We’re coming up on holiday season in the United States, and for those of us in Internet-related fields that might take on a different meaning than for others. For online retailers like Amazon and Overstock, as well as for the online arms of brick & mortar giants like Best Buy and Wal-Mart, this is the most profitable time of the year by far. But for the many sites that make their money off another Internet business model – no charge for content, profit through advertising – the impact on the bottom line might be quite different.

The collection of holidays celebrated in America at the end of the year is impressive, from Thanksgiving to Hanukah to Christmas to New Year’s. These holidays mean more time spent way from work, more time spent traveling and vacationing, and less time on the computer. The real drag on web traffic, however, is the vacation-prone summer months. XiTi Monitor, a web survey institute, reports that between 2002 and 2007, the months of June through September all displayed negative seasonal effects on web traffic. August was the biggest culprit, with a seasonal drop in traffic of 14%.

How can your site avoid these drops in traffic? Stay away from content that is too season-specific, for one. Sparkplugging, a blog and community for Web 2.0 entrepreneurs, noted major changes in traffic to specific articles regarding tax write-offs and regarding keeping kids busy during the summer. The tax article saw a quick buildup until its apex on April 15, followed by a steep and permanent drop (until the next tax season). The second article, about how parents can keep kids busy, saw a decline after summer ended and kids started going back to school.

To a certain extent, these examples show the danger of existing completely within a niche. While niches can be profitable and often represent a smart strategy, it’s hard to build a successful revenue model around a site that only gets real traffic for two months out of the year. But on the other hand, if your content is diverse and you play your cards right, you can take advantage of each one of the various shifts in traffic. Although it sounds like common sense, it can still be done much better by many companies. Adapt your content to each season when the time calls for it, and then shift back when it’s no longer relevant.

Research the impact that summer and seasonal web traffic trends have on your website, and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Tags: holiday selling season, internet marketing, online holiday shopping

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 1:23 am and is filed under general business, internet marketing, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.