Seasonal SEO

Just as not all companies are created equal, the same is true for the marketing approaches which each business needs to utilise to achieve the best results. Seasonal SEO is one example of this. If your business witnesses peaks of activity at certain times of year, then it’s highly likely you have a business which needs to consider aspects of seasonal SEO.
This article delves into the essentials, offering insights and tips on how to optimise your content and campaigns to capitalise on peak periods from Christmas holiday shopping sprees to school holidays.
What is seasonal SEO ?
Seasonal SEO serves the same purpose as SEO but looks at the relation between seasonality and the volume of searches for products and services at a given point or period of time such as Christmas or school holidays.
SEO can be in relation to time or events
- Time-based: focuses on larger seasons (summer or winter)
- Event-based: looks at specific events like Christmas, Halloween, Black Friday etc
These are mostly interlinked as with seasons often come big events, for example christmas is associated with winter.“.”
Why is seasonal SEO important for businesses ?
Seasonal SEO is important for businesses as it helps them to better understand how to target and attract consumers during low as well as peak seasons.
Preseason planning is important for success
- Five to six months prior (ramp-up period): researching and planning begins.
- Decide on what keywords you want to target, the search intent or buying journey of users, and how many potential touch-points or opportunities to convert them you may have.
- For example, for a given term, do users tend to perform research long before they make a purchase (e.g. research into Christmas presents is often performed days, weeks, or even months before the purchase is made), or do users tend to research and purchase at the same time? (e.g. Valentine’s day).
- If this is your first time planning for a campaign for a certain period, you can closely monitor what your competitors have done previously, or what they are currently implementing. However, bear in mind that the latter means you’re already behind the curve, so unless your operation is extremely agile, it may not be the best approach
- Four to three months before: creating and uploading content takes place. This is so that it will reach consumers. Just like creating a video or radio campaign can take months, so too can seasonal SEO as it can take a while for search engines to visit your website, and find the relevant content. It then also needs to be indexed and work its way up the rankings so that you have a good position in time for the desired time period.
- You're going to need to produce content that markets products / services relevant to what the consumer is searching for
- In turn this will then increase brand awareness and begin getting your audience familiar with the products / services you have on offer
- Engagement period: the period of seasonality that the process has been leading up to and when conversions or sales typically happen
- Postseason (slow down period): preparation and planning for the upcoming seasons begins, and so this process become cyclical
- Content can be updated year-after-year. This is known as “Evergreen content.”
The benefits of seasonal SEO
- The business positions itself to maximise visibility to consumers
- The predictability of seasonal SEO aids planning
- Helps you to better meet specific customer needs as you can target their needs through the use of specific words, and so your content will be relevant regarding what they are searching for
- Higher traffic volumes and higher conversion rates
Different products / services that are affected by seasonality
The following are just some examples of the types of products where you may find seasonal variations.
- January
- Non-alcoholic drinks, gym memberships, fireworks (New Years)
- Type: event
- February to March
- Flowers (valentines day / mothers day)
- Type: event
(Seasonality of flowers, peaks in both February and March - Google Trends graph)
- April
- Easter eggs (may alter slightly due to changing calendar dates)
- Type: event
- July, August
- Sunglasses, suncreams
- Type: time
- October
- Halloween costumes
- Type: event
- November
- Fireworks, christmas decorations (start to climb during the end of the month due to christmas preparations)
- Type: event
- December
- Christmas trees
- Type: event
(Seasonality of Christmas trees, which peaks in November - Google Trends graph)
How does SEO and PPC relate and why is this beneficial ?
SEO and PPC are different techniques but go towards the same goals. Both are used to increase visibility and brand awareness, use keyword research and more. By using them simultaneously this will increase brand awareness as well as maximising ROI.
Don’t wait! Let us help you get ahead of the competition before your next peak season
Our team has years of experience of optimising sites which have seasonal peaks and troughs, from major international retailers, to local florists. Contact our team today for a friendly, no obligation chat to discover how we can help you grow your business further.
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