Are you taking advantage during the holiday season?
The Holiday season is an important time to make sure you’re doing what you need to be doing on your website in order to direct traffic to your website. Here are a few tips to help you take full advantage of the holidays using SEO tactics.
Tip 1: Get an AWESOME link building campaign
Have you ever had an “I wish that were me moment?” I have, I’ve had plenty. Like the time several friends were going to the Caribbean but I had to stay home, yeah, I wish that were me going. Or how about the moment when someone just got done with a triathlon, I wish that were me, I wish I was fit enough, dedicated enough to do that… but training is so hard! haha
The other day as I was walking through the grocery store I saw a man, his clothes were torn up, he looked as if it had been a long time since he’d had a shower. He had some bread, meat and a couple other small things in his hand and I noticed he was counting the change in his hand. The thing that happened next was one I will never forget. A lady approached him and asked, “Would you mind if I bought those things for you?” Right there and then I had one of the most powerful, “I wish that were me” moments. Why didn’t I help someone in need?
Now, I don’t tell you this story to get sentimental but to prove a point. How many of us see others doing something, especially at this time of year, whether it be giving to the needy, going Christmas caroling, or seeing a competitor doing an awesome campaign to get well known around the community? I know you all have experienced this and your thought was, “Grrr…why didn’t I think of that?” aka I wish that were me moment.
Here, at Nifty Marketing, we have done a link building campaign or two for our clients. One that brings us pride and joy is one that we did last year for the holidays. We made a calendar that had all of the family Christmas related events happening in the city of Boise, Idaho. Below is an example of the details we had for every event.
A lot of time and effort went into it, but it was well worth it for the client.
Christmas is right around the corner, at this time of year people are out and about and they notice things that happen around town. You should already have a link campaign in place, something that will get yourself better known and hopefully, as a result, build links to your site. Start a link building campaign ASAP for the holiday, give back to the community and get noticed.
Tip 2: Make sure your site is optimized for mobile
It’s no secret; during Christmas people are shopping like crazy, looking for that perfect gift for their kids. I’m sure they search on their mobile device while they are out wandering, for stores that might carry the newest gadget or doll. You can’t go anywhere these days without seeing someone occupied on his or her phone; it’s all around us.
People also do a lot of traveling out of state or even out of the country at this time of year. Again, they will be doing their searches on mobile devices. If your products or services are needed for any situation, you want your site to be easily navigated and ready.
The infographic below shows just how important having a mobile friendly website is.
Having your website optimized for mobile is a must in todays competitive market, and frankly, it already should be mobile friendly. But if it isn’t, I suggest you rush order that being done NOW.
Tip 3: Optimize Content for Holiday Keywords
It’s Christmas time, do you think people are going to be searching, “newest iPhone”? Okay, yes they are, but some of the most highly searched terms during the holidays are things like, “gifts for dad/mom” or “gift ideas” or how about this one, “tips for surviving the holidays.” Now is the time to produce awesome content on a holiday offer page or blog post. If you have these high traffic search terms in your content, you’re more likely to show up for those terms, obviously, and heck, maybe even gain a customer or two.
If you think you’re the only one trying to zone in on the holiday season, you’re wrong. There are millions of companies that will optimize their content for the holidays, so your goal is to create something brilliant and eye catching. While optimizing content, make them an offer they can’t refuse. This could be a coupon of any kind, buy one get one free, 50% off, anything will do!
Tip 4: Share the Love
This one is pretty simple, but important. After you do all this work, make sure people know about it! Social networks are huge and can spread word very fast. Facebook alone has 1.2 billion monthly active users. Remember that link building campaign I mentioned earlier? Check out how many social shares it got.
It was shared 1321 on Facebook, had 3 Google+ shares, 16 Pinterest shares, 18 Tweets and 3 LinkedIn shares. That’s a total of 1,361 shares, all of which are helping build your brand and awareness.
In a recent study it said that the average American spends 3.2 hours a day on social media. That’s a ton of time, time in which people could be seeing all the work you’ve been doing. Just remember to 1) start an AWESOME link building campaign, 2) optimize your site for mobile and 3) create epic content to draw attention.
It’s a fun time of year, so do something fun with your company to get known and build links. Good luck!