How to Plan Your Holiday Content Strategy Now

It may only be September, but for brands that have search engine optimization (SEO) on the mind, now is the time to take action and plan a holiday content strategy.

No matter your industry, the holiday season is massive for any company. As much success for modern businesses stems from online clicks, getting a head start on your annual SEO strategy as early as possible is essential.

Let’s understand why and what your brand can do now to align your content with the busiest time of the year.

Why Start Planning Now?

SEO isn’t a magic spell that instantly gains results. Site changes often take weeks or months to make a difference in search rankings. Thus, examining your content strategy now is essential if you want Google to index your latest page changes and blog posts.

Waiting too long could mean that all you have is a decorative site with content that isn’t ranking as it should. Planning requires extra effort but trust us when we say it can pay off in the long run.

Top Ways to Plan Your Holiday Content Approach

As a retailer, you likely know that many audiences start their holiday shopping at the end of September. So, let’s get your content strategy on track! Here are seven quick tips that can have your content ready for the holiday season in no time.

Create Concrete Goals

It’s exciting to get your site in the holiday spirit. However, you’re going to put quite a bit of effort into its holiday optimization. So, having some clear goals in mind is critical.

You want your holiday season to be fruitful for you and your customers. Here are some examples of goals you can set to track the success of your holiday campaigns:

• X amount of interested leads by a specific date
• X amount of signups for your holiday newsletters
• X amount of a particular product sold during critical timeframes

As you meet and surpass specified dates, it’s easy to examine what’s working, what isn’t, and what you can do to shift your strategy to meet your goals later.

Anticipate Annual Trends

Unless your brand releases new products regularly, it should be easy to determine what the trends will be during the holiday season.

Are you a plumbing company? Be prepared to advertise winterization services. Do you promote the bail bonds industry? The holidays are notorious for DUIs and other arrests.

The best part about this tip is it doesn’t have to be a guessing game. All you have to do is meet with your SEO team, review past performance over the same time period in previous years and map out the trends that have remained consistent.

This is a time saver and can help you get the head-start you need as you create new content that aligns with current trends you may not have covered yet.

Create Polls for Your Audience

Maybe you haven’t gotten into the holiday spirit for years, or you haven’t built a strong rapport with your audience. Either situation can leave you wondering what your audience wants from you during the holiday season.

There is always a chance to reconnect with your audience and learn more about their wants and needs. One of the easiest ways to do this is by to get on social media and create polls that engage your audience, answer your questions, and shape your content strategy.

Some examples of poll questions that get your audience eager to answer are:

• What’s on your wishlist for the holidays in 2022?
• How are you planning for the holidays?
• What’s the most significant holiday challenge you face this year?
• How can we help your holidays be brighter?

Find Content You can Update

Your holiday content strategy doesn’t always have to start from scratch. We suggest auditing the content your site already has and comparing it to what your audience is asking for and what’s trending. 

You’ll find that some content already overlaps and only requires minor optimization to get it into the holiday spirit.

Regardless of if the content was from a former holiday campaign or happens to align with your goals, we can’t stress enough that every piece you produce must be relevant and helpful for your audience.

These two features are Google’s main priorities for ranking content in search. Thus, if updates are necessary, ensure they meet those essential criteria.

Get Your Holiday Promotions in Line

Whether you plan on offering lucrative discounts during the holidays or having brand new products lined up for the season, planning your promotional release is critical. These offers will be the main attraction of your holiday campaign, so you must ensure the content surrounding them is informative, easy to follow, and to the point (after all, the holidays are a rush).

Once your promotion ideas are ready, it’s time to create landing pages that completely sell your audience. An excellent campaign landing page includes the following elements:

• Striking visuals
• Enticing headlines
• Examples of why your product is what your audience needs this holiday
• Simple forms that allow for quick signups

Spread Your Content Across Every Possible Delivery Method

Finally, you want to get your content in front of as many eyes as possible. Fortunately, if you already have an SEO strategy in place, you have the tools available to quickly spread your content around.

Email marketing, blogging, social media marketing, and paid advertising are all excellent ways your team can spread the word about your holiday content.

Remember, the faster it gets out, the sooner it can rank and reel in the seasonal crowds.

Check Your SEO List Twice with Dallas SEO Dogs

If your brand’s holiday season is significant, you must pivot your SEO strategy in time for the rush. However, planning a month long strategic change on top of physically getting your business ready for the holidays can be stressful.

Working with Dallas SEO Dogs can help you perfect your SEO strategy during the holiday season and throughout the rest of the year. Our content creation, monthly analytics reviews, and constant backend updates have helped businesses from all industries find search engine success.

Let’s help you find your top spot on Google. Reach out to us today to schedule a free consultation with a team member.