How To Rank for Holiday Season with Keywords for 2024 - 2025

It’s a magical time for customers and a quite stressful time for e-commerce owners who want to increase sales and boost profits during Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Black Friday, or even Bank Holidays, when people expect to find deals and promotions.

In physical locations, this is often limited by how the business owner decorates their store and promotes it locally, which is dependent on the shop’s location. On the internet, there are no such restrictions, and this is one of the many reasons why having an e-commerce website gives you so much freedom and an advantage over competitors in your area who don’t have an online shop yet.

In today’s article, you will learn how to rank during holiday season periods and what keywords you should use to make the most of this magical time.

What is a holiday SEO

Holiday SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a set of techniques and strategies designed to optimise Google’s algorithm so that your products can rank on the first page of search results during special days or periods.

There are many aspects to utilising these techniques, but I will cover the main three:

Keyword research and optimisation: This involves identifying seasonal keywords and specific phrases that your potential buyers might use to find and purchase your products from your online shop.
Content creation: This focuses on using only relevant words, images, topics, questions, and answers, all wrapped into a solid marketing aesthetic feel.
On-page optimisation: This includes the technical aspects of your website—such as headings, alt tags, accessibility features, and meta tags—that help both humans and crawl spiders (like Google bots) understand what your product is about and how it should be ranked in search engine results.

As you can see, holiday SEO can play one of the most important roles in bringing traffic to your store just by making your products visible in the TOP 3 during holiday periods. Let’s explore this article a bit further.

When should I start ranking my website for the holidays?

Before we dive into how to do it, it’s important to understand that timing is crucial in a seasonal keyword strategy and optimisation. Ideally, you should start preparing and optimising your website shop several months in advance—typically around three to six months before the holiday season.

This allows enough time for search engines like Google to discover, understand, and index your content, improving your website ranking gradually in an organic way.

Starting early also gives you the option to adjust your SEO strategy based on performance data from your analytics (see why Google Analytics 4 is a good option to monitor your website) and evolving trends as the holiday season approaches.

How to start ranking for holiday season in Google?

Utilise structured data for rich snippets

Add structured data to your website to help search engines understand the content better. Use schema markup for products, reviews (from verified customers—also, having a few bad reviews is not a bad idea since you and your products are not perfect, and it brings more credibility), events, and special offers related to the holidays.

Create a clear, relevant holiday-friendly landing page

Either hire a professional freelance web designer or DIY and build a landing page specifically for the holiday season that highlights your best deals, promotions, and holiday-specific products.

Your landing page should provide the best shopping experience possible, showcasing your holiday gift offerings wrapped in seasonal keywords.

Make sure the page is accessible, the text is readable, and the images are unique, high-quality, and aligned with a seasonal theme.

Bring and measure the traffic from your other sources including blog

Post your products on Facebook, Instagram, create some video reels on TikTok, or run paid advertisements at least 90 days before the season kicks in.

Having a blog is also a great way to bring organic traffic to your website. Write some articles—it’s time-consuming but worth it (you can use AI, but it’s not 100% recommended to rely solely on AI—use your head too).

Once you start getting likes, comments, and visits, measure the results and keep an eye on which products are becoming more popular and which are less.

Make your holiday website mobile friendly and fast loading

If you’re thinking about how to rank for the holiday season on Google, ensure your website is fully responsive, providing an excellent browsing experience on smartphones and tablets.

From my experience handling dozens of e-commerce websites, over 85% of the traffic comes directly from mobiles—you probably use your mobile too when reading this article.

It’s crucial to keep all of your pages mobile-friendly because, otherwise, you might lose valuable customers if they get stuck somewhere, can’t scroll down, or can’t access further content.

Guide your customers straight to the cart

Make it easy for customers to find and purchase products by implementing a straightforward navigation structure.

Reduce the number of clicks it takes to add an item to the cart—ideally, just three clicks:

From the landing page to the product page,
From the product page to the checkout,
From the checkout to the thank you page with the receipt.

Sometimes, depending on the theme or how your website is structured, your website might require more steps, such as providing shipping and billing details when the customer is checking out—if it’s not required, eliminate it.

By focusing on these strategies, you can enhance your website’s performance during the holiday season, increase your chances of ranking higher on Google, and ultimately drive more traffic and sales.

