SEO

A Marketing Calendar Template To Plan Your Content For 2023

Published

1 year ago

December 25, 2022

A Marketing Calendar Template To Plan Your Content For 2023

The days have grown shorter, and the weather has grown colder, which can only mean one thing: The end of the year is upon us.

How did you do in 2022? Did you hit all your professional goals? Or did you fall short in some areas?

Take some time to celebrate your successes, but then it’s time to put that behind you and look ahead to 2023.

Seizing the new year and setting yourself (and your organization) up for success means having a solid marketing plan.

You need a detailed strategy that identifies specific holidays and events you can leverage to maximize the impact of your brand.

But it’s so much work to create.

If only there were some incredible resources you could use. Like a ready-made calendar with all the holidays in one convenient, customizable, and easily referenceable table you could use to help you create your own 2023 marketing calendar…

Just think of how convenient it would be to identify National Weed Your Garden Day (June 13), Better Breakfast Month (September), or International Firefighters Day (May 4) with just a quick glance.

Maybe you didn’t even know holidays like NASCAR Day (May 19), World Tourism Day (September 27), and Meat Week (January 29-February 5) exist.

While you could run successful marketing campaigns without acknowledging these events, they provide a great chance for you to target leads and customers in a fun and engaging way.

And you’re in luck – we’ve done all the work to create a marketing calendar template for you. And best of all, it’s free.

Free Marketing Calendar And Template For 2023

Some marketers are like the ant in Aesop’s famous fable, planning for the coming year to ensure they’re moving into a new year with a defined and well-thought-out strategy.

And then there are the grasshopper types, who will suddenly recall mid-Christmas break that they don’t have anything on the calendar for 2023.

No matter which one you are, we’re here to help.

2023 Marketing Calendar

Here is your marketing calendar for 2023. We’ve created a list of events, holidays, and celebrations, plus a handy template to help you market more effectively this year.

Much of the calendar is focused on the U.S. and Canada, with some major international and religious holidays.

Use the tab titled “All Holidays + Google Calendar” to Google Calendar.

Your 2023 Holiday Marketing Calendar

This calendar is separated by month, so you can jump to whichever month you need:

January

A new year means a new start.

Whether your goal is to stop smoking, lose those pounds you’ve accidentally packed on since Thanksgiving, or take a more positive view of the world, this is the time when it all starts.

And outside of new resolutions, you also have college football bowl games, the Sundance Film Festival, and National Hat Day to look forward to.

Monthly Observances

Weight Loss Awareness Month
National Blood Donor Month
National Thank You Month
National Hobby Month
National Hot Tea Month
Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month
National Slow Cooking Month
National Skating Mont

Weekly Observances

January 1-7 – Diet Resolution Week
January 1-7 – National Thank Your Customers Week
January 8-14 – Home Office Safety and Security Week
January 15-21 – Hunt For Happiness Week
January 16-22 – Sugar Awareness Week
January 22-28 – National School Choice Week
January 23-27 – Clean Out Your Inbox Week
January 29-February 4 – Meat Week

Days

January 1 – New Year’s Day
January 1 – National Hangover Day
January 1 – Outback Bowl
January 1 – Rose Bowl
January 1 – NHL Winter Classic
January 2 – Science Fiction Day
January 3 – Festival of Sleep Day
January 4 – Trivia Day
January 5 – National Bird Day
January 5-8 – PGA Tournament of Champions
January 6 – National Bean Day
January 6 – Cuddle Up Day
January 7 – Orthodox Christmas
January 8 – Elvis’s Birthday
January 9 – College Football Playoff National Championship
January 10 – Golden Globes
January 10 – National Bittersweet Chocolate Day
January 10 – Houseplant Appreciation Day
January 10 – National Clean Off Your Desk Day
January 12 – Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution Day
January 13 – National Rubber Ducky Day
January 14 – Dress Up Your Pet Day
January 15 – National Hat Day
January 17 – Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day
January 17 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 18 – Winnie the Pooh Day (Author A.A. Milne’s birthday)
January 19 – National Popcorn Day
January 19-29 – Sundance Film Festival
January 20 – Penguin Awareness Day
January 20 – National Cheese Lover’s Day
January 21 – National Hugging Day
January 22 – Chinese New Year
January 23 – National Pie Day
January 24 – Compliment Day
January 24 – National Peanut Butter Day
January 24 – Community Manager Appreciation Day #CMAD
January 25 – Opposite Day
January 26 – Spouse’s Day
January 27 – Chocolate Cake Day
January 27-29 – Winter X Games
January 28 – Data Privacy Day
January 29 – National Puzzle Day
January 31 – Backward Day

Popular Hashtags For January:

#NewYearsDay
#ScienceFictionDay
#NationalTriviaDay
#NationalBirdDay
#NationalStickerDay
#GetToKnowYourCustomersDay
#CheeseLoversDay
#MLKDay
#NationalHuggingDay
#PieDay
#NationalComplimentDay
#OppositeDay
#CMAD
#PrivacyAware

February

Though it’s only 28 days long, February is jam-packed with events you can leverage for your marketing campaigns.

Spread the love on Valentine’s Day, celebrate the end of winter (or lament its continuation) on Groundhog Day, and do some good deeds for Random Acts of Kindness Week.

Need a few more ideas to flesh out your calendar? Scroll on.

