Top Keywords Searched on Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday has become as big a deal (often bigger) than Black Friday. While brick-and-mortar retailers require employees and customers to cut Thanksgiving festivities short in order to fight crowds for Black Friday deals, online retailers use automated tools to attract holiday shoppers while enjoying their time off.

Retailers are reporting Cyber Monday savings as being much better than the deals offered on Black Friday for toys, travel, entertainment, and clothing.

And with Monday being a workday, Internet search traffic soars.  As the holiday season is quickly approaching, let’s look at the some of the highest ranking keywords searched on Cyber Monday (using Google AdWords’ Keyword Planner Tool and accounting for search forecasting through Google Trends) to help you be seen during this hectic season.

1. Cyber Monday

In recent years, Cyber Monday earned a reputation as offering better deals than Black Friday as savvy shoppers became skilled in the art of scouring the web for the best holiday bargains. Not surprisingly, one of the most popular search terms on Cyber Monday is, in fact, “Cyber Monday.” During the months of November and December, searches for the keyword rise to over 7.5 million per month.

Pro-tip:

Cyber Monday deals may not make sense for your business; if you are not offering deals on this day, it is wise to at least acknowledge the phenomenon through a blog post or curated list surrounding Cyber Monday. Keep in mind that these searches are often performed on mobile devices during work, so other traffic statistics (engagement, bounce rate, etc.) will suffer if you are not actually providing Cyber Monday deals.

2. Black Friday

Throughout the month of November, it is estimated that Black Friday will see over 15 million hits, many of these the weekend between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Retailers holding Cyber Monday sales can still benefit by mentioning Black Friday, even if there won’t be any deals. This is a good way of informing consumers trying to stay ahead of the curve.

Pro-tip:

After Black Friday, many are interested in the results, and Wal-Mart typically gains notoriety as videos and pictures of the circus surrounding the retailer’s Black Friday deals show up on social media. Though the bulk of Black Friday traffic occurs prior to Thanksgiving, never underestimate how many people are reflecting on Black Friday during Cyber Monday.

3. Coupon/Coupons

Search traffic for “Coupon” and “Coupons” spikes on Black Friday and continues rising throughout December. Over one million searches will be performed by consumers looking for great deals on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and almost much every day through Christmas. Around two-thirds of this traffic (700,000) is for “coupons,” which is a high-competition keyword, while coupon (300,000) is a less competitive search term.

Pro-tip:

Help your business gain traction by either offering a single coupon or collecting a list of valuable coupons from other businesses. Keep in mind much of the searching for Cyber Monday coupons is already happening as consumers finalize holiday plans and schedules.

4. Delivery

Expected to draw more than 500,000 monthly searches fueled by Cyber Monday, “Delivery” is a popular keyword that can strengthen many products sold by businesses. Some people will simply search for “television,” while others search for “television delivery.” Adding this term to page tags throughout your site should serve to attract holiday shoppers looking for gifts that can be purchased, wrapped, and delivered to the recipient with one click.

Pro-tip:

One of the largest traffic draws that helped make Cyber Monday what it is was Amazon and other major online retailers offering and advertising the ability to deliver gifts by Christmas. As we move closer to the end of December, more consumers are expected to look for expedited delivery by Christmas.

5. Sale/Sales

Another great keyword to utilize around Cyber Monday is “Sale” or “Sales.” Unlike the other search terms, searches for sales actually grow stronger in December than November, which is why we are including it on this list.  Although the traffic begins spiking in November, December is when traffic really starts shooting upward on the Google Keyword Planning Tool.

Many consumers will search for their favorite tech, games, toys, and even retailers with these keywords attached; simply discussing sales is a great way to capitalize on the approximately 1 million searches for sales during December.

6. Gift/Gifts

Tis the season for giving, and, while many now shop for themselves on Black Friday, Cyber Monday is still firmly a gift-giver’s holiday. Searches for “gift” and “gifts” peak each during the holiday season, starting around the middle of November.

Pro-tip:

Everyone is looking for gift ideas; creating specialized gift lists and gift guides are great ways to drive digital traffic. Any business can curate gift ideas for their customers and demographics, such as “10 Gifts for Tech Geeks” or “Gift Ideas for Travel Junkies.” Don’t forget to also give your customers, clients, and workers some kind of gift, such as a promotional branded item or discount posted on the website for the holidays.

7. Christmas

Christmas remains a popular search term throughout the year, but skyrockets during the holiday season. During the month of November, search traffic shoots up to over 3 million, while December sees traffic hitting 10 million. Christmas search results also exceed the traffic of the terms xmas (750k in December) and holiday (550k in December). Keep this in mind when crafting holiday-related posts.

Pro-tip:

Blog posts that focus around one keyword such as Christmas can be a great way to boost traffic. Do be cautioned, Christmas blogs can be both a blessing and a curse. As mentioned, they can drive a lot of traffic, but that traffic lasts just a short while and are often worthless the rest of the year.

So, while purchasing trends may change from year to year, the basics of the holiday season remain the same. Whether Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or the holidays themselves, winter is a time when people bundle up and spend more time online. Use this to your business’s advantage by creating holiday posts that will grab people’s attention beyond your typical customer base.

If you need help getting started on a promotion that will capture the attention of your prospective audience, contact Volume Nine to help you narrow in on the most beneficial keywords for your business.