Best starting keywords for holiday seasons 2024 – 2025

To help you start ranking for the special days in Google, here are some of the top keywords you can focus on for various holidays in 2024-2025. The keyword is inside the quotes marked as “example”.

Depending on your business and offer try to mix and match these keywords on your pages.

Keywords for Halloween 2024

Halloween costumes + [your product] (e.g., “Halloween costumes for pets” if you sell pet products)
Halloween decorations + [your product] (e.g., “Halloween decorations for home” if you sell home decor)
Halloween makeup + [your product] (e.g., “Halloween makeup kits” if you sell cosmetics)
Halloween party supplies + [your product] (e.g., “Halloween party supplies for kids” if you sell party supplies)
DIY Halloween + [your product] (e.g., “DIY Halloween crafts” if you sell craft materials)
Halloween deal + [your service] (e.g., “Halloween deal roofing inspection” if you are plumber).

Black Friday + Your Product

Black Friday deals + [your product] (e.g., “Black Friday deals on electronics” if you sell electronics)
Black Friday sales + [your product] (e.g., “Black Friday sales on clothing” if you sell apparel)
Black Friday discounts + [your product] (e.g., “Black Friday discounts on home appliances” if you sell appliances)
Black Friday offers + [your product] (e.g., “Black Friday offers on beauty products” if you sell cosmetics)
Black Friday 2024 + [your product] (e.g., “Black Friday 2024 on toys” if you sell toys)

Christmas Eve + Your Product

Christmas gifts + [your product] (e.g., “Christmas gifts for men” if you sell men’s fashion)
Christmas decorations + [your product] (e.g., “Christmas tree ornaments” if you sell holiday decor)
Christmas sales + [your product] (e.g., “Christmas sales on electronics” if you sell electronics)
Personalized Christmas + [your product] (e.g., “Personalized Christmas stockings” if you sell personalized items)
Christmas gift ideas + [your product] (e.g., “Christmas gift ideas for coworkers” if you sell office supplies)

New Year + Your Product

New Year’s Eve party + [your product] (e.g., “New Year’s Eve party outfits” if you sell clothing)
New Year’s resolutions + [your product] (e.g., “New Year’s resolutions fitness gear” if you sell fitness products)
New Year’s Eve decorations + [your product] (e.g., “New Year’s Eve party decor” if you sell event supplies)
New Year’s sale + [your product] (e.g., “New Year’s sale on furniture” if you sell furniture)
New Year’s gift + [your product] (e.g., “New Year’s gifts for friends” if you sell gift items)

Easter + Your Product

Easter basket + [your product] (e.g., “Easter basket fillers” if you sell small toys or candies)
Easter decorations + [your product] (e.g., “Easter table decorations” if you sell dining decor)
Easter outfits + [your product] (e.g., “Easter outfits for babies” if you sell children’s clothing)
Easter crafts + [your product] (e.g., “Easter crafts for kids” if you sell craft supplies)
Easter egg hunt + [your product] (e.g., “Easter egg hunt supplies” if you sell holiday event items)

Irish Bank Holidays + Your Product

St. Patrick’s Day + [your product] (e.g., “St. Patrick’s Day decorations” if you sell festive decor)
Irish Bank Holiday deals + [your product] (e.g., “Irish Bank Holiday deals on hotels” if you are in the hospitality industry)
Specific Date Bank Holiday + [your product] (e.g., “June 2 2025 Bank Holiday weekend sales” if you offer seasonal discounts)
St. Patrick’s Day outfits + [your product] (e.g., “St. Patrick’s Day outfits for kids” if you sell clothing)
Bank Holiday travel + [your product] (e.g., “Bank Holiday travel packages” if you sell travel services)

These keyword combinations will help you target seasonal searches effectively, aligning your ecommerce with the specific holiday, which can boost your visibility in search engines during these peak times. Give it a try.

The Conclusion

Remember to start ranking your shop well in advance of the upcoming special season. This preparation will give your online store the best chance to attract holiday shoppers and boost sales.

However, as you focus on optimising your business, don’t forget to also spend quality time with your family.

Balancing work and personal life is key, especially during the holiday season when both business and family time are equally important.

How To Rank for Holiday Season with Keywords for 2024 – 2025