Monthly Observances

Black History Month
American Heart Month
National Heart Month
National Weddings Month
National Cherry Month

Weekly Observances

February 5-11 – Children’s Authors and Illustration Week
February 9-15 – New York Fashion Week
February 12-18 – Freelance Writers Appreciation Week
February 12-18 – International Flirting Week
February 19-25 – National Pancake Week
February 14-21 – Condom Week
February 14-20 – Random Acts of Kindness Week

Days

February 1 – National Freedom Day
February 2 – Groundhog Day
February 3 – Give Kids a Smile Day
February 3 – Bubble Gum Day
February 3 – Wear Red Day
February 4 – World Cancer Day
February 5 – World Nutella Day
February 5 – National Weatherperson’s Day
February 6 – National Chopsticks Day
February 7 – Send a Card to a Friend Day #SendACardToAFriendDay
February 8 – Boy Scout’s Day
February 9 – National Pizza Day
February 10 – Umbrella Day
February 11 – Make a Friend Day
February 12 – Lincoln’s Birthday
February 13 – Super Bowl Sunday
February 14 – Valentine’s Day
February 15 – Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday
February 15 – Singles Awareness Day
February 17 – Random Acts of Kindness Day
February 18 – Drink Wine Day
February 20 – Love Your Pet Day
February 20 – Presidents Day
February 21 – Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras
February 22 – Ash Wednesday
February 22 – Washington’s Birthday
February 22 – Margarita Day
February 22 – Walk Your Dog Day
February 24 – National Tortilla Chip Day
February 26 – National Pistachio Day
February 28 – Floral Design Day

Popular Hashtags For February:

#GroundhogDay
#WorldCancerDay
#NationalWeatherpersonsDay
#SendACardToAFriendDay
#BoyScoutsDay
#NationalPizzaDay
#ValentinesDay
#RandomActsOfKindnessDay
#PresidentsDay
#LoveYourPetDay

March

The beginning of spring, March Madness, and, of course, St. Patrick’s Day – who doesn’t love March?

Okay, that whole coming in like a lion thing is a little rough, but even on the coldest days, you can take heart that the worst is almost over.

Here are some holidays and events you can use to make your brand’s March a great one.

Monthly Observances

Women’s History Month
Nutrition Month
Peanut Month
Music in Our Schools Month
Craft Month
Irish Heritage Month
American Red Cross Month
March for Meals
The Great American Cleanup
Ramadan begins on March 22

Weekly Observances

March 6-12– Girl Scout Week
March 12-18 – Campfire Birthday Week
March 13-19 – National Sleep Awareness Week
March 27 – Apr 2 National Cleaning Week

Days

March 1 – Peanut Butter Lover’s Day
March 2 – National Read Across America Day (Dr. Seuss Day)
March 3 – World Wildlife Day
March 4 – Grammar Day
March 4 – Day of Unplugging
March 4 – Employee Appreciation Day
March 6 – Dentist’s Day
March 6 – Oreo Day
March 7 – Cereal Day
March 8 – International Women’s Day
March 10 – Popcorn Lover’s Day
March 12 – Daylight Savings
March 12– Girl Scout Day
March 12 – 95^th Academy Awards Ceremony
March 13 – National Good Samaritan Day
March 13 – Napping Day
March 14 – Pi Day
March 15 – The Ides of March
March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day
March 17 – World Sleep Day
March 18 – Awkward Moments Day
March 20 – First Day of Spring
March 21 – World Down Syndrome Day
March 21 – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
March 22 – World Water Day
March 22 – Ag Day (Agriculture Day)
March 22 – American Diabetes Association Alert Day
March 22 – First day of Ramadan
March 23 – Puppy Day
March 26 – Purple Day for Epilepsy Awareness
March 26 – Earth Hour Day
March 29 – Mom & Pop Business Owners Day
March 30 – National Doctor’s Day
March 30 – Baseball Opening Day
March 31 – Crayon Day
March 31 – Transgender Day of Visibility

Popular Hashtags For March:

#PeanutButterLoversDay
#EmployeeAppreciationDay
#ReadAcrossAmerica
#DrSeuss
#WorldWildlifeDay
#NationalGrammarDay
#BeBoldForChange
#DaylightSavings
#PiDay
#StPatricksDay
#FirstDayofSpring
#WorldWaterDay
#NationalPuppyDay
#PurpleDay
#AmericanDiabetesAssociationAlertDay
#NationalDoctorsDay
#EarthHour
#TDOV

April

Just listen to those birds singing and the bees humming – April is a time of natural rejuvenation.

Give your targets and customers a laugh with an April Fool’s prank, schedule an event around the Master’s tournament (or hit the links yourself), and show your love for our planet on Earth Day. Just don’t forget taxes are due on the 15^th.

For more ideas, we’ve provided a list below.

Monthly Observances

Earth Month
National Volunteer Month
National Autism Awareness Month
Keep America Beautiful Month
National Garden Month
Stress Awareness Month
National Poetry Month
Ramadan ends on April 21

Weekly Observances

April 17-23 – National Volunteer Week
April 17-23 – Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week
April 24-30 – Administrative Professionals Week
April 24-30 – National Princess Week
April 25-29 – Every Kid Healthy Week

