Black Friday SEO: How to boost traffic and sales this shopping season

Black Friday is the largest online retail event of the year.

One thing is certain – the majority of shoppers will be transacting, making shopping preparations online. Your customers will be on Google searching for things to buy, and they will be on search BEFORE November comes.

The Black Friday and Cyber Monday lead-up period is a massive opportunity for digital creators, eCommerce, and business owners to conquer the busiest time of the year. That means we have to get an SEO strategy in place to leverage this massive shopping trend!

The Black Friday Shopping Journey in 3 Phases

When we look up Black Friday shopping on Google Trends for the past 3 years, we see a clear rise and fall in search interest over the shopping season.

There is the (i) lead up period to Black Friday, (ii) when Black Friday arrives and (iii) post-Black Friday when interest sharply declines. This trend was shared by Analytical Consultants at Google.

We know that there are 3 phases in search behavior throughout Black Friday, and the rise in search trend for Black Friday begins way before the actual Black Friday, 27 November.

The Black Friday Sales Funnel

The Black Friday sales funnel is very similar to a traditional funnel: awareness, consideration, purchase.

The only difference here is we don’t have as much time to nurture and convert our audience during Black Friday compared to a regular day when we can gradually move our audience down the funnel and get them to purchase.

Because Black Friday is time-sensitive and there is a clear urgency for action.

We have a very narrow window to launch our sales sequences and promotions and they have to be ready by 27 Nov.

Immediately after Black Friday, literally one day later, search interest declines and the shopping frenzy dies down.

Pre-Black Friday: The Lead Up Period

Here’s my attempt at a simplified version of the study from Google:

During the lead up period, we know two important things:

First, the majority of keyword searches happen before Black Friday. There are broad keyword searches that occur during this research phase leading up to BFCM. This is where we capture seed keywords with the highest search volume.

Second, Black Friday related searches stretch over one month. People are taking their time to research and look for information before Black Friday arrives. This gives us quite a bit of time to rank on Google and get our Black Friday sales pages seen.

Black Friday is Here

• The search interest climaxes on Black Friday week on Nov 27
• This is when shopping madness occurs and search activity online will be at the highest.

Post-Black Friday: End Sales

• The search interest sharply declines after Black Friday / Cyber Monday, from 28 Nov – Dec 1 onwards.
• While BFCM is over, people are still on search and possibly looking for last calls and any last minute deals.

The Golden Period for SEO

The lead up to Black Friday begins ONE MONTH before the shopping craze arrives. This period from Oct 27 – Nov 27 is the golden period to ramp up your SEO and drive more Google traffic.

Because people are gathering on Google and beginning to search for Black Friday and looking for what they will buy in anticipation for Black Friday.

They are not yet searching for purchase keywords because it is not the time to buy yet. But we can bet that they are getting ready to buy. So informational type of content that can help them prepare for purchase during 27 Nov will be key.

Keyword targeting during the lead up to Black Friday

• Target generic, seed keywords
• Use benefit rich keywords describing your product’s specifications and features
• Create content teasers for your Black Friday deals and promos
• Target high search volume keywords that capture users who are in the “I want to know” moment of their search journey.

Black Friday SEO Prep

Want to leverage Google trends and SEO to increase your traffic + sales this coming Black Friday? Check out Black Friday SEO Prep, my new resource dedicated to helping you to do just that.

>> Click here for the complete Black Friday SEO Prep course. 

If we want to capture more sales, the best time to do it will be BEFORE Black Friday and DURING Black Friday.

SEO strategies to maximize traffic and sales

Having an SEO strategy in place to leverage the massive Black Friday search trend is a necessity. Your audience will be on Google from the first step of researching until the final step to purchase.

Here are some quick SEO tips to implement on your website to prepare for the coming BFCM.

>> Click here for the complete Black Friday SEO Prep course. 

#1. Target Conversion Focused Keywords

First, keyword targeting.

Black Friday is the only time we have conversion-focused keywords that have BOTH high search volume + high conversion rate. Traditionally, high search volume keywords are for generic seed keywords with a high informational intent, where searches are NOT ready to convert.

But Black Friday is a special shopping event where we see a huge surge in conversion-focused, long-tail keywords such as:

• “black friday best deals”
• “walmart black friday deals”
• “best buy black friday deals”

In the Black Friday SEO Prep course, you’ll get my list of 1,495 conversion keywords specific to Black Friday. This would be the perfect opportunity to optimize your sales pages with highly searched for profitable keywords!

#2. Mobile SEO

Next, mobile SEO. This is critical.

I would say optimizing for mobile takes higher priority than keyword strategy.

52% of global traffic comes from mobile, and Google has moved to mobile-first indexing since 2019.

This means there is now more traffic from mobile than desktop, and Google predominantly uses the mobile version of your content to index and rank on search results.

How to optimize for Mobile SEO

• Make sure that your website is mobile-responsive.
  • The simplest way to check for mobile responsiveness is to view your website on your mobile phone.
  • Navigate your website as a user would – are all the text readable? any elements too close to each other? do you have to zoom in to view your content?
  • Click on the navigation menu and the CTA buttons on your website. Ensure nothing is broken and everything works.
  • The second method is to use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Tool. I use this to check how my website is rendered on mobile and the recommendations that Google provide.
  • The third method is to check your Google Search Console > Mobile Usability.

#3. Build more backlinks

As you work on creating your Black Friday sales pages, also level up your link building strategy. This is the time to reach out to your network, build partnerships with bloggers and affiliates to promote your Black Friday pages.

Not just on social and email, but through backlinks. That means including your Black Friday sales page URL in one of their blog posts on their website. Similar to a roundup or guest post.

That’s how you can rapidly build backlinks nearing the Black Friday season and accumulate more link juice.

So when Black Friday arrives, your sales pages will be ranking high on Google for niche specific, buyer ready keywords your audience searches for.

Final Tip for Black Friday

Black Friday is not a single day event. As we have seen from Google Trends, the Black Friday search trend begins ONE MONTH before Black Friday arrives on 27 Nov.

To optimize for the Black Friday buyer journey is to optimize for a sales funnel.

That means keyword targeting, content strategy, and SEO must be aligned with the 3 phases of the buyer journey during Black Friday. In other words, you need 3 separate traffic acquisition and sales strategies to target users during the lead up, when Black Friday arrives, and post-Black Friday.

I share more details in the Black Friday SEO Prep course. Check it out here!