Some are busy window shopping, while others are busy making shoppers look into their windows. If you’re in the latter, welcome aboard!
In this article, we’ll go over the key data from the past few years (and this year) for a list of fresh holiday SEO tactics for B2C and B2B.
Ready? Let’s dive in!
B2C Best Practices for 2024 Holiday SEO
1. Holiday Search Queries Got Longer - But Is Your Content More Specific?
When you look at the data from 2023, you’ll see all the typical categories: Christmas trees and jumpers, cosmetics and PlayStation 5s. However, the thing most reports omit is the fact that searchers now go more in-depth with their searches.
Everyone’s got a preference and, thanks to AI’s ability to personalize answers, searchers don’t just look for “the best wired headphones” – they refine their searches with further classifications like:
- “The best wired headphones for gaming”
- “The best wired non in-ear earbuds”
- “The best wired headphones for working out”
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Plus, the more specific you go with your list, article, or content piece, the higher the chances that your content will be included in AI previews.
So, know your catalog and your audience well, and create the guides they will use to direct their gift-shopping searches.
2. Gift-Related Queries Are Always a Hit (and They Last Well into January)
Looking at Google’s 2023 data, the gift-giving guides aren’t just helpful in December.
In 2023, keywords including “gifts” and “presents” remained high in January, with 45% and 15% increases, respectively.
If you’re thinking of your (highly specific) gift-giving guides as holiday plays, it’s time to change that mindset. Birthdays and special events happen throughout the year, so prepare detailed guides and treat them as evergreen content.
Time of Cheer (and Special Offers)
If you are running holiday promotions or you’re always more competitively priced than your competitors, it might be time to set up a “special offers for [detailed product category]” page.
With 45% of consumers preferring shopping in the after-Christmas time (AKA the time of sales and stock clearances) and gift-related queries ending with “offer” or “discount,” connect the two and two to turn it into your competitive advantage!
3. Take Your On-Page Optimization One Step Further (at Least for Your Bestsellers)
Review your analytics data to identify which products, pages, or campaigns performed well in previous holiday seasons. But this year, instead of aiming for the same performance, aim for at least a step better by:
- Reviving and optimizing pages used in past holiday seasons, updating content, keywords, meta information, and deals.
- Redirecting old campaign URLs to new campaign URLs.
- Bestsellers that went out of stock? Create redirects to replacement products or similar alternatives.
- Adding schema markup for product information, reviews, prices, availability, offers, payment options, shipping, and holiday promotions.
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Updating your visuals to holiday visuals.
Review your product pages for any obstacles to conversion: do the images showcase the benefits of your products enough? Are they aspirational (especially when in apparel or cosmetics) – do you clearly show your audience how their lives will improve with this product?
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and think about the questions they might have when exploring your product. The more you dispel their thoughts, the easier it will be to win their business! Include an FAQ section which also explains delivery and returns.
Pro tip: Add a banner for holiday shipping times!
Consider video, as well. Depending on when you’re reading this guide, you might have time to work with influencers or your customers on user-generated content showing their use of your product.
But even a simple video showcasing your products from all sides will do better than none! 
More Must-Haves for Holiday On-Page SEO
- Create holiday-themed categories like "Stocking Stuffers" or "Winter Essentials,” if relevant to your products.
- Improve on-site search with autocomplete and filters for holiday-specific queries. At the very least, ensure it’s functioning properly and/or you’re using simplified breadcrumb navigation.
- Link to holiday-specific pages, such as gift guides, sale categories, or blog posts, from high-traffic pages to get them ranking faster by distributing the link juice.
- Cross-sell products: on product pages, include links to "Related Holiday Deals" or "Frequently Bought Together" items.
- Include star ratings and reviews from users. (Bonus points if they mention purchasing your products as holiday gifts!)
- Seamless mobile experiences are a must, with 79% of smartphone owners using their phones to make purchases.
4. What Should I Do About My Local SEO for the 2024 Holidays?
Consumers often use local Google features to see which stores near them run holiday promotions or offer the types of products they want to buy this holiday season. Don’t leave out local SEO tactics if you have a physical store!