Days

April 1 – April Fool’s Day
April 2 – Palm Sunday
April 2 – Equal Pay Day
April 2 – World Autism Awareness Day
April 2 – National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day
April 3 – Don’t Go To Work Unless it’s Fun Day
April 3 – Find a Rainbow Day
April 4 – School Librarian Day
April 3-9 – Masters Tournament PGA
April 6 – National Walking Day
April 7 – Good Friday
April 7 – National Beer Day
April 7 – World Health Day
April 9 – Easter Sunday
April 9 – Winston Churchill Day
April 10 – Golfer’s Day
April 11 – National Pet Day
April 12 – National Grilled Cheese Day
April 15 – National Titanic Remembrance Day
April 15 – Tax Day
April 14-23 – Coachella Music Festival
April 17 – Boston Marathon
April 18 – Patriot’s Day
April 20 – Lookalike Day
April 21 – National High-Five Day
April 21 – Last day of Ramadan
April 22 – Earth Day
April 27 – Denim Day
April 27 – Administrative Professionals Day
April 28 – Take Your Daughter and/or Son to Work Day
April 28 – National Superhero Day
April 28 – Arbor Day
April 30 – National Honesty Day
April 30 – National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day

Popular Hashtags For April:

#AprilFools
#WAAD
#FindARainbowDay
#NationalWalkingDay
#LetsTalk
#EqualPayDay
#TaxDay
#NH5D
#NationalLookAlikeDay
#AdministrativeProfessionalsDay
#DenimDay
#EndMalariaForGood
#COUNTONME
#ArborDay
#NationalHonestyDay
#AdoptAShelterPetDay

May

School is winding down, temperatures are heating up, and barbecue grills are being lit – it can only mean the arrival of May.

Make your brand a Mayflower (insert terrible pilgrim joke here) by taking advantage of Cinco de Mayo, the Kentucky Derby, and Memorial Day as marketing themes.

Monthly Observances

ALS Awareness
Asthma Awareness
National Celiac Disease Awareness Month
Clean Air Month
Global Employee Health and Fitness Month
National Barbecue Month
National Bike Month
National Hamburger Month
National Salad Month
National Photo Month
Gifts from the Garden Month
Lupus Awareness Month
National Military Appreciation Month

Weekly Observances

May 1-7 – National Pet Week
May 1-7 – National Travel & Tourism Week
May 1-7 – Drinking Water Week
May 2-6 – Teacher Appreciation Week
May 6-12 – Nurse’s Week
May 8 – May 14 – Food Allergy Awareness Week

Days

May 1 – May Day
May 1 – Mother Goose Day
May 3 – Thank A Teacher Day
May 3 – National Teacher’s Day
May 4 – Star Wars Day
May 4 – National Firefighters Day
May 5 – Cinco De Mayo
May 5 – World Password Day
May 6 – National Nurses Day
May 6 – Military Spouse Appreciation Day
May 6 – Kentucky Derby
May 8 – World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
May 10 – National Receptionists Day
May 11 – Eat What You Want Day
May 14 – Mother’s Day
May 14 – World Fair Trade Day
May 15 – National Chocolate Chip Day
May 16 – Love a Tree Day
May 18-21 – PGA Championship
May 19 – NASCAR Day
May 20 – National Bike to Work Day
May 20 – Be a Millionaire Day
May 20 – Armed Forces Day
May 22 – Victoria Day (Canada)
May 25 – Red Nose Day
May 25 – Geek Pride Day
May 25 – National Wine Day
May 26 – Sally Ride Day
May 28 -June 11 – French Open
May 28 – Indianapolis 500
May 29 – Memorial Day
May 31 – World No-Tobacco Day

Popular Hashtags For May:

#RedNoseDay
#MayDay
#WorldPasswordDay
#StarWarsDay & #Maythe4thBeWithYou
#InternationalFirefightersDay
#CincoDeMayo
#MothersDay
#BTWD
#MemorialDay & #MDW
#NoTobacco

June

Summer, summer, summertime. June is the month when it finally starts to feel like summer.

Make your brand a must-have companion for planning a beachside vacation or hosting a cookout.

And don’t forget it’s also the month for LGBTQ+ Pride, Flag Day, and Father’s Day, along with all the other events listed here.

Monthly Observances

Men’s Health Month
National Safety Month
Acne Awareness Month
LGBTQ Pride Month
National Adopt a Cat Month
Aquarium Month
Candy Month

Weekly Observances

June 4-10 – Pet Appreciation Week
June 12-18 – Men’s Health Week
June 19-25 – National Camping Week
June 23-26 – Watermelon Seed Spitting Week

Days

June 1 – Global Parents Day
June 2 – National Rocky Road Ice Cream Day
June 3 – National Donut Day
June 3 – Belmont Stakes
June 4 – Hug Your Cat Day
June 4 – National Cheese Day
June 5 – World Environment Day
June 7 – National Chocolate Ice Cream Day
June 8 – World Oceans Day
June 8 – National Best Friends Day
June 9 – Donald Duck Day
June 10 – Iced Tea Day
June 13-15 – Bonnaroo Music Festival
June 13 – National Weed Your Garden Day
June 14 – Flag Day
June 15-18 –U.S. Open PGA
June 18 – National Splurge Day
June 18 – World Juggler’s Day
June 19 – Father’s Day
June 21 – First Day of Summer / Summer Solstice
June 21 – National Selfie Day
June 22 – National Kissing Day
June 25 – National Take a Dog to Work Day
June 29 – Camera Day
June 30 – National Handshake Day
June 30 – Social Media Day

Popular Hashtags For June:

#NationalDonutDay
#FathersDay
#NationalSelfieDay
#TakeYourDogToWorkDay
#HandshakeDay
#SMDay

July

From pet safety tips for the Fourth of July to Amazon Prime Day, July presents lots of opportunities for savvy marketers.

So, celebrate your independence, gorge yourself on too many hotdogs, and celebrate your friends with one of many July-themed events.

