If you’re stumped about what to write about this holiday season, you’re not the only one! Oftentimes, the holidays are private for people. But on the other hand, it’s also an excellent time to get a more personal message out for everyone to see. Holiday blog posts don’t have to just be about gift-giving, decorating, and desserts. They can be informative and beneficial to new year business ventures and strategies. Let’s talk about what makes a successful holiday blog post, including what to blog about, how to structure your post for SEO, and how to get your post ranking for a featured snippet!
What to Blog About During the Holidays
As the holidays roll around (or crash over your head, depending on how prepared you are for the tsunami of advertising in your inbox), most of us have a hard time focusing on blog or website content. Still, no one wants business to fall by the wayside as the festivities ensue. The way to keep your blog and website content going is to plan ahead and, especially during the holidays. Before everything gets too crazy, the relatives come to town, or you’re surfing the web for hours on end for the perfect holiday gift or recipe, sit down and pre-write a few holiday blog posts to prepare yourself for the weeks ahead. Save them for a spruce-up later on or rewrite them as you see fit. However, don’t ever just pop them into your social media, blog, or website without reviewing them. You may want to just get them done and over with, but it’s important to give them that final look. That way you can make sure what you’re posting is accurate, everything is spelled correctly, and ultimately makes sense to your readers.
But where should you start? Make sure holiday posts not only make sense for your company and brand but are relatable to your audience as well. That’s why personal inspiration or something you recently experienced always makes for a great place to begin a blog post. After all, connection is what the holidays is all about, right?
Besides planning out your content early – if you’re really in a bind – you can also take old holiday blog posts and update them for the current year. Just make sure the content is new and engaging enough to keep up that high level of interest your readers expect. Also, be sure to rewrite everything in the post to be completely unique copy so you don’t have to deal with a duplicate content issue later on.
How to Structure Your Holiday Blog Post for SEO
During the holidays, we all have other things on our minds, so tapping into that sense of celebration, hope, family, and friends is one of the best ways to rank as far as SEO is concerned. While lists are one of the most popular blog post structures out there, not everyone wants YET ANOTHER list – especially when they’re making their own and checking it twice. By incorporating a list in addition to engaging, story-based, long form content, there’s a better chance your readers will come back for more. It’s also important to keep in mind who your audience is. Lists often appeal to younger generations whereas long form content might appeal to older generations. But by incorporating the two, you can engage everyone that might make their way to your blog or website.
Ranking Your Holiday Blog Post for a Featured Snippet
Even though it’s the holidays, and many people begin to check out as the new year approaches, business never stops moving. That’s why it’s important to keep writing quality, authentic content that your readers will find interesting and seasonal. You might also find that it’s a little more difficult for your posts to be seen due to the influx of holiday posts at this time of the year. To help improve your chances, think about certain keywords or phrases that may often be searched in Google, such as “top ten gifts” or “holiday ideas.” Mix those terms into your content and keep the following tips in mind to help improve your chances of your holiday blog posts ranking for a Google featured snippet (or any other snippet):
- Stay up-to-date with Google’s features
- Make your content “snippable”
- Feature these commonly-used search query terms: “recipe,” “best,” vs.,” “make,” and “definition”
- Feature paragraphs, lists, and tables
- Take a look at competitors’ snippets
These are just a few of the basics, but since time is limited during the holidays, your best bet is to prep, direct, and rewrite your blog posts. And if you’re finding yourself short on time for proper content creation once the new year hits, consider reaching out to a marketing agency like Zero Gravity Marketing to help with your content marketing and search engine optimization needs. Until then, happy blogging and see you in the New Year!