Make sure your Google Business Profile is up-to-date with fresh work hours, holiday promotions, and posts showcasing your holiday offer.
Then, add holiday-specific attributes like: discounts, curbside pickup, or gift wrapping.
Finally, local shops are popular for last-minute Christmas shopping, so make sure your pages and descriptions speak to that, too. ;) You can even whip up a quick page targeting keywords like “Quick holiday gifts in [Your Area].”
B2B Tactics for 2024 Holiday SEO
Even though in B2B you won’t be targeting individuals buying gifts for their moms and spouses, it is the end of the year – the time all companies are looking at what they achieved in 2024 and how they can optimize their budgets in 2025.
This means a well-timed offer will get you far, especially when combined with audiences already aware of your brand or paid advertising.
1. It’s the Best Time of the Year to Target Keywords for Annual Deals in B2B SEO
The end of the year is also the last chance for business owners and managers to look at their expenditures in 2024. If they’re happy with your product or service, it makes sense to switch to an annual plan to increase their expenses in the current year.
A well-timed annual deal goes a long way, especially considering the Black Friday discounts you may have offered just last month.
Make sure you emphasize the keyword “end-of-year tax-deductible business expense.” ;)
For a bonus engagement and conversion-rate uptick, add a countdown timer or emphasize that the offer runs out on December 31st.
2. Seasonal Blogs Work for B2B Holiday SEO
Not everyone in B2B is signing off for the holidays come December 23rd.
Take us as an example – our audience is business owners, and here we are, helping them resolve the issue of optimizing their sites for the 2024 holidays!
Write articles addressing holiday-specific B2B challenges, such as “How to Manage Holiday Supply Chain Delays” or “Boost Employee Engagement with Holiday Perks.”
Another area to consider is corporate gifts and events. From "custom holiday gifts for clients" and "corporate catering for Christmas parties” to “last-minute holiday gift ideas for startup employees” and “holiday gift baskets for coworkers,” you can play many angles!
Finally, year-end checklists can help teams wrap up the year successfully. Depending on your audience, provide them with an actionable list of items to look at before they head off to holidays, all to make their Q1 2025 planning easier. 
A great year-end checklist for marketers from the Millennium Agency
3. Acquire Backlinks by Promoting Your Holiday Campaigns (and Opinions)
Holiday-themed press releases and partnerships are a great way to strengthen your backlink profile this holiday season, especially if you’re taking the initiative in CSR (corporate & social responsibility).
For example, if your company launches a “Holiday Small Business Grant Program,” issue a press release and distribute it to relevant media outlets like PR Newswire and your industry publications.
And while we’re on the subject of publications…
Take Part in Roundup Articles
Everyone’s wrapping up the year, which includes insights. Look to platforms like Qwoted and Featured for roundup articles looking for experts’ thoughts in your industry.
For example, we often provide our thoughts on SEO topics.
4. Experiment with Image and Video SEO
Statistics are always interesting to see, especially when you present them in engaging ways.
Perhaps your latest content piece on the future of account-based marketing could be angled as Santa’s journey around the earth (or if it’s Halloween and your experiences aren’t all that bright, a scary hall of mirrors).
Or maybe you have insightful stats on B2B holiday spending in 2024?
This is a good time to look at the current content in your pipeline and give it a fresh twist, or update it with new data before you head out.
Kaspersky’s holiday infographic is just as insightful in B2B as it is in B2C
And What Happens After the Holidays?
The holiday season might be over, but your SEO momentum doesn’t have to be!
Take time to reflect on what worked during the holidays:
- What were the top-performing pages?
- Which keywords drove the most traffic?
- Which products or offers were sold the most?
Use those insights to fine-tune your strategy. And, of course, don’t let all that holiday content go to waste! Repurpose it into evergreen resources or adapt it for upcoming occasions. Turn your gift guides into year-round recommendations, or transform holiday marketing tips into New Year planning resources.
Here’s to building on your holiday success!
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