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The final quarter of the year is packed with holidays that lead to higher online traffic—and that means more opportunities to earn through advertising on your site. Whether you're running a blog, a niche content business, or use ads to earn passive income from your site, the October through December period can significantly boost your earning from ads. But making the most of that spike takes planning.
This guide breaks down what to expect during the holiday season and how to prepare your content, ad strategy, and site performance to meet that demand. By putting in the work now, you can improve your results not just for Q4, but year-round.
Note: This article was created in partnership with Google AdSense.
1. Understand the holiday traffic cycle
The holidays don’t just come with more traffic, but also with higher-value traffic. People go online with a purpose. They’re searching for gift ideas, making travel plans, comparing prices, and looking for end-of-year inspiration. That intent makes them more likely to engage with both your content and your ads.
According to Google AdSense data from the end of 2024, publishers across multiple regions saw ad revenue grow as much as 18%, with click-through rates rising up to 26% in some regions of the world. These reflect a seasonal shift in advertiser competition, user interest, and content engagement.*
If you can get your audience to spend more time on your site or visit multiple pages, that increases the chances they’ll see and click on your ads. The first step is understanding when and where traffic spikes happen on your site.
Use your website analytics to look back at October through December of last year. Pinpoint your most visited pages and highest-converting content. Did your traffic rise around specific holidays? Were there particular blog posts, product roundups, or tutorials that drew more visitors? That historical data can guide your upcoming content strategy.
Also examine your traffic by device. In 2024, mobile and tablet visits increased across many regions, though desktop browsing held strong in North America.* If you saw a mobile spike during Black Friday week or Christmas, it’s worth investing extra time in optimizing for smaller screens.
*Internal Google data based on eCPM and CTR volumes during 2024, from October to December.
2. Use the ad formats that match user behavior
Not all ads perform equally, especially during peak season. Certain formats consistently outperform others during the holidays. These include:
Anchor ads: These stay visible as users scroll through your content, making them a strong choice for mobile and tablet traffic. They’re less intrusive than interstitials and often deliver higher viewability rates.
Offerwall ads: These are opt-in formats that offer users something in exchange for viewing an ad. If you run a site with downloadable tools, exclusive content, or video tutorials, these ads offer a way to monetize deeper engagement.
In-page ads: These ads are embedded directly within your content, making them versatile and effective. They work particularly well on longer blog posts or product reviews, where the reader scrolls through multiple sections.
Here’s how these different types of ads might work in practice.
A gift guide featuring “Top 20 Personalized Gifts for Under $50” might benefit from in-page ads between sections.
A downloadable budget tracker for holiday spending could integrate rewarded ads before access.
A non-disruptive anchor ad at the bottom of the screen is more likely to attract mobile visitors reading “10 Quick Holiday Recipes.”
Before the holidays hit, review your ad management tool to confirm that these ad formats are in use. If you’re pairing Google AdSense with a Squarespace site, you may also want to activate Auto Ads, which uses machine learning to test ad placements and automatically show the most effective ones for your audience.
Each format brings a different value, so think about your content and how users engage with it.
Read the guide to ad placement strategy
3. Start publishing with the season in mind
Great ad performance depends on great content. During the holiday season, that means creating content that’s timely, useful, and aligned with seasonal searches. Instead of chasing holiday trends, think about the intent behind your audience’s searches.
People are usually looking for ways to save time, make decisions, or solve seasonal challenges. Budget guides, quick gift ideas, travel checklists, family-friendly recipes, or tips for starting fresh in the new year all fit the bill. You want to meet them at the moment they’re searching and offer something of immediate value.
For example, a freelance consultant might publish “End-of-Year Business Checklist for Solopreneurs.” A home organization blogger could update their post, “How to Declutter Before the Holidays.” Or a parenting-focused site might create a guide on screen-free gift ideas for kids.
