Dave Davies says, “So, you’ve procrastinated until mid-November, and now you’re struggling to figure out how it’s possible to boost your organic search traffic for the holidays. While this is probably the ideal time to be planning for your 2017 holiday SEO strategy, right now I’m going to cover some tips for ranking for 2016. The core criterion of any activity you’ll be undertaking at this point is simple: it needs to focus on the quick-win areas. We’re not going to be talking about any big link-building strategies, as those are not going to pay off quickly enough without a... [...]

Jim Yu says, “Businesses that sell products and services online need to fine-tune their digital marketing strategy to attract holiday shoppers during the busy — and competitive — holiday retail season. Holiday spending is expected to reach record levels since the Great Recession — increasing 10 percent since the 2015 holiday season, according to a report from PwC’s 2016 Holiday Outlook. Digital shopping is expected to rise 25 percent, which means marketers and advertisers need to be even more creative and strategic with their efforts to get the attention of the average holiday shopper. Shoppers... [...]

Tracey Wallace says, “Despite changing demographics and consumer behaviors, the holiday season remains one of the more influential times of year to launch a campaign and seal it into holiday memory for years to come. To do that, though, your brand needs to come up with something seriously innovative, engaging, and interesting — something that’ll resonate with your customers. This usually means lights, emotions, and celebrating family and friends. Of course, there’s no harm is looking to the past to see which other brands and campaigns have made their way to the holiday retail... [...]

Vahe Habeshian says, “People on Pinterest tend to spend twice as much as the general public, and 67% of them will be using Pinterest to plan for holiday purchases, according to Xenia Nosov, writing on the Pinterest business blog. That means lot of holiday shopping happens on Pinterest, and marketers can take advantage of that fact. So take into consideration the information in the following infographic to make the holidays, on and off Pinterest. For example, holiday planning on Pinterest starts early: Nearly half of Pinners start to plan for the holidays a couple of months out. Accordingly,... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Some 90% of consumers say they value having a mobile device with them when holiday shopping in-store, according to recent research from Opera Mediaworks. The report was based on data from a survey of 800 consumers in the United States who use mobile devices. Nearly half (47%) of respondents say they use a mobile device to check competitors’ prices when holiday shopping in a store, 36% say they look up product reviews, and 30% say they sign up for store promotions/discounts. Some 40% of respondents say they have made a purchase because of a mobile advertisement, and... [...]

Christi Olson says, “For marketers, Christmas isn’t just one day a year — months of planning and weeks of meticulous optimization precede our celebration of the holiday season. For many retail businesses, it’s sink or swim during the holiday season, and they are moving from the planning to implementation phases of the holiday season now, with Black Friday just a few weeks away. Even if you’ve finished your holiday marketing plans through the end of the year, it’s not too late to incorporate a few additional strategies this holiday season. 1. Think holistically for holiday success Consumers... [...]

Lydia Jorden says, “During the holidays, we often let a fair part of ourselves go: diet, exercise, budgets and more. But for local search engine optimization (SEO) professionals, there is something very impactful that can get away from us little by little, until it is completely out of control: Rankings. During the holiday season, we sometimes neglect a variety of strategies that help our businesses maintain positioning within the local pack during a high-traffic time. If you find yourself experiencing a case of holiday ranking drops, you may want to avoid a Scrooge-like boss muttering... [...]

Lydia Jorder says, “During the holidays, we often let a fair part of ourselves go: diet, exercise, budgets and more. But for local search engine optimization (SEO) professionals, there is something very impactful that can get away from us little by little, until it is completely out of control: Rankings. During the holiday season, we sometimes neglect a variety of strategies that help our businesses maintain positioning within the local pack during a high-traffic time. If you find yourself experiencing a case of holiday ranking drops, you may want to avoid a Scrooge-like boss muttering... [...]

Daman Beres says, “Holiday shopping? There’s an app for that — but you’ll want to make sure you’re using the right one to avoid compromising your identity and credit card information. Malicious apps designed to trick shoppers have wormed their way into Apple’s iOS App Store, according to recent reports in The New York Times and New York Post. They mimic legitimate outlets like Foot Locker and Nordstrom to fool people into handing over their personal information. Some are even ransomware, the Times reported, meaning apps that actually lock a user out of their phone... [...]

Thomas Stern says, “Google introduced the concept of micro-moments over a year ago, and since then, the company has consistently published supporting information as it relates to specific industries and user behavior across content platforms. If you’re unfamiliar with micro-moments, they’re essentially a way of framing a user’s path to purchase or to conversion, with specific focus on mobile and the needs or questions users search on Google along with way. The concept of micro-moments is easily digestible and provides a great way of conducting and organizing keyword research, something... [...]