Monthly Observances

Family Golf Month
Ice Cream Month
National Grilling Month
National Picnic Month
National Independent Retailer Month
National Blueberry Month

Weekly Observances

July 17-23 – Capture the Sunset Week

Days

July 1 – National Postal Worker Day
July 1 – International Joke Day
July 1 – 23 – Tour de France
July 2 – World UFO Day
July 3-16 – Wimbledon
July 4 – Independence Day
July 4 – Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
July 5 – National Bikini Day
July 7 – World Chocolate Day
July 8 – National Video Games Day
July 11 – National 7-Eleven Day
July 12 – Pecan Pie Day
July 13 – Rock Worldwide Day
July 13 – French Fry Day
July 16 – World Snake Day
July 17 – World Emoji Day
July 17 – National Ice Cream Day
July 19 – National Daiquiri Day
July 20 – Hot Dog Day
July 20 – National Moon Day
July 21-25 – Summer X Games
July 24 – Amelia Earhart Day
July 24 – Parents’ Day
July 26 – Aunt and Uncle Day
July 28 – World Hepatitis Day
July 28-30 – World Lumberjack Championships
July 30 – Father-in-Law Day
July 30 – International Day of Friendship
July 30 – Friendship Day

Popular Hashtags For July:

#NationalPostalWorkerDay
#WorldUFODay
#WorldEmojiDay
#DayOfFriendship

August

August means the hottest days, back-to-school and the return of football.

Whether you’re celebrating the end of summer or trying to finish your tan in the dog days, August means lots of opportunities for fun.

Here are some holidays and celebrations you can use for your August marketing calendar:

Monthly Observances

Back to School Month
National Golf Month
National Breastfeeding Month
Family Fun Month
Peach Month

Weekly Observances

August 1-7 – International Clown Week
August 6-12 – National Farmers’ Market Week
August 14-20 – National Motorcycle Week (Always 2nd full week of August)
August 14-20 – Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week (Always 2nd full week of August)

Days

August 1 – National Girlfriends Day
August 2 – National Ice Cream Sandwich Day
August 3 – Hall of Fame Game/ NFL Preseason begins
August 4 – National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
August 5 – International Beer Day
August 8 – International Cat Day
August 9 – Book Lover’s Day
August 10 – National S’mores Day
August 11 – National Son and Daughter Day
August 12 – Middle Child’s Day
August 13 – Left-hander’s Day
August 16 – National Tell a Joke Day
August 18 – Bad Poetry Day
August 19 – World Photo Day
August 19 – World Humanitarian Day
August 20 – National Lemonade Day
August 21 – Senior Citizens Day
August 26 – National Dog Day
August 26 – Women’s Equality Day
August 30 – Frankenstein Day
August 31 – National Trail Mix Day

Popular Hashtags For August:

#InternationalCatDay
#NationalBookLoversDay
#WorldElephantDay
#LefthandersDay
#WorldPhotoDay
#WorldHumanitarianDay
#NationalLemonadeDay
#NationalDogDay
#WomensEqualityDay

September

The heat has finally broken, and Autumn has started to roll in – what better reason for dancing in September?

There are a lot of popular holidays and events you can leverage for marketing this month, including the kickoff of Hispanic Heritage Month, Grandparents Day, and, of course, Labor Day.

And if you forget to include National Talk Like a Pirate Day in your marketing calendar, someone may make you walk the plank, matey.

Monthly Observances

Wilderness Month
National Preparedness Month
National Food Safety Education Month
Fruit and Veggies—More Matters Month
National Yoga Awareness Month
Whole Grains Month
Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15)
Little League Month
Better Breakfast Month

Weekly Observances

September 10-16 – National Suicide Prevention Week
September 19-25 – Pollution Prevention Week
September 18-24 – National Indoor Plant Week
September 20-27 – National Dog Week

Days

September 2 – World Beard Day
September 3 – International Bacon Day
September 4 – Labor Day
September 5 – Cheese Pizza Day
September 5 – International Day of Charity
September 6 – Read a Book Day
September 10– Grandparents Day
September 11 – 9/11
September 12 – Video Games Day
September 13 – Uncle Sam Day
September 15 – Greenpeace Day
September 15-17– Rosh Hashanah
September 16 – Constitution Day
September 17 – Citizenship Day
September 17 – Oktoberfest Begins
September 17 – Boys’ and Girls’ Club Day for Kids
September 18 – Wife Appreciation Day
September 19 – International Talk Like a Pirate
September 22–25 – Presidents Cup PGA
September 21 – International Day of Peace
September 22 – Car-free Day
September 22 – First Day of Fall
September 22 – Native American Day
September 23 – Checkers Day
September 27 – World Tourism Day
September 27– National Voter Registration Day
September 28 – World Rabies Day
September 28 – National Good Neighbor Day
September 29 – World Heart Day
September 30 – International Podcast Day

Popular Hashtags For September:

#LaborDay
#NationalWildlifeDay
#CharityDay
#ReadABookDay
#911Day
#NationalVideoGamesDay
#TalkLikeAPirateDay
#PeaceDay
#CarFreeDay
#WorldRabiesDay
#GoodNeighborDay
#InternationalPodcastDay

October

Get your trick-or-treat bags ready, fill up that pumpkin spice latte, and light up the bonfire – it’s October.

There’s so much more to this month than just Halloween. It also has Teacher’s Day, International Coffee Day, and the beginning of the World Series.

