Black Friday SEO Tips & Best Practices
SEO should be at the forefront when planning your digital marketing strategy for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Yes, it’s probably just a week-long event, but for most businesses, it’s one of the strongest-performing weeks. So, having a sound Black Friday SEO strategy is key for continued success year after year during Black Friday week.
How to rank your Black Friday on Page 1 of Google?
I want to share some best practices that you can implement to rank your Black Friday page on the first page of Google and maintain top rankings year after year. Placed below are my Black Friday SEO tips;
Step 1: Launch your Black Friday Page Early – the Earlier the Better!
Don’t wait until the last minute to launch your Black Friday landing page. Some brands make the mistake of starting Black Friday planning too close to the actual week. Setting up your page early in November or even the beginning of October is considered very late. The sooner you set it up, the more time you have to optimise the page for SEO and allow plenty of time to index in Google.
Look at the Black Friday landing page example from ASOS below. You don’t have the details of the actual Black Friday deal or promotions anywhere on the page. That suggests you set up your Black Friday landing page even before the details of your promotional offers are known. It can be launched as a generic landing page with generic copy, links to your key product categories and brands by gender, black Friday FAQs and links to your existing sales, new-in and gift categories. You can also include a newsletter sign-up for some lead generation and notify the user database when the page is updated with the actual offer.
Step 2: Reuse the Same Page & URL Every Year – Evergreen Landing Page
Create a single static evergreen landing page for Black Friday (and for Cyber Monday) and re-use the same page and URL every year. If you look at the example from the Flannels Black Friday page below, you can see that the URL for the 2023 black Friday promotion is flannels.com/black-friday and not flannels.com/black-friday-2023. Creating ever-green pages like this and re-using the same URLs will help build page authority over time for that page improving chances for it to rank in search engines.
As simple as this sounds, some brands still make the mistake of building a new Black Friday page every year with a different URL. Then, as soon as Black Friday is over, they either delete that landing page or leave it dormant as an orphan page. The problem with this is, that each year you have a new page that has to get indexed and rank in Google for your Black Friday keywords. It’s like doing SEO all over again which is the reason most brands don’t succeed with the organic performance from their Black Friday landing pages and end up allocating media spending to push their Black Friday sales up via traditional advertising and online paid search tactics.
Step 3: An Always-on Black Friday Page Content Strategy
As mentioned in Step 1, in the ASOS example, you would notice a clever use of the content strategy on their Black Friday landing page when not in promotion. Writing content on the landing page gives you the ability to rank for those long-tail Black Friday keywords.
Set up a generic Black Friday landing page as early as possible with links to your main categories and products. Include a newsletter sign-up for lead generation and for notifying your user base of the Black Friday deals.
- In the run-up to the Black Friday week, do some final checks and make your last-minute changes. Populate that page with all the information and specific deals for the current year. Typically, the Black Friday offers can be either percentage off discounts (Example: 20% off sitewide/Up to 50% off selected items), private/exclusive sales for VIP customers, code-driven discounts and promotions, gifts with purchase, etc.
- As soon as Black Friday is over, remove those specific deals and offers, remove mentions of the dates and switch it back to a generic landing page. As soon as you hit January of the following year, update the copy and meta tags with mentions of the year to prepare the page for the following year’s Black Friday event. By following this, you are not only getting ready for Black Friday as early as possible but also re-using the same page and the same URL each and every year.
Step 4: Optimise the Page Title Tag and Meta Description of your Black Friday Page
Ensure you update the year in the page title to the current year. It’s also recommended you optimise the meta description of your Black Friday landing page. Write an enticing snippet to increase click-throughs to the site from the SERP. Make sure you include USPs such as free shipping, next-day delivery, etc if applicable. Check out the SEO best practices for meta data here.
You could also include your primary target keywords as a part of your Black Friday page title. For example, for a luxury brand such as Flannels, I would recommend the following page title – Black Friday Designer Sales 2023 | Luxury Fashion Deals | Flannels.
