Digital Marketing blog on Preparing for Winter Sales: SEO Insider tips!
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Preparing for Winter Sales: SEO Insider Tips

Dropping the C bomb this early might cause your toes to curl, but every marketer will know it’s the perfect time to get ahead of the curve and start optimising for those Autumn/Winter sales. When it comes to Q4 marketing, it’ll certainly feel like you’re fighting to come out top on the Google SERP amongst hundreds of competitors.

To help you get ready, I’ve outlined several key tips to get ahead of the last minute dash.

 

Know your Deals, Dates & Deadlines

The 3Ds are at the top of any SEO Christmas (Priority) List.

Getting a clear understanding of what you’ll be offering, when and how long you’ll be offering it for, and when you need to have everything live is key to nailing your organic optimisation. You’ll know exactly what you’re doing and make sure you’re prepared for any curve balls. 

You can share this information with your team, and loop in your paid strategies too, ensuring everyone has a sleighed-back festive period.

 

Nail those Keywords

It’s time to say goodbye to loyal fans. 

Yep that’s right. Brand loyalty is on the decrease, and if consumers can find a better deal elsewhere you best believe they’ll go for it. 

We’d recommend starting your keyword research early and then begin optimising your website with these in mind. Generic search terms such as ‘green jumper’ or ‘men’s joggers’ will start to increase and provide bigger opportunities.

 

Build out those Landing Pages

The key to making it rein dear is getting those landing pages optimised now. 

Black Friday and Winter sales might sound like they’re ages away, but you know how long Google likes to take to crawl your site. Our suggestion is to create your landing page now, and then set up your internal links 30 days before sales go live. Make sure you include a link from your homepage too! 

Building out these pages now, with your chosen keywords, allows you time to climb up the SERPs and capitalise on any trends.

 

Mobile Device Optimisation

So, you’ve done your keyword research, optimised your landing page, now you’re ready to go right? 

With mobile owners on the rise, it’s no wonder that 59% of searches are carried out on mobile devices, and this figure is steadily increasing each year.

Ultimately, the way we shop online has changed. People want information and they want it at the tip of their fingers. The online window shopping has begun to dominate searches as consumers turn to Google for inspiration as well as purchases – a trend that is here to stay thanks to our handy devices.

So what can you do to improve your chances?  Follow our top tips:

  • Check your mobile site speed.
  • Use responsive web design to ensure images fit all screen sizes and load in quick time.
  • Consider the user experience. Simple navigation, scrolling and load time are imperative.

To check your own domain, use Google Page Insights. And make sure you look at mobile layouts or yule be sorry!

 

After the Peak

Once the sales are over, it’s time to wrap everything up in a neatly tied bow. 

You should orphan your pages (by removing all your internal links to it), and then ensure your copy is optimised for the year ahead. Don’t forget to include a clear call to action – you can link out to your generic sales pages, or include a newsletter sign-up to alert customers when your next sale goes live. 

When it comes to Black Friday and Winter sales next year, you’ve now got the perfect process and landing page in place to go again.

 

If you need support with your SEO strategy, or festive campaigns then chat with us today.