over saturate. Make sure you are keeping the fine line of optimizing and overstuffing by using SEO keyword density percentages as guidance.
Also, make sure your titles and meta descriptions are written for keywords and conversions, keeping your titles to 60 characters and your metas to 160. (Note: “Title tags and meta descriptions are bits of HTML code in the header of a web page. They help search engines understand the content on a page. A page’s title tag and meta description are usually shown whenever that page appears in search engine results.”)
3. Create New Seasonal Content
Make sure your blogs are not only optimized for keywords but also that you are talking about what people are searching for during Black Friday Holiday sales and the entire holiday season. Write about questions that your customers are typing into Google, and provide them with answers. Create copy that helps convert and drives interest. Include links to other sites and to places within your site because this adds credibility.
We know there’s a lot to think about with Black Friday quickly approaching. Subscribe to our blog so you don’t miss any of the tips and tricks we will be posting!