IS SEASONAL SEO WORTH IT? SHOULD YOU START GEARING UP FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON?
While the holidays may only be three months away for most people, for many marketers, the holidays have already started and some may have considered optimising their SEO for the season. But how important is seasonal SEO exactly? Should you gear up for the holiday season by planning your SEO strategy now for the December holidays or some other season? Let’s discuss what seasonal SEO is, who it matters to and the various forms it can take.
An Introduction to Seasonal SEO
Seasonal search engine optimisation is simply SEO tied to a specific season or holiday. Candy makers tend to put out content marketing with seasonal SEO for Easter and Halloween, since that is when candy sales spike. Costume makers would focus on Halloween as their seasonal SEO. Swimsuit manufacturers live and die by the summer bikini season, so all of their seasonal content would focus on the summer swim season. Seasonal SEO can be based on periodic spikes in sales, whether the first quarter of the year or the end of the quarter.
The Importance of Seasonal SEO
Seasonal SEO is essential to putting out content that promotes the product just as demand is starting to rise. You want to post SEO optimised content about your Christmas decorating service in November, before your customers start researching for services like yours, not the week before Christmas. If you’re offering summer childcare, you start advertising summer activities when consumer thoughts shift toward that concern. Timing is essential for seasonal SEO, since the content must be published and promoted as the interest in the “season” is starting to ramp up.
Seasonal SEO or search engine optimisation for most businesses in the West is SEO tailored for key search terms related to the Christmas holiday, due to the sheer volume of shopping that occurs at that time of year.
How to Determine Whether You Should or Should Not Gear Up with Holiday SEO
Depending on the information source, anywhere from half to two thirds of all toys are bought to be given as Christmas presents. For toy stores, the Christmas season is what makes or breaks the store for the year. If you are selling toys or rely on similar seasonal peaks to make your sales numbers for the year, seasonal SEO is essential. This requires planning your Christmas sales content now and having it up before people start going Christmas shopping. It means doing your research on key search terms each year to make sure your content marketing and product listings have the right key terms to show up at the top of relevant searches.
Seasonal SEO is important if your product or service only sells during specific seasons. If you’re selling winter coats, it would look outright weird if you’re promoting them when it is so hot outside people are buying swimsuits. If you’re selling products where seasonal SEO increases sales significantly, it is a valuable investment. For example, a wine vendor who sees sales increase for June weddings and New Year’s Eve can create seasonal content for both.
Businesses that see rather steady demand throughout the year don’t need to worry nearly as much about seasonal SEO. For example, restaurants see a spike in visits over the Christmas holidays, but they don’t have to invest a lot of effort to rank well in seasonal searches because they’ll probably see more business regardless. Doctors’ offices, plumbing stores and other businesses that see constant demand throughout the year don’t need to worry about seasonal SEO unless it is to promote a particular product or service for which demand is seasonally variable.
The emphasis you should put on seasonal SEO depends on your industry. If demand for your product or service is constant and minimally unaffected by seasons, seasonal search engine optimisation doesn’t matter as much. But if your business needs to maximise sales during a specific season, whether it is Christmas or summer, your SEO strategy must include seasonal SEO.
