Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest shopping events of the year. They’re noisy, competitive, and expensive, with every brand scrambling for paid clicks, email opens, and social shares. But here’s the truth: most shoppers start with a simple search.
In 2024, global Black Friday online sales hit $74.4 billion, while UK shoppers alone spent £3.63 billion across the weekend. And according to Forbes, ecommerce is only getting stronger: online sales grew 16% year-on-year, with average cart sizes four times larger than in-store purchases.
That’s why SEO can’t be an afterthought. Done right, it doesn’t just deliver so-called ‘free traffic’, it ties your entire campaign together. It keeps you visible when paid CPCs surge, it powers remarketing lists, and it ensures journalists and affiliates have pages worth linking to.
Want to know more? Of course you do. Here’s how to make sure SEO is your competitive advantage this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Listen Up… Here’s Why SEO Matters During Peak Shopping Seasons
Yes, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are shopping events, but they’re also search events. Before shoppers click an ad, open an email, or walk into a store, they’re on Google comparing options, hunting for deals, and shaping their purchase decisions.
With the ecommerce stakes so high, organic search traffic isn’t something you can sleep on. Here’s why:
- Paid costs shoot up. CPCs rise across almost every category, and margins get tighter. SEO gives you a way to capture traffic without joining the bidding war.
- Shoppers start searching early. Many people are researching weeks before Black Friday actually lands. If your pages aren’t ready, you’ll miss that discovery phase.
- Organic makes every channel stronger. Good rankings help your ads perform better, build remarketing lists, and give PR a reliable link destination.
The Core Principles of Holiday SEO
Peak season SEO isn’t about reinventing the organic search wheel…it’s about fine-tuning tactics and reapplying them to catalyse incredible results in high-activity periods. Here are the principles to keep front of mind:
- Match intent properly. Not all ‘Black Friday’ searches look the same. Some are brand-led, some are category-led, and some are right down to the exact product model. Map dedicated landing pages to those clusters to match searcher intent effectively.
- Think beyond blue links. SERPs are packed with product carousels, FAQs, reviews, and even AI overviews. To earn holistic visibility, you need to optimise for all of them, not just the ten blue links.
- Keep everything up to date. Prices, stock, and delivery cut-offs change daily. Update landing pages, meta info, and structured data to signal freshness to Google, and request indexing on Google Search Console to ensure page changes are visible on the SERPs.
- Make sure the site can cope with surging traffic. Speed, caching, crawl budgets, and error monitoring are all non-negotiable in the run-up to huge online shopping events. A Black Friday or Cyber Monday crash will wipe out months of planning and revenue potential.
- Stick to evergreen URLs. Don’t create a new /black-friday-20XX/ page every year. Keep a consistent hub and refresh it annually, as that’s how you compound authority over time.
- Plan for global buyers. If you sell internationally, use hregland, localised currencies, and delivery schema to capture intent in every relevant regional market.
Your Black Friday and Cyber Monday SEO Playbook: 13 Expert Tips to Boost Sales
Tip #1 – Plan as early as possible
Your competitors have probably been planning since the summer, so don’t wing it in November and assume everything will work out fine. You need to get your entire team on the same page about:
- Priority offers and product categories
- The URLs that Black Friday or Cyber Monday traffic should land on
- Responsibilities for page updates, schema markup, and promotion
Top tip: Do competitor SERP analysis now. Review last year’s Black Friday SERPs: who dominated carousels, FAQs, or affiliate placements? Analysing historical performance data tells you where to double down this year to maximise results.
Tip #2 – Understand your audience
Not everyone searches the same way. Some go straight for “[brand] Black Friday,” others for “best Black Friday [category] deals.”
Pull last year’s data, identify what people actually typed into search engines, and then build content that matches those queries, not just what you wish they’d type.
Ultimately, running any marketing campaign on assumptions is a recipe for failure. My advice is to never rely on guesswork, especially when the revenue stakes are this high. Sure, listen to your gut and previous experience, but not if it means ignoring real data.
Tip #3 – Do specific keyword research
Generic ‘Black Friday’ or ‘Cyber Monday’ queries won’t cut it. Build specific keyword clusters around:
- Brand + Black Friday
- Category + Black Friday
- Subcategory + Black Friday
- Exact product names
- Deal modifiers like ‘under £X’, ‘bundle’, or “free delivery”
- “Best” modifiers, like “Best Cyber Monday tech deals”
Assign one strong, well-optimised page to each cluster to avoid letting your own URLs cannibalise each other.
Tip #3 – Own your branded search terms
If someone searches for ‘[your brand] Black Friday,’ you should dominate that SERP. Otherwise, you’re letting voucher sites and affiliates control the story. Create evergreen pages for branded queries and keep the clicks for yourself.
