India is a land of diverse cultures, religions, and traditions, making it home to a wide range of festivals and holidays celebrated with great enthusiasm. From Diwali to Eid, Christmas to Holi, each holiday season presents a unique opportunity for news publishers to capture the attention of readers. Leveraging these holiday moments not only drives traffic but can also significantly boost affiliate marketing efforts, especially with vertical news.
Here’s how Indian holidays can become a goldmine for news publishers:
1. Target Seasonal Keywords for Higher Visibility
Every major holiday in India brings a surge in search engine queries. People look for everything from festival dates, gift ideas, recipes, travel tips, and fashion recommendations to decoration guides. Utilizing seasonal keywords like “Best Durga Puja Pandals”, “Diwali gift ideas,” “Christmas travel destinations,” or “Eid recipes” can increase the organic visibility of a publisher’s website. These keywords have high search volumes during the holiday season and attract traffic from people actively looking for information.
For example, during Diwali, keywords such as “best Diwali gifts,” “Diwali sales,” and “Diwali lighting ideas” experience a spike. If news publishers optimize their content for these terms, they can ensure higher search engine rankings and increased visibility during peak times. This also helps publisher to target the change in content consumtion behaviour of there readers. Publisher can effectively target discover traffic during festive periods.
2. Holiday-Themed Affiliate Marketing Campaigns
Holidays are synonymous with shopping in India. Whether it’s purchasing gifts for loved ones, buying new clothes, or making big-ticket purchases like electronics and home appliances, holidays are a key time for shopping. News publishers can capitalize on this by integrating affiliate marketing links into their holiday-themed articles.
For instance, a news article titled “Top 10 Diwali Gift Ideas for 2024” can include affiliate links to e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, or Myntra. The audience is likely to be in a buying mindset, and clicking on these links can lead to sales, earning the publisher a commission. Similarly, publishers can provide special discounts and coupon codes in collaboration with brands, offering exclusive deals to their readers.
3. Create Vertical News to Segment Audience
News publishers can create vertical news specific to holidays that cater to niche audiences. Vertical news refers to specialized news content that targets specific topics or industries, and in the case of holidays, it could focus on different aspects like fashion, travel, food, or gadgets.
For example, during Christmas, publishers can launch a vertical news section on “Christmas fashion trends” or “Top holiday travel destinations.” These specialized sections can attract readers looking for holiday-specific content and enable targeted affiliate marketing opportunities. A dedicated vertical for “Holiday Deals” could highlight exclusive deals, further driving traffic and affiliate conversions. Vertical news provided a lot more benefits to legacy news publishers like they can drive better engagement & enhance the credibility and trust. It also offers a big opportunity to widen the SEO net by targeting ever green keywords. Such stories also tend to get better CTR in search & discover and have high virality on social channels. Publisher can experiment with a lot of new content formats like short videos, reels, web stories on such content pieces.
4. Leverage Social Media for Maximum Reach
Indian holidays are often accompanied by a surge in social media activity. Families and individuals share their celebrations, from festive outfits to home decor and food. News publishers can harness this activity by sharing holiday-related content across platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. By creating shareable content, such as festival guides, top picks, and DIY tips, publishers can drive traffic back to their websites.
Adding affiliate links in social media posts also helps. For instance, sharing a tweet about the “Best Diwali outfits” with an embedded link to an e-commerce platform allows users to make purchases directly through the publisher’s content.
5. Collaborate with Influencers for Authentic Promotion
In India, influencers hold significant sway, especially during the holiday season. Collaborating with influencers to promote festive content or affiliate products can boost reach and drive sales. An influencer sharing their “Top Holi Skincare Picks” with an affiliate link to a beauty brand can seamlessly integrate products while maintaining authenticity.
Publishers can work with influencers to create sponsored content around festivals, increasing visibility for both the publisher and the brands they promote. This method builds trust with audiences while driving traffic through influencer recommendations.
6. Capitalize on Urgency with Limited-Time Offers
Holiday sales in India are often driven by limited-time offers, such as Amazon’s Great Indian Festival or Flipkart’s Big Billion Days. News publishers can publish articles that cover the best deals and offer countdowns to sales, creating a sense of urgency among readers.
By focusing on limited-time offers, publishers can drive traffic quickly as readers rush to secure deals. Incorporating affiliate links within these articles increases the likelihood of conversions, benefiting both the publisher and the affiliate partner.
Indian holidays present a valuable opportunity for news publishers to not only increase traffic but also drive affiliate marketing revenue. By leveraging seasonal keywords, creating vertical news, collaborating with influencers, and utilizing social media effectively, publishers can tap into the festive fervor and engage readers with valuable content. The strategic use of affiliate links in holiday-themed articles can enhance conversions, making it a win-win for both publishers and their audience.