Take a look at some other marketing themes for this month:

Monthly Observances

Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Bully Prevention Month
Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
Halloween Safety Month
Financial Planning Month
National Pizza Month

Weekly Observances

October 2-8 – Great Books Week (always the first full week)
October 2-8 – National Work From Home Week (always the first full week)
October 16-22 – Mediation Week (third week in October)
October 16-22 – National Business Women’s Week (third week in October)
October 23-31 – National Red Ribbon Week

Days

October 1 – Coffee Day
October 1 – World Vegetarian Day
October 2 – Name Your Car Day
October 2 – Brow Day
October 3 – Oktoberfest Ends
October 3 – National Techies Day
October 3 – National Boyfriends Day
October 4 – National Taco Day
October 4-5 – Yom Kippur
October 5 – World Teacher’s Day
October 7 – National Kale Day
October 7 – World Smile Day
October 9 – Leif Erikson Day
October 9 – Columbus Day
October 9 – Indigenous Peoples’ Day
October 9 – Thanksgiving Day (Canada)
October 10 – World Mental Health Day
October 11 – It’s My Party Day
October 14 – World Egg Day
October 15 – Sweetest Day
October 16 – World Food Day
October 16 – Boss’s Day
October 17 – Spirit Day (anti-bullying)
October 22 – Make a Difference Day
October 24 – United Nations Day
October 28 – MLB World Series begins
October 30 – Mischief Night
October 30 – Checklist Day
October 31 – Halloween

Popular Hashtags For October:

#InternationalCoffeeDay
#TechiesDay
#NationalTacoDay
#WorldSmileDay
#WorldTeachersDay
#WorldHabitatDay
#WorldMentalHealthDay
#BossesDay
#UNDay
#ChecklistDay
#Halloween

November

Smell that crisp air, take in the beauty of changing leaves, and warm up around the fire pit this November.

The month in which we all give thanks, it’s also Peanut Butter Lover’s Month and Movember.

Kick off your marketing calendar with a Day of the Dead celebration, honor those who served on Veteran’s Day, and get ready for the big sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Monthly Observances

Movember
National Healthy Skin Month
Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month
National Adoption Month
National Gratitude Month
Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month
National Diabetes Awareness Month

Weekly Observances

November 7-13 – World Kindness Week (second week: Monday – Sunday)
November 13-19 – American Education Week
November 20-26 – Game and Puzzle Week

Days

November 1 – Day of the Dead
November 1 – All Saint’s Day
November 1 – World Vegan Day
November 2 – Day of the Dead Ends
November 3 – Sandwich Day
November 4 – King Tut Day
November 6 – Daylight Savings Time ends
November 8 – Cappuccino Day
November 8 – STEM Day
November 10 – Marine Corps Birthday
November 11 – Veterans Day
November 12 – Chicken Soup for the Soul Day
November 13 – World Kindness Day
November 13 – Sadie Hawkins Day
November 14 – World Diabetes Day
November 15 – America Recycles Day
November 15 – National Entrepreneurs Day (third Tuesday of November)
November 16 – International Tolerance Day
November 17 – Homemade Bread Day
November 20 – Transgender Day Of Remembrance
November 23 – Thanksgiving Day
November 24 – Black Friday
November 25 – Small Business Saturday
November 27 – Cyber Monday
November 28 – Giving Tuesday

Popular Hashtags For November:

#WorldVeganDay
#NationalSandwichDay
#DaylightSavings
#CappuccinoDay
#STEMDay
#VeteransDay
#WKD
#WDD
#BeRecycled
#EntrepreneursDay
#Thanksgiving
#ShopSmall

December

The end is in sight – you’ve made it to the last month of the year. But you know what that means, right? 2024 is right around the corner.

Send your year off in style with marketing campaigns dedicated to more than the holiday season. This is also the month featuring Nobel Prize Day, Bill of Rights Day, and the first day of winter.

And don’t forget to check back here for a handy guide to 2024 marketing content.

Monthly Observances

National Human Rights Month
Operation Santa Paws
Bingo Month

Weekly Observances

December 7 – December 15 – Chanukah
December 26 – January 1 – Kwanzaa

Days

December 1 – World AIDS Day
December 1 – Rosa Parks Day
December 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities
December 4 – Cookie Day
December 6 – St. Nicholas Day
December 7 – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
December 9 – Christmas Card Day
December 10 – Nobel Prize Day
December 12 – Poinsettia Day
December 14 – Roast Chestnuts Day
December 15 – Bill of Rights Day
December 15 – National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day (Third Friday in December)
December 18 – Free Shipping Day
December 18 – Bake Cookies Day
December 20 – Go Caroling Day
December 21 – First Day of Winter / Winter Solstice
December 23 – Festivus
December 24 – Christmas Eve
December 25 – Christmas Day
December 26 – Kwanzaa
December 26 – Boxing Day
December 27 – National Fruitcake Day
December 31 – New Year’s Eve

Popular Hashtags For December:

#IDPWD
#NationalCookieDay
#NobelPrize
#WinterSolstice
#NYE

Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal

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SEO

Reddit Post Ranks On Google In 5 Minutes

Published

16 hours ago

April 15, 2024

Max

Google apparently ranks Reddit posts within minutes

Google’s Danny Sullivan disputed the assertions made in a Reddit discussion that Google is showing a preference for Reddit in the search results. But a Redditor’s example proves that it’s possible for a Reddit post to rank in the top ten of the search results within minutes and to actually improve rankings to position #2 a week later.

Discussion About Google Showing Preference To Reddit

A Redditor (gronetwork) complained that Google is sending so many visitors to Reddit that the server is struggling with the load and shared an example that proved that it can only take minutes for a Reddit post to rank in the top ten.