The timing of your content matters, too. Publishing as early as possible in Q4 gives your content time to get indexed by search engines and start earning backlinks. It also allows time for internal promotion via newsletters or social media.
If you already have older seasonal content that performed well, refresh it. Consider updating statistics, replacing outdated links, or swapping in newer product mentions. Refer to Google Search’s advice on creating helpful, reliable and people-first content for recommendations.
Squarespace users can streamline this process by scheduling blog posts, adding seasonal imagery, and using announcement bars to point to new or refreshed content. Adding internal links to related content also helps keep users engaged longer, increasing the likelihood of ad views.
4. Make device optimization a priority
If your site loads slowly or displays awkwardly on mobile, it’s going to cost you both traffic and revenue. During the holidays, mobile and tablet usage spikes, especially during commutes, while multitasking, or shopping on the go. That means your site needs to be fast, easy to navigate, and ad-friendly across all screen sizes.
Use Google PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse to find performance issues.
Compress large image files.
Avoid overlapping ad placements or pop-ups that interrupt browsing.
Next, test ad layouts across devices. A sidebar ad that works fine on desktop might push your content too far down on mobile. Likewise, rewarded ads should appear where users are likely to engage, not where they disrupt scrolling.
For Squarespace users, websites are responsive by default. But it's still smart to preview pages manually before the seasonal rush.
5. Don’t let compliance slide under pressure
Before peak season arrives, review your site using the AdSense Policy Center, which you can access by signing into your AdSense account. Look out for:
Overuse of ads on a single page
Accidental or misleading placements
Lack of clear navigation or accessibility
It’s easy to think more ads equal more revenue, but that’s not always true. Ad clutter can lead to poor user experience, which increases bounce rates and decreases long-term engagement. Worse, it can damage the trust you’ve built with your audience and lead to your ad account being penalized or suspended.
As a rule of thumb, If it feels like too many ads, it probably is. Keep your layout clean and your user journey clear. Your goal should be sustainable earnings and an enjoyable experience for your site visitors, not short-term gains at the expense of trust.
6. Build a campaign calendar, not a content list
The most effective creators build a campaign-style calendar to organize their holiday strategy. Instead of just a list of blog post ideas, plan a coordinated rollout with deadlines, promotional timelines, and follow-ups.
A content calendar can help you stay on track and plan publishing for strategic moments. Your calendar should include:
Blog post topics, outlines, and due dates
Timeframes for content updates, especially on high-traffic pages
Email campaign launch dates
Social promotion windows, like previews, reminders, recirculation
Analytics check-ins to evaluate content and ad performance
Planning this way helps you make more impactful choices with your content. For example, publishing a gift guide the week before Black Friday is helpful. But publishing two weeks earlier and promoting it via newsletter and social channels is more strategic.
You can also stagger content to match the shopping season. Early October might feature budget-focused posts, November can cover gift-buying, and December can shift toward last-minute solutions or planning for the new year.
7. Think long-term, not just seasonal
The strategies you use during the holidays can serve your site all year long. By identifying high-converting content, refining your ad setup, and building an editorial calendar, you’re developing systems that support growth well beyond the holidays.
Use what you learn now to shape your strategy for the new year and beyond. Which ad formats worked best? Which pages saw the most time on site? Where did users bounce? The answers will help you fine-tune your approach moving forward and help you adapt content to other times of year.
An end-of-year checklist can become a quarterly feature.
A seasonal product roundup format can be reused for spring, back-to-school, or summer.
A reward-based content strategy can become part of your regular content calendar plans.
Start your prep now
Holiday seasonality can bring a revenue boost, but more importantly, it can reveal the blueprint for what makes your content and ad strategy work best. The earlier you begin planning, the better your odds of turning seasonal opportunity into sustainable success.
With the right tools and a plan in place, you can meet your audience’s needs while maximizing ad performance. Whether you're just starting with Google AdSense or looking to build on past wins, start analyzing, optimizing, and publishing with intention to get the most out of the season.