Step 5: Link to your Black Friday Landing Page – Optimise Internal Links
In the run-up to Black Friday, gradually start increasing the number of internal links pointing to your Black Friday landing page. To give Google crawlers a chance to easily find your landing page, make sure you link to the landing page from the homepage, navigation menu, footer, sales categories, HTML sitemap, etc. A link from the homepage is important as traditionally, it is the strongest page of your site from an SEO standpoint, as it would have built page authority over time. So, linking from the homepage to your most important page passes that link authority and gives your linked pages that much-needed boost.
Step 6: On-page Optimise your Black Friday Page
Your normal SEO on-page best practices also apply to the Black Friday landing page. Things you can do;
- Optimise your headings and copy. Include “Black Friday” phrases in your page H1 title. Target Black Friday variations on the content of the landing page.
- Optimise your images. Ensure your image filenames use keywords. Use alt text for your images. Ensure both your image filename and alt text contain “Black Friday” phrases.
Step 7: Implement relevant Schema Markup
Some brands like AO.com include a list of questions and answers pertaining to Black Friday. You can mark up these FAQs with FAQPage structured data to make them eligible to have rich results on SERPs.
| People also ask Questions | Volume |
|---|---|
| when is black friday | 135000 |
| when is black friday 2023 | 60500 |
| when is black friday 2023 uk | 9900 |
| when in black friday | 5400 |
| when is black friday in 2023 | 4400 |
| when is black friday uk | 4400 |
| what is black friday | 2900 |
| when is amazon black friday 2023 | 2900 |
| when are black friday | 2400 |
| when does black friday end | 2400 |
| when is black friday in uk | 2400 |
| when is black friday uk 2023 | 2400 |
| what date is black friday 2023 | 1900 |
| what day is black friday | 1900 |
| when is black friday sale 2023 | 1900 |
| when is it black friday | 1900 |
| why is it called black friday | 1900 |
| what date is black friday | 1600 |
| when black friday 2023 | 1600 |
| when is black friday 2023 london | 1600 |
| when is black.friday | 1600 |
| when is.black friday | 1600 |
| when’s black friday | 1600 |
| when are black fridays | 1300 |
| when do black friday deals end | 1300 |
| when does black friday start | 1300 |
| when.is.black friday | 1300 |
| why is black friday called black friday | 1300 |
| how long does black friday last | 1000 |
| what day is black friday 2023 | 1000 |
| when black friday | 1000 |
| when does black friday start 2023 | 1000 |
| when is black friday sale | 1000 |
| when is black friday sales | 1000 |
| when is the black friday sale | 1000 |
| when.is black friday | 1000 |
Step 8: Build Backlinks to your Black Friday Page
Your Black Friday pages tend to get links naturally from publications, deal sites, affiliate sites, forums, etc especially when you have good deals. External links can significantly improve your Black Friday landing page rankings in search.
It might also be worth doing some competitor research to find deal sites or forums that mention or link to your competitor’s Black Friday pages. Reach out to these resources and request a link back to your landing page.
I would also recommend you start a paid search campaign or a display ad from the start of November to spread awareness of your offer. Oftentimes, these ads get the much-needed attention of a journalist or a webmaster who then ends up placing a link on their site or publication to your Black Friday page. Even share the details of your offer on your social media pages.
The landing page is only going to get stronger and stronger every year as you are growing the number of backlinks to it each year.
Step 9: Other Important Considerations & Black Friday SEO Marketing Tips
- Prepare for the huge surge in traffic. Ensure your server can handle the load through the week from Fri – Mon (inclusive).
- Pay attention to your site speed, especially the Black Friday landing page.
- Have a site-wide sticky banner on the top of your site linking to your Black Friday page.
- Ensure you call out all the key USPs on your Black Friday landing page such as delivery information, links to buying guides, accepted payment gateways, free delivery, gift with purchase, etc.
- Providing special opening hours information for in-store sales if they are different from regular opening hours.
- Creating Google posts promoting your Black Friday page.
I hope I have covered all the important tips to help you rank your Black Friday (and Cyber Monday pages) page in Google.