That post was part of a 79 post Reddit thread where many in the r/SEO subreddit were complaining about Google allegedly giving too much preference to Reddit over legit sites.

The person who did the test (gronetwork) wrote:

“…The website is already cracking (server down, double posts, comments not showing) because there are too many visitors.
…It only takes few minutes (you can test it) for a post on Reddit to appear in the top ten results of Google with keywords related to the post’s title… (while I have to wait months for an article on my site to be referenced). Do the math, the whole world is going to spam here. The loop is completed.”
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Reddit Post Ranked Within Minutes

Another Redditor asked if they had tested if it takes “a few minutes” to rank in the top ten and gronetwork answered that they had tested it with a post titled, Google SGE Review.

gronetwork posted:

“Yes, I have created for example a post named “Google SGE Review” previously. After less than 5 minutes it was ranked 8th for Google SGE Review (no quotes). Just after Washingtonpost.com, 6 authoritative SEO websites and Google.com’s overview page for SGE (Search Generative Experience). It is ranked third for SGE Review.”

It’s true, not only does that specific post (Google SGE Review) rank in the top 10, the post started out in position 8 and it actually improved ranking, currently listed beneath the number one result for the search query “SGE Review”.

Screenshot Of Reddit Post That Ranked Within Minutes

Anecdotes Versus Anecdotes

Okay, the above is just one anecdote. But it’s a heck of an anecdote because it proves that it’s possible for a Reddit post to rank within minutes and get stuck in the top of the search results over other possibly more authoritative websites.

hankschrader79 shared that Reddit posts outrank Toyota Tacoma forums for a phrase related to mods for that truck.

Google’s Danny Sullivan responded to that post and the entire discussion to dispute that Reddit is not always prioritized over other forums.

Danny wrote:

“Reddit is not always prioritized over other forums. [super vhs to mac adapter] I did this week, it goes Apple Support Community, MacRumors Forum and further down, there’s Reddit. I also did [kumo cloud not working setup 5ghz] recently (it’s a nightmare) and it was the Netgear community, the SmartThings Community, GreenBuildingAdvisor before Reddit. Related to that was [disable 5g airport] which has Apple Support Community above Reddit. [how to open an 8 track tape] — really, it was the YouTube videos that helped me most, but it’s the Tapeheads community that comes before Reddit.
In your example for [toyota tacoma], I don’t even get Reddit in the top results. I get Toyota, Car & Driver, Wikipedia, Toyota again, three YouTube videos from different creators (not Toyota), Edmunds, a Top Stories unit. No Reddit, which doesn’t really support the notion of always wanting to drive traffic just to Reddit.
If I guess at the more specific query you might have done, maybe [overland mods for toyota tacoma], I get a YouTube video first, then Reddit, then Tacoma World at third — not near the bottom. So yes, Reddit is higher for that query — but it’s not first. It’s also not always first. And sometimes, it’s not even showing at all.”

hankschrader79 conceded that they were generalizing when they wrote that Google always prioritized Reddit. But they also insisted that that didn’t diminish what they said is a fact that Google’s “prioritization” forum content has benefitted Reddit more than actual forums.

Why Is The Reddit Post Ranked So High?

It’s possible that Google “tested” that Reddit post in position 8 within minutes and that user interaction signals indicated to Google’s algorithms that users prefer to see that Reddit post. If that’s the case then it’s not a matter of Google showing preference to Reddit post but rather it’s users that are showing the preference and the algorithm is responding to those preferences.

Nevertheless, an argument can be made that user preferences for Reddit can be a manifestation of Familiarity Bias. Familiarity Bias is when people show a preference for things that are familiar to them. If a person is familiar with a brand because of all the advertising they were exposed to then they may show a bias for the brand products over unfamiliar brands.

Users who are familiar with Reddit may choose Reddit because they don’t know the other sites in the search results or because they have a bias that Google ranks spammy and optimized websites and feel safer reading Reddit.

Google may be picking up on those user interaction signals that indicate a preference and satisfaction with the Reddit results but those results may simply be biases and not an indication that Reddit is trustworthy and authoritative.

Is Reddit Benefiting From A Self-Reinforcing Feedback Loop?

It may very well be that Google’s decision to prioritize user generated content may have started a self-reinforcing pattern that draws users in to Reddit through the search results and because the answers seem plausible those users start to prefer Reddit results. When they’re exposed to more Reddit posts their familiarity bias kicks in and they start to show a preference for Reddit. So what could be happening is that the users and Google’s algorithm are creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop.

Is it possible that Google’s decision to show more user generated content has kicked off a cycle where more users are exposed to Reddit which then feeds back into Google’s algorithm which in turn increases Reddit visibility, regardless of lack of expertise and authoritativeness?

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Kues

SEO

WordPress Releases A Performance Plugin For “Near-Instant Load Times”

Published

1 day ago

April 14, 2024

Max

WordPress released an official plugin that adds support for a cutting edge technology called speculative loading that can help boost site performance and improve the user experience for site visitors.

Speculative Loading

Rendering means constructing the entire webpage so that it instantly displays (rendering). When your browser downloads the HTML, images, and other resources and puts it together into a webpage, that’s rendering. Prerendering is putting that webpage together (rendering it) in the background.

What this plugin does is to enable the browser to prerender the entire webpage that a user might navigate to next. The plugin does that by anticipating which webpage the user might navigate to based on where they are hovering.

Chrome lists a preference for only prerendering when there is an at least 80% probability of a user navigating to another webpage. The official Chrome support page for prerendering explains:

“Pages should only be prerendered when there is a high probability the page will be loaded by the user. This is why the Chrome address bar prerendering options only happen when there is such a high probability (greater than 80% of the time).

