Last-minute shopping is a holiday tradition for many (whether intentional or not), and ecommerce businesses need to help those scrambling shoppers find the products they need, especially during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Ecommerce brands that make it easy for people, especially those shoppers that are ready to buy, can win big during the online shopping rush. SEO is a key component of any successful ecommerce holiday strategy.
Let’s get started with some just-in-time SEO tips to help your ecommerce business this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
5 Last-Minute Holiday SEO Tips
Perform Keyword Research
If you’re an SEO professional, you already understand the importance of keyword research in your overall strategy. But when it comes to the holiday season, additional research is vital. Understanding what users are searching for, specifically as it relates to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is the first step in building a successful plan to bring those users to your website. This will involve utilizing keyword research tools to identify the latest, most relevant queries related to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and your products specifically. It’s also beneficial to review historical data when available, such as your highest traffic drivers from the previous holiday season.
When researching for product-specific queries, focus on long-tail keywords with lower competition. These queries are transactional in nature, meaning higher conversions. Optimizing your product page to match intent as closely as possible will make it easier for users looking for specific products to find your site. In addition, these keywords also represent better short-term goals due to their lower competition, which is beneficial when you need to make last-minute adjustments.
Focus on Titles and Headers
Once you’ve done your research, it’s time to implement your holiday-specific keywords. While attempting to optimize all the content across your site at the last minute isn’t plausible, one major area to focus on is your titles and header tags. These are important ranking factors—having your target keyword in the title and H1 makes it clear to crawlers what your page is about. Not only will it help your page rank, but in the case of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it also helps from a user experience perspective, as the search engine results make it clear that users can find deals on your site.
You can also utilize your meta descriptions to showcase holiday promotions such as guaranteed shipping—an important one this year—or other special offers. Having these offers displayed in conjunction with your keyword-infused titles will give a user context about exactly what you’re offering right from the results page.
Additionally, ensure your product pages have image alt tags for all product images. This will help Google understand what your images are and allow them to rank for those queries. Image alt tags should include a brief description of the image and, most importantly, the target keyword for the page.
Create (and Update) Holiday-Specific Blog Content
Using blog content to target long-tail keywords is another common and effective strategy, and holiday content is no exception. Use your keyword research to identify opportunities for new blog content specific to Black Friday and Cyber Monday or products you will be running promotions on. Include information on your upcoming promotions or include a call-to-action for readers to explore your products or deals.
Producing new content can be time-consuming, but don’t worry: a great last-minute solution is to optimize your existing content. If you had previously created holiday-specific blog content, optimize it with your new target keywords and add content specific to your current promotions and products. Remove any outdated information, such as statistics, cultural references, or discontinued products, and update with the most recent and relevant content.
In addition to ranking for the most relevant queries, refreshing existing content will also mean you can still take advantage of any backlinks the page has already earned. Just make sure, if you find it is necessary to update the URL, that you ensure there are proper redirects in place.
Lastly, when it comes to blogs, incorporate shoppable content, whether through new posts or refreshes. Shoppable content allows readers to seamlessly transition from the blog post to product pages, creating a clear pathway to conversions straight from the blog. This is a great opportunity to create additional sales if you’re already using your blog content to highlight specific deals or products. It also allows you to tie conversions to specific blog posts, giving you insight into your most valuable posts.
Update Existing Black Friday and Cyber Monday Pages
Similar to blog content, if you have existing pages on your site for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, don’t create new versions of a similar page. By updating your existing pages, you can benefit from any authority that the prior page has, making it easier to rank for your target keywords. It will save you time, and you can continue refreshing the page year after year. You can leave these pages live throughout the year as well to save yourself time next year—just remove them from your navigation and advertising. When carrying over the same page, you will most likely be updating the URL, so make sure to redirect last year’s page to your updated page.
Update Product Page Descriptions
If you’ve prepared for the holiday season already but are looking for some tips to push your strategy over the top, updating your product page descriptions can be helpful during the holidays. While it may be more time-consuming, bringing some holiday-specific language or additional emotional descriptors to your product pages is a great way to resonate with your customers and get them to the finish line.
Using your descriptions to tap into the joy and selflessness of the season of giving will inspire those who have found your site to convert. It will also give your site credibility, as users will see it is up-to-date and tailored to the holiday shopping experience.
It’s Not Too Late for Black Friday SEO
While last-minute SEO might sound counterintuitive, these tips can provide a pathway to getting boosted traffic and higher sales over Black Friday and Cyber Monday. By setting up existing content such as gift guides, blog posts, and other promotional pages, you can save time in the future and ensure you are prepared for the holiday season. So grab your coat, put on your mittens, and get optimizing.
But don’t feel left out in the cold. Direct Agents is here to help with your Black Friday and holiday SEO strategy. Learn how Direct Agents can help your eCommerce business by contacting us today.
Austin Korff, SEO Coordinator