Black Friday Keywords, SERP Landscape & Search Trends in the UK
Black Friday Google Trends
Here is the search Google trend chart for “Black Friday” in the UK spanning the past five years. The pattern shows a rise in searches beginning from November 18th, leading up to Black Friday, a trend that consistently repeats each year. Similarly, search peaks for various Black Friday-related keywords occur every year, indicating Black Friday is not going away and is here to stay.
Black Friday Google SERP Landscape
The SERP for “Black Friday 2023” showed a variety of results. Wired was present twice in the top 10, while The Independent had a featured snippet. There were sections for top stories and highly-searched items like PlayStation 5 Black Friday deals, as well as a news section. The SERP included a mix of informational, news, and e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Argos, Which.co.uk, TheSun.co.uk, Moneysavingexpert, Wired.co.uk, Calendarpedia, Wired, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and others. Additionally, there was a section for videos on Black Friday deals.
Achieving a first-page ranking for high-volume Black Friday terms like “Black Friday 2023” is challenging for retailers. While Amazon and Argos do appear on the first page, the rest of the SERP is dominated by news publisher sites, top stories, video results, Google text ads, and shopping ads. This diversity in the SERP, featuring everything from information and news to e-commerce, highlights the competitive nature of ranking for black friday keyword variations.
Google UK SERP “Black Friday 2023” taken on 23rd November 2023
Black Friday Keywords
Updated on November 23, 2023. Invest time in thorough keyword research to pinpoint the Black Friday keywords that should be targeted and optimised for your black Friday landing page. Below, you will find a list of the most frequently used Black Friday search terms on Google UK, each with a minimum average search volume of 1000.
| Black Friday Keywords | Volume |
| black friday 2023 | 246000 |
| black friday | 201000 |
| when is black friday | 135000 |
| black friday deals | 90500 |
| when is black friday 2023 | 60500 |
| currys black friday | 40500 |
| black friday sales | 22200 |
| argos black friday | 18100 |
| amazon black friday 2023 | 14800 |
| black friday sale | 14800 |
| pandora black friday | 14800 |
| amazon black friday deals | 12100 |
| best black friday deals | 12100 |
| best black friday deals 2023 | 12100 |
| black friday 2023 uk | 12100 |
| black friday uk | 12100 |
| john lewis black friday | 12100 |
| air fryer black friday | 9900 |
| black friday deals 2023 | 9900 |
| boots black friday | 9900 |
| when is black friday 2023 uk | 9900 |
| whens black friday | 9900 |
| amazon black friday | 8100 |
| black friday date | 8100 |
| black friday deals uk | 8100 |
| nintendo switch black friday | 8100 |
| black friday 2023 london | 6600 |
| black friday tv deals | 6600 |
| currys black friday deals | 6600 |
| dyson airwrap black friday | 6600 |
| ee black friday | 6600 |
| when in black friday | 5400 |
| apple black friday | 4400 |
| black friday 2023 deals | 4400 |
| black friday phone deals | 4400 |
| black friday sale deals | 4400 |
| dyson supersonic hair dryer black friday | 4400 |
| gymshark black friday | 4400 |
| iphone black friday deals | 4400 |
| m&s snow globe gin black friday | 4400 |
| next black friday | 4400 |
| nintendo switch black friday deals | 4400 |
| vodafone black friday | 4400 |
| when is black friday in 2023 | 4400 |
| when is black friday uk | 4400 |
| air fryers black friday deals | 3600 |
| apple black friday 2023 | 3600 |
| best black friday deals 2023 uk | 3600 |
| black.friday | 3600 |
| boots black friday deals | 3600 |