There is also a caveat in that same developer page that prerendering may not happen based on user settings, memory usage and other scenarios (more details below about how analytics handles prerendering).

The Speculative Loading API solves a problem that previous solutions could not because in the past they were simply prefetching resources like JavaScript and CSS but not actually prerendering the entire webpage.

The official WordPress announcement explains it like this:

Introducing the Speculation Rules API
The Speculation Rules API is a new web API that solves the above problems. It allows defining rules to dynamically prefetch and/or prerender URLs of certain structure based on user interaction, in JSON syntax—or in other words, speculatively preload those URLs before the navigation. This API can be used, for example, to prerender any links on a page whenever the user hovers over them.”

The official WordPress page about this new functionality describes it:

“The Speculation Rules API is a new web API… It allows defining rules to dynamically prefetch and/or prerender URLs of certain structure based on user interaction, in JSON syntax—or in other words, speculatively preload those URLs before the navigation.
This API can be used, for example, to prerender any links on a page whenever the user hovers over them. Also, with the Speculation Rules API, “prerender” actually means to prerender the entire page, including running JavaScript. This can lead to near-instant load times once the user clicks on the link as the page would have most likely already been loaded in its entirety. However that is only one of the possible configurations.”

The new WordPress plugin adds support for the Speculation Rules API. The Mozilla developer pages, a great resource for HTML technical understanding describes it like this:

“The Speculation Rules API is designed to improve performance for future navigations. It targets document URLs rather than specific resource files, and so makes sense for multi-page applications (MPAs) rather than single-page applications (SPAs).
The Speculation Rules API provides an alternative to the widely-available <link rel=”prefetch”> feature and is designed to supersede the Chrome-only deprecated <link rel=”prerender”> feature. It provides many improvements over these technologies, along with a more expressive, configurable syntax for specifying which documents should be prefetched or prerendered.”
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Performance Lab Plugin

The new plugin was developed by the official WordPress performance team which occasionally rolls out new plugins for users to test ahead of possible inclusion into the actual WordPress core. So it’s a good opportunity to be first to try out new performance technologies.

The new WordPress plugin is by default set to prerender “WordPress frontend URLs” which are pages, posts, and archive pages. How it works can be fine-tuned under the settings:

Settings > Reading > Speculative Loading

Browser Compatibility

The Speculative API is supported by Chrome 108 however the specific rules used by the new plugin require Chrome 121 or higher. Chrome 121 was released in early 2024.

Browsers that do not support will simply ignore the plugin and will have no effect on the user experience.

Check out the new Speculative Loading WordPress plugin developed by the official core WordPress performance team.

How Analytics Handles Prerendering

A WordPress developer commented with a question asking how Analytics would handle prerendering and someone else answered that it’s up to the Analytics provider to detect a prerender and not count it as a page load or site visit.

Fortunately both Google Analytics and Google Publisher Tags (GPT) both are able to handle prerenders. The Chrome developers support page has a note about how analytics handles prerendering:

“Google Analytics handles prerender by delaying until activation by default as of September 2023, and Google Publisher Tag (GPT) made a similar change to delay triggering advertisements until activation as of November 2023.”

Possible Conflict With Ad Blocker Extensions

There are a couple things to be aware of about this plugin, aside from the fact that it’s an experimental feature that requires Chrome 121 or higher.

A comment by a WordPress plugin developer that this feature may not work with browsers that are using the uBlock Origin ad blocking browser extension.

Download the plugin:
Speculative Loading Plugin by the WordPress Performance Team

Read the announcement at WordPress
Speculative Loading in WordPress

SEO

10 Paid Search & PPC Planning Best Practices

Published

2 days ago

April 14, 2024

Max

10 Paid Search & PPC Planning Best Practices

Whether you are new to paid media or reevaluating your efforts, it’s critical to review your performance and best practices for your overall PPC marketing program, accounts, and campaigns.

Revisiting your paid media plan is an opportunity to ensure your strategy aligns with your current goals.

Reviewing best practices for pay-per-click is also a great way to keep up with trends and improve performance with newly released ad technologies.

As you review, you’ll find new strategies and features to incorporate into your paid search program, too.

Here are 10 PPC best practices to help you adjust and plan for the months ahead.

1. Goals

When planning, it is best practice to define goals for the overall marketing program, ad platforms, and at the campaign level.

Defining primary and secondary goals guides the entire PPC program. For example, your primary conversion may be to generate leads from your ads.

You’ll also want to look at secondary goals, such as brand awareness that is higher in the sales funnel and can drive interest to ultimately get the sales lead-in.

2. Budget Review & Optimization

Some advertisers get stuck in a rut and forget to review and reevaluate the distribution of their paid media budgets.

To best utilize budgets, consider the following:

Reconcile your planned vs. spend for each account or campaign on a regular basis. Depending on the budget size, monthly, quarterly, or semiannually will work as long as you can hit budget numbers.
Determine if there are any campaigns that should be eliminated at this time to free up the budget for other campaigns.
Is there additional traffic available to capture and grow results for successful campaigns? The ad platforms often include a tool that will provide an estimated daily budget with clicks and costs. This is just an estimate to show more click potential if you are interested.
If other paid media channels perform mediocrely, does it make sense to shift those budgets to another?
For the overall paid search and paid social budget, can your company invest more in the positive campaign results?

