The holiday season is almost here, which means more and more people turning to Google to find the goods they need to check everyone off their holiday shopping list this season. During this season SEO becomes even more important for local businesses, as competition for positioning get particularly intense.
When it comes to SEO once you have secured top local position you can’t just sit back and relax, you must maintain and continue to keep up with user search trends, even during the busy holiday season. Check out some of these holiday season optimization tips to keep you ranking at the top of Google’ search results.
Google Trends
Use the Google trends tool to monitor searcher behavior and help determine what keywords are receiving the heaviest monthly search volume. You can then use this information to modify your website and capitalize on any potential change in keywords & searcher behavior.
Keyword trends and search behavior could change during the holiday search with people searching using holiday specific keywords. For example, if you are an urgent care center and someone is looking for you during the holidays they may use the keywords “Urgent care open on Christmas Day”. If you knew people were making these searches you could then make sure to use the terms “urgent care open Christmas day” in your content.
Update Holiday Hours
Google now allows businesses to create “special hours” for specific days (like holidays) in an effort to create a better user experience. You can use these special hours to inform customers that your business is open later during the holiday season or you are closed on a specific day. Make sure to update these features to alleviate customer frustration, and potentially increases sales if hours are extended.
Content
Build specific content around holiday services, deals, specials, products or anything else your business may offer during the holiday season. Highlighting these specials in your website’s content can help you stay competitive within SERP & the local pack as searchers behavior tends to switch toward holiday-related searches during this time.
Also updating the description in Google My Business and other listings to more holiday related content can help boost local pack positioning. If Google detects that your local listings have consistent Name Address Phone Number along with consistent and user-friendly information you are more likely to rank within the local 3 pack.
When it comes to staying relevant during the busy holiday season it is important to stay conscious of how your competitors are competing in the local results and to be aware that search behavior changes during this time. By keeping these tips in mind, you can help your business rank above competitors even during the busiest time of the year!