SmallBusinessNewz

The holiday season is all but over, but now it's time to start looking ahead. It's time to think about what people are going to be searching for through the early months of 2010. Knowing what people will be searching for can help you plan your paid and organic search marketing strategies more effectively.

Google shared some graphs from its Insights for Search tool that indicate a big increase in search traffic for certain seasonal queries will be on the way. This includes things like Valentines' Day gifts, prom dresses, wedding planning, and ski equipment.

"Of course, the next big retail holiday is Valentine's Day," says Erin Piper with the Google Retail Team.  "Using Google Insights for Search, we see that search volume upticks in early January for Valentine's Day gifts. While flowers and candy will likely remain popular, looking at top valentine's day searches we find that many shoppers are searching for unique ideas, especially for men, so make sure to position your products accordingly."

"Additionally, though prom season is still months away, traffic starts to pick up immediately after the holiday season and increases again after Valentine's Day," adds Piper. "Prom isn't the only formal event coming up. Wedding planning also upticks after the winter holiday season. Planning a wedding means buying products ranging from attire (dresses, veils, tuxes, shoes), to decor (flowers, candles, and centerpieces), to jewelry and invitations. Target wedding planners through your search and content marketing campaigns."

Ski equipment and any other outdoor winter activity-related merchandise is a no-brainer.

There are a lot of opportunities for a multitude of different kinds of businesses. A hardware store could focus on searches for snow shovels, salt, snow-blowers, etc. Clothing retailers could focus on warm clothes, boots, etc.

Businesses can also time their search marketing efforts around keywords associated with various new product releases, news stories and other predictable events. For instance, it's anticipated that Apple will be releasing a tablet computer in March 2010.  You don't have to be an electronics retailer to blog about the tablet and potentially show up in search results.

In other words, there are many ways utilize seasonal and news relevant keywords to your search marketing advantage!