3. Consider New Ad Platforms

If you can shift or increase your budgets, why not test out a new ad platform? Knowing your audience and where they spend time online will help inform your decision when choosing ad platforms.

Go beyond your comfort zone in Google, Microsoft, and Meta Ads.

Here are a few other advertising platforms to consider testing:

LinkedIn: Most appropriate for professional and business targeting. LinkedIn audiences can also be reached through Microsoft Ads.
TikTok: Younger Gen Z audience (16 to 24), video.
Pinterest: Products, services, and consumer goods with a female-focused target.
Snapchat: Younger demographic (13 to 35), video ads, app installs, filters, lenses.

Need more detailed information and even more ideas? Read more about the 5 Best Google Ads Alternatives.

4. Top Topics in Google Ads & Microsoft Ads

Recently, trends in search and social ad platforms have presented opportunities to connect with prospects more precisely, creatively, and effectively.

Don’t overlook newer targeting and campaign types you may not have tried yet.

Video: Incorporating video into your PPC accounts takes some planning for the goals, ad creative, targeting, and ad types. There is a lot of opportunity here as you can simply include video in responsive display ads or get in-depth in YouTube targeting.
Performance Max: This automated campaign type serves across all of Google’s ad inventory. Microsoft Ads recently released PMAX so you can plan for consistency in campaign types across platforms. Do you want to allocate budget to PMax campaigns? Learn more about how PMax compares to search.
Automation: While AI can’t replace human strategy and creativity, it can help manage your campaigns more easily. During planning, identify which elements you want to automate, such as automatically created assets and/or how to successfully guide the AI in the Performance Max campaigns.

While exploring new features, check out some hidden PPC features you probably don’t know about.

5. Revisit Keywords

The role of keywords has evolved over the past several years with match types being less precise and loosening up to consider searcher intent.

For example, [exact match] keywords previously would literally match with the exact keyword search query. Now, ads can be triggered by search queries with the same meaning or intent.

A great planning exercise is to lay out keyword groups and evaluate if they are still accurately representing your brand and product/service.

Review search term queries triggering ads to discover trends and behavior you may not have considered. It’s possible this has impacted performance and conversions over time.

Critical to your strategy:

Review the current keyword rules and determine if this may impact your account in terms of close variants or shifts in traffic volume.
Brush up on how keywords work in each platform because the differences really matter!
Review search term reports more frequently for irrelevant keywords that may pop up from match type changes. Incorporate these into match type changes or negative keywords lists as appropriate.

6. Revisit Your Audiences

Review the audiences you selected in the past, especially given so many campaign types that are intent-driven.

Automated features that expand your audience could be helpful, but keep an eye out for performance metrics and behavior on-site post-click.

Remember, an audience is simply a list of users who are grouped together by interests or behavior online.

Therefore, there are unlimited ways to mix and match those audiences and target per the sales funnel.

Here are a few opportunities to explore and test:

LinkedIn user targeting: Besides LinkedIn, this can be found exclusively in Microsoft Ads.
Detailed Demographics: Marital status, parental status, home ownership, education, household income.
In-market and custom intent: Searches and online behavior signaling buying cues.
Remarketing: Advertisers website visitors, interactions with ads, and video/ YouTube.

Note: This varies per the campaign type and seems to be updated frequently, so make this a regular check-point in your campaign management for all platforms.

7. Organize Data Sources

You will likely be running campaigns on different platforms with combinations of search, display, video, etc.

Looking back at your goals, what is the important data, and which platforms will you use to review and report? Can you get the majority of data in one analytics platform to compare and share?

Millions of companies use Google Analytics, which is a good option for centralized viewing of advertising performance, website behavior, and conversions.

8. Reevaluate How You Report

Have you been using the same performance report for years?

It’s time to reevaluate your essential PPC key metrics and replace or add that data to your reports.

There are two great resources to kick off this exercise:

Your objectives in reevaluating the reporting are:

Are we still using this data? Is it still relevant?
Is the data we are viewing actionable?
What new metrics should we consider adding we haven’t thought about?
How often do we need to see this data?
Do the stakeholders receiving the report understand what they are looking at (aka data visualization)?

Adding new data should be purposeful, actionable, and helpful in making decisions for the marketing plan. It’s also helpful to decide what type of data is good to see as “deep dives” as needed.

9. Consider Using Scripts

The current ad platforms have plenty of AI recommendations and automated rules, and there is no shortage of third-party tools that can help with optimizations.

Scripts is another method for advertisers with large accounts or some scripting skills to automate report generation and repetitive tasks in their Google Ads accounts.

Navigating the world of scripts can seem overwhelming, but a good place to start is a post here on Search Engine Journal that provides use cases and resources to get started with scripts.

Luckily, you don’t need a Ph.D. in computer science — there are plenty of resources online with free or templated scripts.

10. Seek Collaboration

Another effective planning tactic is to seek out friendly resources and second opinions.

Much of the skill and science of PPC management is unique to the individual or agency, so there is no shortage of ideas to share between you.

You can visit the Paid Search Association, a resource for paid ad managers worldwide, to make new connections and find industry events.

Preparing For Paid Media Success

Strategies should be based on clear and measurable business goals. Then, you can evaluate the current status of your campaigns based on those new targets.

Your paid media strategy should also be built with an eye for both past performance and future opportunities. Look backward and reevaluate your existing assumptions and systems while investigating new platforms, topics, audiences, and technologies.

Also, stay current with trends and keep learning. Check out ebooks, social media experts, and industry publications for resources and motivational tips.

More resources:

Featured Image: Vanatchanan/Shutterstock