| currys black friday deals 2023 | 3600 |
| jo malone black friday | 3600 |
| nike black friday | 3600 |
| rebecca black friday | 3600 |
| sky black friday deals | 3600 |
| zara black friday | 3600 |
| amazon black friday 2023 uk | 2900 |
| asda black friday | 2900 |
| black friday 2023 uk date | 2900 |
| black friday amazon | 2900 |
| black friday deals amazon | 2900 |
| black friday laptop deals | 2900 |
| black friday sales 2023 | 2900 |
| black friday uk 2023 | 2900 |
| dehumidifier black friday | 2900 |
| dyson hair dryer black friday | 2900 |
| ikea black friday | 2900 |
| jd black friday | 2900 |
| lego black friday | 2900 |
| ps5 black friday | 2900 |
| selfridges black friday | 2900 |
| what is black friday | 2900 |
| when is amazon black friday 2023 | 2900 |
| xbox series x black friday | 2900 |
| air fryers black friday | 2400 |
| airpods black friday | 2400 |
| asos black friday | 2400 |
| black friday air fryer | 2400 |
| black friday ninja air fryers | 2400 |
| black friday offers | 2400 |
| black.friday 2023 | 2400 |
| black.friday deals | 2400 |
| currys black friday 2023 | 2400 |
| dunelm black friday | 2400 |
| hotel chocolat velvetiser black friday | 2400 |
| ninja air fryer black friday | 2400 |
| ninja black friday | 2400 |
| very black friday | 2400 |
| when are black friday | 2400 |
| when does black friday end | 2400 |
| when is black friday in uk | 2400 |
| when is black friday uk 2023 | 2400 |
| amazon uk black friday | 1900 |
| apple black friday deals | 1900 |
| apple watch black friday | 1900 |
| black friday best deals | 1900 |
| black friday coffee pot | 1900 |
| black friday currys | 1900 |
| black friday deals 2023 uk | 1900 |
| black friday deals nintendo switch | 1900 |
| black friday holiday deals | 1900 |
| black friday iphone deals | 1900 |
| black friday phone deals 2023 | 1900 |
| british airways black friday | 1900 |
| dyson black friday | 1900 |
| ipad black friday | 1900 |
| microwave black friday | 1900 |
| ninja air fryers black friday | 1900 |
| o2 black friday | 1900 |
| pandora black friday sale | 1900 |
| reiss black friday | 1900 |
| smyths black friday | 1900 |
| superdry black friday | 1900 |
| tesco black friday | 1900 |
| tv black friday deals | 1900 |
| what date is black friday 2023 | 1900 |
| what day is black friday | 1900 |
| when is black friday sale 2023 | 1900 |
| when is it black friday | 1900 |
| why is it called black friday | 1900 |
| adidas black friday | 1600 |
| argos black friday 2023 | 1600 |
| black friday 2021 | 1600 |
| black friday air fryer deals | 1600 |
| black friday deals air fryers | 1600 |
| black friday iphone deals 2023 | 1600 |
| black friday mobile deals | 1600 |
| black friday mobile phone deals | 1600 |
| black friday ninja air fryers asda | 1600 |
| black friday tv | 1600 |
| black friday tv deals 2023 | 1600 |
| black friday tv deals uk | 1600 |
| charlotte tilbury black friday | 1600 |
| coffee machine black friday | 1600 |
| deals black friday | 1600 |
| ee black friday 2023 | 1600 |
| flannels black friday | 1600 |
| jd sports black friday | 1600 |
| lush black friday | 1600 |
| nintendo switch oled black friday | 1600 |
| railcard black friday | 1600 |
| ring doorbell black friday | 1600 |
| screwfix black friday | 1600 |
| superdrug black friday | 1600 |
| tui black friday | 1600 |
| ugg black friday | 1600 |
| uk black friday | 1600 |
| what date is black friday | 1600 |
| when black friday 2023 | 1600 |
| when is black friday 2023 london | 1600 |
| when is black.friday | 1600 |
| when is.black friday | 1600 |
| when’s black friday | 1600 |
| zara black friday sale 2023 | 1600 |
| air fryer black friday deals | 1300 |
| amazon black friday deals 2023 | 1300 |
| apple black friday 2023 uk | 1300 |
| best black friday deals uk | 1300 |