Also, consider comparative queries that include your brand and a competitor (e.g. [brand] vs [competitor] Black Friday deals). Have clear pages to match this search intent and position your products as the only viable choice for consumers weighing up their options.
Tip #5 – Support your strategy with Digital PR
Digital PR isn’t just for links; it’s a traffic driver in its own right, especially during busy online shopping events like Black Friday. We know that journalists are constantly scrambling to build Black Friday roundups, so make sure you provide work to make choosing your product a no-brainer:
- Build a linkable evergreen page.
- Provide media-ready assets: high-res images, delivery cut-offs, standout USPs.
- Time outreach before inboxes are swamped.
Expert Perspectives.
Black Friday is one of the busiest times of the year for journalists, and your pitch is competing with thousands of others. Brands that win prepare early with journalist-ready assets and clear hooks.
Want to see this in action? Check out how we boosted Black Friday traffic & revenue for Christmas Tree World with an integrated SEO and PR strategy.
Tip #6 – Boost your key product visibility
Google Shopping and organic product carousels are growing fast. Optimise to win placement by ensuring you have:
- Structured Product and Offer schema
- Clear, optimised product titles
- Live stock and price info
- Strong, positive review signals
Also, try to encourage fresh reviews early. The recent review schema increases eligibility for carousels and builds trust with shoppers who compare deals.
Tip #7 – Make mobile visibility the priority
Most Black Friday searches (and purchases) now happen on mobile. If your experience breaks, you lose the sale.
Our advice for mobile optimisation is to:
- Test page speed, Core Web Vitals, and mobile navigation
- Use sticky CTAs and simplified checkout flows
- Ensure structured data renders correctly in mobile SERPs
- Offer fast payment options like Apple Pay or Google Pay
Tip #8 – Don’t forget about new search spaces
AI overviews, Discover, free shopping listings, image carousels…I could go on. Shoppers are finding deals in more ways than ever, and your strategy needs to adapt. Add concise FAQs, strong imagery, and clear copy blocks that work well in these newer formats to maximise SERP visibility and boost click-through rates (CTRs).
Some example FAQs could be:
- When does [Brand] Black Friday start?
- Do [Brand] products go on sale on Black Friday?
- Is [Brand] having in-store sales for Black Friday?
Tip #9 – Test CRO before the big events
Don’t experiment when traffic is peaking. Run A/B tests in September and October so you know what works: sticky CTAs, free delivery banners, or countdown timers. Once November hits, stick to the winners.
Tip #10 – Set up Black Friday gift guides and landing pages
Gift-focused content is one of the easiest ways to capture intent in the run-up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Shoppers often search for ideas like ‘best gifts for teens Black Friday‘ or ‘Black Friday tech deals under £100.’
- Create evergreen gift guides that you refresh with updated products and deals each season.
- Build landing pages around buyer personas – parents, coworkers, gamers, beauty lovers, etc.
- Link these guides back to your /black-friday/ hub so they support rankings while also picking up long-tail traffic.
Think of them as your entry points for customers who don’t yet know exactly what they want, but are ready to be inspired.
Expert Perspectives.
Things like product round-ups and gift guides often get brushed aside as fluff or filler, but they’re actually essential elements of effective holiday SEO (yes, this goes for Christmas, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and other big calendar events, too).
Done well, these types of pages capture high-intent searches, build critical internal linking strength, and funnel traffic straight into dedicated sale hubs. The brands that win big during peak shopping seasons are the ones that treat this content as a core part of the strategy rather than a nice-to-have add-on.
Tip #11 – Don’t let technical issues steal revenue
Keep an eye on:
- Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Crawl errors and sitemaps
- Schema mismatches
- Broken links or redirects
It only takes one issue to tank performance at the worst possible time.
Tip #12 – Don’t forget local SEO
Local SEO can give you a competitive edge during peak season if you’re an omnichannel retailer with physical stores and an ecommerce setup.
- Update your Google Business Profile with accurate Black Friday and Cyber Monday opening hours.
- Optimise for ‘Black Friday deals in [city]’ style searches.
- Encourage recent customers to leave reviews. Fresh reviews can help you stand out in local pack results.
Even if most sales happen online, local intent is huge in the run-up to peak. Many shoppers research online first and then buy in-store or use click-and-collect.
Tip #13 – Create category-leading landing pages
Your /black-friday/ page should be the best on the SERP. That means:
- Clear hero offers
- Easy navigation and filters
- Delivery and returns info upfront
- FAQs answering real questions
- Internal links to priority brands and categories
Make it easy for both search engines and shoppers to find what they need.
Tip #14 – Leverage supporting content to build interest
Not every shopper is ready to buy right away. Create gift guides, comparison pieces, and ‘how to choose’ content that feeds into your deal hubs. That way, you capture intent earlier in the funnel.
