If you only look at the total keyword search volume, provided as a yearly average for the last 12 months, you wouldn't be able to assess a list of keywords correctly. Adding the Year-over-Year search trends adds a bit more data to the story.
Both of these would still leave out information on keywords that have "spikes" in seasonality (monthly search volumes) during a few (1-3) consecutive months. Averaging these out means treating them all the same, all throughout the year.
Some keywords with high seasonality are more obvious than others – think holiday-related keywords, such as "Christmas sweaters", or directly seasonal ones, like "garden furniture" or "swimsuits".
But you would not necessarily expect keywords like "wooden toys" or "cocktail shaker" to have peak seasons, where most people are searching for them.
"Seasonal" is an automatic label (warning) applied to all of the keywords corresponding to the above-mentioned criteria: most of their search volume is made in up-to-3 consecutive months during a year.
How does this work?
Whenever a keyword is added to the platform, we perform an automatic analysis of the past 12 months' search volume trend. If most of the search volume (more than half) is generated over 1-3 consecutive months (minimum 1 and up to 3), the Seasonal label is applied to the keyword.
Then, depending on where we are in the year, relative to that peak, the keywords are marked as "in full season" (with a checkmark), "out of season" (with a cross) or "approaching season" (with a star) and their Search Volume icons are updated accordingly, to make them easier to spot:
Based on the understanding of how far from the peak season you are today, you can choose when to focus on these keywords, and when not to, making informed decisions for your client's strategy – when setting up the Forecast or afterwards.
FAQs
Can I have these keywords automatically grouped corresponding to their current seasonality?
Yes. Either you select the predefined Seasonal folder (which includes groups for all 3 seasonality categories – in, out, approaching) while setting up the campaign, or you can create manual filters and/or Smart groups with the Seasonal criteria (Warnings).
Can I set some alerts on these keywords, so I know when the time is right to start acting on them?
They are available through Signals Insights, which can be accessed in the platform through the main menu of the Agency Dashboard, or through the mobile app.
