SEO-friendly Holiday Content Ideas
As we get closer to the end of another year, it feels like in no time at all the holiday season is back once again. And that means it’s the biggest season in the ecommerce calendar. With the opportunity for new customers and increased sales to see out the year, how can merchants make the most of it? How do you attract those new customers?
In this article we’re going to take a quick look at creating holiday content - why it’s important, what you can add to your store, and tips for maximizing its value to your holiday strategy.
Why holiday content matters for SEO
Search intent is a huge part in determining search ranking. Knowing which keywords a user is entering into search engines is just one piece of the puzzle. After all, if someone searches for “soy wax candles” are they looking for information about a type of candle or are they looking to buy some? Understanding the intent behind a search tells you more about what kind of content that user wants to see in search results.
That’s why seasonal content is so important. As you get closer to the holidays, user search intent starts to shift. They’re starting to look more for gifts, therefore they’re buying for other people and not necessarily for themselves. That means the kind of content they’ll find useful may be different to the audience you’d typically target. They may be unfamiliar with your products or product category, and it may be their first time ever interacting with your brand and store.
So, if Google prioritizes useful content for different search terms, your goal now is to make your content as useful as possible for this audience. If you can do that along with finding the search terms they’re using, you’re onto a winning strategy for holiday SEO.
3 types of content that will help your holiday SEO
#1 - Gift and buying guide blogs
Blogs are an easy way to create useful content that will allow you to target different audiences and search terms without adding too much new content to more static pages like product pages. You can pick a specific topic and audience, find the right keywords, and create helpful content. Gift and buying guides specifically help those search users who have low awareness of products, brands, and categories when purchasing for someone else. Rather than have to do a lot of research, they can get a good overview of what to buy, why it’s a good idea, and what to look for.
For example, if you’re buying for someone who really loves coffee, but you don’t drink it yourself. You might know that they’re in the market for a new grinder, however with so many available and without the right education on the subject you’d struggle to find the right one. A buying guide in this case will be invaluable to that customer.
#2 - Holiday landing pages
Landing pages are another effective way to target keywords but with some substantial content that you may not be able to include in a blog post. These can act as a sort of hub for holiday or seasonal content, with more information and links that users will find useful in their search for the perfect gift.
Features you may want to include:
- FAQ with common questions about shipping, delivery, etc.
- Links to temporary collections that may be of interest e.g. “Gifts for her”
- Contact information if they want to get in touch with support
- Email sign up to get information about upcoming sales and holiday information
This allows you to pack a lot of valuable information onto one page, and helps boost your seasonal SEO. You can then reuse the same page the following year, updating information and adding new features to suit.
#3 - Homepage content and temporary collections
For many sites, the homepage is a top landing page for new visitors. That means whatever is on that page is going to be valuable whether it’s a first impression or if you’re looking to promote something. Adding content to your homepage can be as simple as replacing your hero image and adding some content about upcoming holiday specials, bestsellers, and gift guides.
These can help encourage visitors to explore more on your site, especially if they’re looking to purchase gifts. Another way to do this is to add a temporary gifting collection to your store along with a primary navigation link.
The primary navigation for your store follows visitors no matter which page they land on or navigate to. So if they come to your site through a product page, or through a blog article, they can immediately and easily navigate to gift ideas and holiday information.
Tips for making the most of your holiday content
Share content across different platforms
While platforms like social media don’t directly affect SEO, they can still help bring more attention and visitors to your site. This can also boost visibility which may be able to help with backlinks if larger sites take notice of your brand on social media and decide to share your products and content on their own site. Beyond SEO benefits, sharing across platforms maximizes the value you get out of the content you produce. For example using it as the basis for an email marketing campaign, or sharing on Instagram.
Share content with higher authority sites
Be sure to use your content as part of your backlink outreach strategy. This content is going to be highly relevant at a key time of year, and higher authority sites will be looking to provide their visitors with relevant, interesting content. That’s why it can be valuable to create a variety of holiday content, as you’ll then have a selection to choose from that will suit different sites and their audiences.
Create “evergreen” seasonal content
It may sound strange, but as well as content that will only be relevant in the present year you should also aim to create content that could be considered both seasonal and evergreen. For example, a gift guide that’s titled “How to choose the best gifts for your Winter gift basket” could be relevant the following year whereas “10 best gift ideas for the 2024 holiday season” obviously won’t be. By having a balance, this content can regain relevance the following year and attracting new visitors as you create fresh content for the upcoming season.
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The good news with holiday content is that you can continue to create and publish useful content to your site throughout the season. Customers often shop right up till the very last moment, so whether it’s a Black Friday buying guide, a holiday gift guide, or seasonal homepage content, you’ll provide satisfying content to at least some new potential customers and boost your store’s SEO.