Does SEO take time off over Christmas?

How can we take a seasonal break without losing SEO and business traction?

You spend all year religiously posting on social media on the days, time and moon-cycles your clients want to hear from you. Fretting over blog schedules, plans and posts. Creating awesome value-laden freebies. And making SEO your friend. 
 
And then comes the holiday season.
 
In New Zealand Christmas is in summer, and if you’ve got kids, 6 weeks of school holidays. Mum-motivation to work tends to dip not just in the 2 week Christmas/New Year period but the whole of the summer break. That good ole pay-off between being there for our kids and having to get work done.
 
So how can we take a break without losing business traction?

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Planning
A month out should give you enough time to get everything happy. 

What can you schedule now so you’re not having to put in extra effort later?

Pick a theme for your next two weeks. It may be how to survive the silly season, how to make the most of your time off, keeping kids (and you) off social media on Christmas day or how to pamper yourself for summer. After all, your readers will be in the middle of the silly season too.)

Write some social media posts or blogs on this theme.
 
Write two blogs that fit with this theme. If you can schedule them to be posted on certain days, do it. If not, write them and keep them in draft until you can spend five seconds hitting “post” on the right day. 

REALLY USEFUL TIP:
Use the schedule/post later button on your social media pages or blog to set up your posts over the next few weeks. Boom. One less thing to do.
 
What does those two action achieve?  Regular content over the 2 week break to keep people in touch (on social media) and to keep the updates going on your web page (blog) for SEO.  Writing to a theme keeps people engaged over a few days (weeks) and is easier to churn out for you.

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Relax ... don't sweat it (unless we get a heat wave)
If you don’t post on your Facebook, Instagram or Linked In or publish a blog on your website for 2 weeks the world is not going to end.
 
You’re not going to lose major SEO traction in 2 weeks of no movement on your business. You’re not going to be forgotten by your tribe. Yes, SEO doesn't sleep but you should. 
 
If you can’t plan and create some content to keep SEO and people happy over the break then just breathe. Be calm. Don’t fret about it. You’re having a break for a reason. Don’t muck it up by stressing about it. 
 
It may be a good way to connect with your readers – encouraging them to get of social media and be present. So tell them that’s why you’re not going to post for two weeks. Ask them what they’re going to do instead. Encourage each other.

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Welcome back
Whether you plan and schedule over your break or go incognito for a couple of weeks the trick to having an easy, breezy, lemon-squeezy return to your business is to have a plan to come back to.
 
This Christmas break I’m leaving the lap top but taking a big old fashioned notebook (and coloured pens pinched off my daughters). I’ve planned at least half a day to sit (in the sunshine fingers crossed) and do some major business planning, blog outlining and content strategy stuff. With me being relaxed, chilled-out and in my happy place I know that I can get some great ideas flowing.
 
When I get back I’ll have a nicely fleshed out plan to get going with.
 
So, pick up when you come back with a regular content plan, nicely planned out and driving your peeps to a goal within your business and the Google bots and your tribe will never know you were away. But (hopefully) you’ll feel refreshed and ready to go.
 
Enjoy your break if you get one. Snow, sun or sleet enjoy the season.