For example, in the months leading up to events like Black Friday, you could publish:
- The X Best Beauty Gifts To Buy This Black Friday
- Black Friday Gifts for Gamers: Must-Have Consoles, Games, and Accessories
- Apple vs Samsung: Two Amazing Black Friday Phone Deals Compared
- AirPods Pro vs Bose QuietComfort: Which Headphones Should You Buy This Cyber Monday?
- How To Spot The Best Black Friday Deals: An Expert’s Guide
- How To Buy A New TV During Black Friday Sales: X Things To Consider
These guide titles link back naturally to dedicated product or sales landing pages, generating interest and funnelling high-intent traffic to those conversion-primed URLs before the big event.
Timings and Execution: When to Action Each Strategy Step
Timing is everything with Black Friday SEO. If you leave things too late, you’ll be stuck firefighting rather than building momentum. Here’s how to pace your efforts so you’re ready when shoppers start searching.
September / October
- Refresh /black-friday/ hub and top categories
- Run technical audits and stress tests
- Prep supporting content like gift guides and FAQs
- Set up reporting dashboards and attribution tracking for seasonal pages
Early November
- Push seasonal blogs
- Start PR outreach
- Tease key offers in content and on-page banners
- Align on-page efforts with off-page and social campaigns
Late November
- Lock in final offers and copy updates
- Push last-minute PR for live deals
- Monitor SERPs daily for shifts in intent
December
- Switch from Black Friday to Christmas SEO
- Update your hub for ‘last chance’ messaging
- Redirect any temporary URLs to permanent destinations
- Pivot into Cyber Monday SEO by refreshing offers, CTAs, and schema so your pages continue to rank for Cyber Monday-specific queries
Measure and Learn From Performance
Black Friday and Cyber Monday SEO don’t stop once the sales are over. The real, longer-term value comes from looking back at what worked, what didn’t, and why.
My advice is to:
- Track sessions, conversions, and revenue by page/cluster
- Review PR and referral traffic impact (especially on revenue)
- Analyse which SERP features you own vs. competitors
- Use performance data to shape evergreen assets (buying guides, FAQs)
Documenting these findings while they’re still fresh means you won’t be starting from scratch next year. Instead, you’ll have a clear playbook for 2026 and beyond, one that builds on proven performance rather than guesswork.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Running Black Friday SEO Campaigns
Every year, the same mistakes cost brands revenue they can’t afford to lose. Avoiding these pitfalls will put you miles ahead of less-prepared competitors:
- Spinning up a new Black Friday page every year.
- Burying deals behind pop-ups that block crawlers and frustrate users.
- Copying the same text across every category page.
- Forgetting product schema and missing out on enhanced results.
- Testing new CRO ideas during peak instead of before.
- Leaving internal links pointing to last year’s pages.
The first step is to avoid these mistakes. The next step is building a strategy that grows traffic and revenue. If you’re ready to get it right this Black Friday and beyond, let’s talk. → Request a quote
Beyond the Big Day: Make Your Black Friday SEO Drive Year-Round Results
Black Friday might be the headline act, but your hard work shouldn’t vanish the moment Cyber Monday wraps up. The pages you’ve built, the links you’ve earned, and the authority you’ve grown can all keep delivering value if you plan for it.
- Turn your Black Friday hub into a year-round deals page. Switch it back to evergreen sale messaging once peak is over, then refresh it with seasonal content when the time comes. This keeps authority building instead of resetting every year.
- Pivot your supporting content. Gift guides, deal roundups, and comparison pieces can all be updated for Christmas, January sales, or even summer promotions – the format works across seasons.
- Use seasonal data to shape evergreen assets. Look closely at the queries and pages that performed best during Black Friday, then spin those insights into permanent buying guides or FAQs.
- Keep feeding in fresh trust signals. Reviews, customer photos, and updated delivery information strengthen your sales pages all year, not just in November.
- Analyse performance while it’s fresh. Capture what worked, what didn’t, and what competitors did differently. Those notes become your playbook when you start planning next year.
Think of Black Friday as the starting point, not the end. If you keep those pages live, keep them fresh, and keep learning from the data, they’ll continue driving results into Christmas and beyond.
Ready to Make Black Friday SEO Work Harder for Your Brand?
If you’re serious about turning SEO into sales this Black Friday and beyond, you need more than quick wins and keyword stuffing. You need a strategy that drives high-intent traffic, converts shoppers, and keeps revenue flowing long after the deals end.
That’s exactly what we do at Digitaloft. As an award-winning SEO agency, we build performance-led organic search strategies rooted in data, experience, and a clear focus on outcomes, not vanity metrics.
There’s still time to get your Black Friday and Cyber Monday SEO in shape. So, if you’re ready to win through smarter SEO, content, and digital PR, book your free strategy call with our team today.