| black eye friday | 1300 |
| black friday 2023 date | 1300 |
| black friday broadband deals | 1300 |
| black friday deals at apple | 1300 |
| black friday deals. | 1300 |
| black friday drals | 1300 |
| black friday flight deals | 1300 |
| black friday ipad deals | 1300 |
| black friday laptop deals 2023 | 1300 |
| black friday nintendo switch | 1300 |
| black friday perfume deals | 1300 |
| black friday sim only deals | 1300 |
| black friday toys | 1300 |
| black.friday tv deals | 1300 |
| currys black friday tv deals | 1300 |
| dfs black friday | 1300 |
| dr martens black friday | 1300 |
| dyson black friday 2023 | 1300 |
| ee black friday deals | 1300 |
| friday black | 1300 |
| halfords black friday | 1300 |
| ipad black friday deals | 1300 |
| laptop black friday deals | 1300 |
| laptops black friday | 1300 |
| lululemon black friday | 1300 |
| m&s black friday | 1300 |
| marks and spencer black friday | 1300 |
| next black friday 2023 | 1300 |
| next black friday sale | 1300 |
| nike black friday 2023 | 1300 |
| north face black friday | 1300 |
| oculus quest 2 black friday | 1300 |
| pandora black friday sale 2023 | 1300 |
| samsung black friday deals | 1300 |
| sports direct black friday | 1300 |
| tesco black friday deals | 1300 |
| uk black friday 2023 | 1300 |
| uniqlo black friday | 1300 |
| virgin media black friday | 1300 |
| vodafone black friday 2023 | 1300 |
| vodafone black friday deals | 1300 |
| wgen is black friday | 1300 |
| when are black fridays | 1300 |
| when do black friday deals end | 1300 |
| when does black friday start | 1300 |
| when.is.black friday | 1300 |
| white company black friday | 1300 |
| why is black friday called black friday | 1300 |
| zara black friday sale | 1300 |
| aldi black friday | 1000 |
| amazon black friday 2023 uk date | 1000 |
| amazon uk black friday 2023 | 1000 |
| ao black friday | 1000 |
| apple watch black friday 2023 | 1000 |
| apple watch black friday deals | 1000 |
| argos black friday deals | 1000 |
| asda black friday 2023 | 1000 |
| asda black friday deals | 1000 |
| best black friday deals uk 2023 | 1000 |
| black friday amazon 2023 | 1000 |
| black friday clothing | 1000 |
| black friday date 2023 | 1000 |
| black friday deal | 1000 |
| black friday deals in currys | 1000 |
| black friday holidays | 1000 |
| black friday hotel deals | 1000 |
| black friday laptop | 1000 |
| black friday laptops | 1000 |
| black friday microwave | 1000 |
| black friday sales uk | 1000 |
| black friday trainers | 1000 |
| cos black friday | 1000 |
| dyson airwrap complete black friday | 1000 |
| early black friday deals | 1000 |
| easyjet black friday | 1000 |
| electric blankets black friday | 1000 |
| friday rebecca black | 1000 |
| gaming chair black friday | 1000 |
| ghd black friday | 1000 |
| h&m black friday | 1000 |
| hotel chocolat black friday | 1000 |
| how long does black friday last | 1000 |
| ipad black friday deals 2023 | 1000 |
| iphone 13 black friday deals | 1000 |
| le creuset black friday | 1000 |
| lego black friday 2023 | 1000 |
| lego black friday deals | 1000 |
| matalan black friday | 1000 |
| meta quest 2 black friday | 1000 |
| mint velvet black friday | 1000 |
| ninja black friday deals | 1000 |
| nintendo switch lite black friday | 1000 |
| oodie black friday | 1000 |
| playstation black friday deals | 1000 |
| ps5 black friday deals | 1000 |
| shark black friday | 1000 |
| sonos black friday | 1000 |
| tumble dryer black friday | 1000 |
| ugg sale black friday | 1000 |
| what day is black friday 2023 | 1000 |
| when black friday | 1000 |
| when does black friday start 2023 | 1000 |
| when is black friday sale | 1000 |
| when is black friday sales | 1000 |
| when is the black friday sale | 1000 |
| when.is black friday | 1000 |