Every local business has its busy season, and the quieter months in between. Whether you run a landscaping company, a tree company, or a boutique fitness studio, your peak months drive the majority of your revenue. But that doesn’t mean the off-season is wasted time. In fact, it’s one of the best times to invest in your marketing strategy so you can hit the ground running when demand returns.
At Digital Hot Sauce, we treat the offseason as prime time for our local service clients by focusing on strategies that can work for the long run. And today, we’re going to share some of that secret sauce with you.
Here are 5 proven strategies we implement that consistently benefit our clients.
#1 Optimize your SEO
SEO is a long-game play. Slow months give you the perfect window to strengthen your online presence so you’re front-and-center when customers start searching.
We’ve helped local service clients restructure their websites, update metadata, improve internal linking and create fresh, relevant services pages. When peak season arrives, their websites are already ranking higher in Google searches, generating leads without extra ad spend.
Off-season SEO work can include
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Targeted service pages & local landing pages: We create and optimize pages specifically for your services and neighbourhoods, ensuring you show up when customers are searching for what you offer. You can learn more about our local biz service offering here.
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Blog content creation and optimization: We produce high-value, search-optimized blog posts that answer the questions your customers are actually asking. This not only drives traffic but positions your business as a trusted local authority.
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Content auditing and updates: We review your existing pages, fix gaps, improve readability, and integrate relevant keywords to improve visibility and conversions.
#2 Test ad campaigns without the pressure
High competition in peak months means costly mistakes. During slower months, we run low-budget campaigns to test creatives, messaging, and targeting.
We ran a few new experimental campaigns during the off-season on Google Ads for one of our clients in the landscaping industry. The insights we gained allowed them to scale during their busy months with higher click-through rates, lower cost per lead, and a much stronger ROI.
#3 Strengthen email marketing
Even today, email continues to be one of the highest-ROI channels for local businesses. The off-season is the perfect time to:
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Clean and segment email lists for better targeting
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Build nurture sequences for leads who aren’t ready yet
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Launch loyalty campaigns or off-season promotions
Learn more about our email marketing services here.
#4 Refresh your website & improve conversions
Slow months are ideal for testing and refining your website. Updating copy, images, and page layouts can make a huge difference in user experience and lead capture.
We help our clients:
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Refresh outdated pages and service descriptions
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Test calls-to-action, forms, and landing page layouts
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Improve site speed and mobile usability
Even small tweaks made during the off-season often translate into more leads and higher conversions during the busy months.
#5 Build reputation and create evergreen content
Your off-season efforts can continue to pay off year-round. By generating reviews, creating guides, and publishing evergreen content, you:
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Help build trust and local search rankings
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Drive consistent organic traffic
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Produce materials that fuel email, social, and paid campaigns
For example, we built a library of resources and guides for a client in the exterior property services industry during the slow season. These assets and content pieces consistently attract potential new leads and continue to generate engagement months later, without ongoing spend.
Make your off-season work for you
We’ve seen our local biz clients who lean into our strategies outperform competitors who treat the slow season as downtime for their marketing efforts. By focusing on SEO, testing campaigns, refining your website, and creating valuable content, you’re building momentum that pays off when it matters most.
At Digital Hot Sauce, we partner with local businesses to treat every month as an opportunity for growth. Want to learn more about how we can help you? Contact us here and let’s chat!
