seasonal-aso

# Seasonal ASO

You help the user identify and act on seasonal keyword opportunities and listing optimizations tied to calendar events, holidays, and trending moments.

## Key Principle

**Seasonal rankings are competitive and time-sensitive.** Metadata takes 1–3 days to index. Plan changes 2 weeks before the event; revert 3–5 days after peak.

## Seasonal Calendar (iOS — US)

| Event | Peak Window | Keywords to target |
|-------|-------------|-------------------|
| New Year | Dec 26 – Jan 7 | "new year", "resolution", "goals", "habit", "fresh start" |
| Valentine's Day | Feb 1–14 | "valentine", "love", "couples", "romantic", "gift" |
| Spring / Easter | Mar–Apr | "spring", "easter", "refresh", "clean", "declutter" |
| Mother's Day | May 1–12 | "mom", "mother", "family", "gift for mom" |
| Summer | Jun–Aug | "summer", "vacation", "travel", "outdoor", "beach" |
| Back to School | Jul 15 – Sep 10 | "school", "study", "student", "homework", "planner" |
| Halloween | Oct 1–31 | "halloween", "scary", "spooky", "costume", "trick" |
| Black Friday | Nov 20–30 | "deal", "sale", "discount", "shopping", "gift" |
| Christmas | Dec 1–26 | "christmas", "gift", "holiday", "santa", "family" |
| End of Year | Dec 27–31 | "year review", "recap", "goals 2026", "new year" |

## Workflow

### Step 1 — Identify Relevant Event

1. Check for `app-marketing-context.md`
2. Ask: **Which event or season are you targeting?**
3. Ask: **What does your app do?** (to assess keyword relevance)
4. Determine if the event is a good fit — not every seasonal moment applies

### Step 2 — Research Seasonal Keywords

Use Appeeky to find volume on seasonal terms:

```bash
GET /v1/keywords/metrics?keywords=christmas+planner,holiday+tracker
GET /v1/keywords/suggestions?term=christmas&country=us
GET /v1/keywords/trending?country=us&days=7
```

**Filter by:**
- Volume spike (compare to baseline 30 days prior)
- Difficulty < 60 preferred (seasonal keywords are crowded)
- Relevance to your app's core function

### Step 3 — Plan Metadata Changes

**Keyword field (100 chars, iOS):**
- Swap out low-performing keywords for seasonal terms
- Add 2–4 seasonal keywords while preserving your best evergreen terms
- Remove seasonal terms that are irrelevant to your core use case

**Subtitle (30 chars):**
- Consider a seasonal hook if it fits: "Your Holiday Planner" or "New Year Goal Tracker"
- Only change if the original subtitle is not keyword-critical

**Promotional text (170 chars — no review required):**
- Always update for seasonal events — instant, no review
- Use for: seasonal call-to-action, limited-time feature highlights, event tie-ins

**Screenshots:**
- Add a seasonal frame or theme to the first 2 screenshots
- Use `screenshot-optimization` skill for creative guidance

### Step 4 — Timing Checklist

```
Timeline (count back from event date):
- [ ] T-14 days: Research keywords, brief creative
- [ ] T-10 days: Write new metadata + promotional text
- [ ] T-7 days: Submit screenshot updates (no review needed)
- [ ] T-5 days: Submit keyword/subtitle update (review time buffer)
- [ ] T-0: Event peak — monitor rankings daily
- [ ] T+3 days: Revert metadata to evergreen version
- [ ] T+5 days: Revert promotional text
```

## Output Format

### Seasonal Opportunity Brief

```
🎄 Seasonal Opportunity: [Event Name]
   Peak window: [dates]
   Lead time needed: [X days]

Keyword Opportunities:
  High priority (volume spike, <60 difficulty):
  - "[keyword]" — vol [N], diff [N]
  - "[keyword]" — vol [N], diff [N]

  Secondary (relevant but competitive):
  - "[keyword]" — vol [N], diff [N]

Metadata Recommendations:
  Keyword field: [current] → [proposed — 100 chars]
  Subtitle: [keep / change to: "..."]
  Promo text: "[seasonal copy — 170 chars]"

Screenshots: [suggest seasonal theme or keep as-is]

Timeline:
  - Submit metadata by: [date]
  - Submit promo text by: [date]
  - Revert by: [date]
```

## Seasonal vs Evergreen Trade-offs

| Factor | Seasonal | Evergreen |
|--------|----------|-----------|
| Volume | Temporarily very high | Stable |
| Competition | Very high at peak | Moderate |
| Risk | Rankings drop after peak | Consistent |
| Reward | Spike in installs | Sustained growth |

**Rule:** Only swap evergreen keywords that are already underperforming. Never sacrifice a high-ranking keyword for seasonal speculation.

## Trending Moments (Non-Calendar)

For viral/trending moments (news events, viral content, app store trends):
1. Use `GET /v1/keywords/trending?country=us&days=3` to spot emerging terms
2. Act within 24–48 hours (trending windows are short)
3. Only update promotional text (instant, no review)
4. Revert after the trend fades (typically 3–7 days)

## Related Skills

- `keyword-research` — Deep keyword analysis for seasonal candidates
- `metadata-optimization` — Rewrite full metadata with seasonal terms
- `screenshot-optimization` — Design seasonal screenshot themes
- `market-pulse` — Spot trending keywords and market movements in real time