Christmas in July

Well, it’s now mid-July and we finally enjoyed two hot, sunny afternoons here in the valley last week.

That of course got me to thinking about Christmas… because heat is such a gift this year.

Ho, ho, ho.

Actually, I was musing about a ‘Christmas in July’ party that I and my friends had a very long time ago. We roasted a turkey, decorated the rental and strayed from tradition a bit by dining on the boathouse roof.

After entertaining myself with those delightful memories for awhile, I wondered how many other people were also contemplating Christmas in July.

Finding out was easy enough.

I went to Overture’s Yahoo! Search Marketing) search term suggestion tool at http://inventory.overture.com and typed in the word ‘Christmas’. The search results were for the month of May, but that was close enough.

An incredible 215,176 people searched for ‘Christmas’ related sites at Overture and it’s advertising partners in May; and 82,150 were looking for ‘Christmas gifts’. I can definitely relate to the 1367 who were interested in ’surviving Christmas’, but was a little puzzled by the 51,774 who were already searching for ‘Christmas trees’.

In addition to gifts, trees and survival; people were also looking for cards, ornaments, humor, crafts, games, gift baskets, decorations, lights, music and a hundred other things related to Christmas.

Here’s a list of searches for Christmas related keywords.

Searches done in May 2005
Count Search Term

• 215176 christmas
• 82150 christmas gift
• 51774 christmas tree
• 46117 nightmare before christmas
• 40465 christmas card
• 36976 christmas ornament
• 36172 christmas humor
• 25065 christmas crafts
• 24689 christmas clipart
• 21804 christmas game
• 17509 christmas tree shop
• 16530 christmas gift basket
• 15110 christmas light
• 12957 christmas decoration
• 11595 christmas gift idea
• 10564 christmas carols
• 10509 christmas break
• 9504 christmas tree shoppe
• 8070 christmas music
• 7511 christmas song
• 7443 christmas wreath
• 6311 nightmare befor christmas picture
• 5513 christmas picture
• 5481 christmas stocking
• 5381 artificial christmas tree
• 4959 a christmas story
• 4952 christmas vacation
• 4576 christmas story
• 4449 christmas cactus
• 4442 christmas poem
• 4163 christmas present
• 4068 christmas scene
• 3955 christmas island
• 3843 christmas with the kranks
• 3780 christmas shoes
• 3634 christmas shopping
• 3599 christmas cookie
• 3538 white christmas
• 3437 night before christmas
• 3407 christmas coloring pages
• 3382 christmas wallpaper
• 3316 all i want for christmas is you
• 3298 christmas morning
• 3251 christmas clip art
• 3204 christmas flower arrangement
• 3016 christmas party game
• 2964 merry christmas
• 2961 all i want for christmas is you
• 2934 last christmas
• 2843 christmas flower
• 2832 nightmare before christmas wallpaper
• 2799 christmas lingerie
• 2790 christmas party
• 2786 christmas sheet music
• 2700 send christmas flower
• 2654 christmas candle
• 2627 christmas wedding
• 2597 family christmas
• 2569 christmas tree store
• 2495 outdoor christmas light
• 2459 christmas screensaver
• 2392 outdoor christmas decoration
• 2367 free christmas screen savers
• 2346 christmas holiday
• 2293 christmas recipe
• 2253 12 day of christmas
• 2234 christmas song lyric
• 2230 nightmare before christmas lyric
• 2213 christmas list
• 2159 christmas display
• 2122 how the grinch stole christmas
• 2053 christmas greeting card
• 2037 christmas store
• 2012 where are you christmas
• 1851 christmas dress
• 1836 christmas vacation package
• 1832 twas the night before christmas
• 1826 christmas around the world
• 1819 christmas cake
• 1803 christmas play
• 1774 history of christmas
• 1758 christmas girl
• 1717 christmas cookie recipe
• 1703 christmas background
• 1678 twelve day of christmas
• 1673 christmas tradition
• 1649 christmas shop
• 1576 unique christmas gift
• 1575 christmas bingo
• 1525 how christmas started in china
• 1516 christmas daughter dress matching mother
• 1470 corporate christmas gift
• 1430 christmas graphic
• 1424 christmas tree light
• 1384 christmas lyric
• 1378 candlelight christmas tour
• 1376 christmas cruise
• 1376 christmas village
• 1367 christmas crafts for kid
• 1367 surviving christmas

After seeing those results, I was getting really curious, and had to see what kind of sites were returned by a search on Google for ‘Christmas’ during the merry month of July.

I found very few advertisers bidding on the term, and quite a few of the Adwords listings weren’t exactly Christmas specific.

I was also happy to see that most of the sites on the first page of organic returns were sadly lacking in terms of design, substance and site monetization.

On one site I read the proud proclamation that the site contained no banner ads or commercials. A few pages later I found the sad note that they had to suspend site operations due to lack of funding.

Go figure. Guess they’ve never heard of affiliate marketing. Think I should tell them?

So, why was I happy that the sites were sadly lacking?

Well, that lack represents Opportunity.

Based on the Overture numbers, I know I’m not the only one who thinks about Christmas in July.

Too, recalling the elbow-to-rib hits I’ve taken in malls on Boxing Day, I know I’m not the only one who starts shopping early for the following Christmas.

And let’s not forget the ‘nuts about Christmas’ types, who keep the brick-and-mortar “Christmas Store” viable all year long.

Christmas is ‘evergreen’, and I’m not talking about the trees. The holiday happens every 365 days (which all those frantic last-minute shoppers seem to forget until December 24th), so there’s always a market, and that market is huge, even in July.

If you’re nuts about Christmas (or any other holiday), you may want to consider taking advantage of the Opportunity.

There are so many different ways you could approach the niche. Create a content-rich site about Christmas traditions, crafts, or fill it with holiday recipes. How about sharing tips for Christmas decorating schemes or tips for surviving the holidays?

Monetizing the site will be easy. Find merchants at Commission Junction, Linkshare and Performics with exceptionally unique gifts, ornaments and/or books to sell on your site.

Advertise using PPC, and keep your Google Adwords and Overture keyword bids low until December, when your sales will soar.

Last, but certainly not least, build your list of ‘nice’ customers. Share with them what they want to know about Christmas, and make relevant product recommendations.

If you plan and start your site soon, you’ll be ready to take your place at the top of the tree as a *star* affiliate by the time December rolls around.

Ho, Ho, HO. Merry (July) Christmas!

Related Posts

1. Christmas 2007: Holiday Shopping Forecast
2. From My Home to Yours… Merry Christmas!
3. 10 Ways to Get Your Affiliate Site Ready for Christmas
4. 10 Ways to Sell More this Christmas Season
5. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas