Forget Pens and Pencils: Head Back to School with Links

The school year is coming to a close. Teachers are rushing to complete lesson plans. Parents are planning summer activities. Students themselves are on autopilot, riding out the last few weeks before dismissal. Everyone’s watching the clock, waiting for the last bell to officially send them into summer.

Search marketers are also listening for the bell. Why? It’s our cue to begin search optimization efforts in preparation for the next back-to-school season. Smart advertisers ramp up their efforts during the summer, peaking toward the beginning of August. This timing allows them to take advantage of the surge in spending for school and related merchandise.
Here are a few examples from Google Trends:

• Laptop
• Graphing Calculator 
• Backpack

 
Each of the above examples depicts solid gains before and during the back-to-school season. Work with your offline marketing partners to understand their back-to-school strategy and how you can target similar terms to maximize return on investment. Just like the first day of school, make sure you're prepared day one - you won't have time to play catch-up.