From everything I’ve seen on this side of the retail industry, I can honestly say that shoppers don’t really need an excuse to shop. But certain holidays like Father’s Day can act like firecrackers and give shoppers the nudge they need to spend more online.

Last year, the National Retail Federation reported that 20% of all Father’s Day purchases were made online. And what were the top 3 product categories that shoppers purchased? Ok so maybe I’m not a dad (yet, that is), but it’s not that surprising to see that restraint certificates, clothes, gadgets and gift cards were the top purchases made for Dads in 2010.

So what can male-driven brands like Tommy Bahama, Accessory Geeks and Chrome Bags do to get a piece of this year’s Father’s Day action?

Who’s Your Daddy?

Don’t just think of the topic that buyers will plug into Google, Yahoo or MSN – think about the actual gifts they want to give their dads. In addition to bidding on keywords like ‘Father’s Day gifts’ or ‘grad gift ideas’, research and draw from your own buying experiences. Does your dad love a neighborhood restaurant? Or perhaps he’s an avid techie who spends more time in Best Buy than the golf course. Whatever it is, hit the chalkboard, dry erase board or whatever “creative” tablet you like to use and map out the types of products and services that click for dads. This will help you grab consumers who are past the initial search phase and primed to buy, ahem I mean click.

It’s In the Details

If you’re focused on attracting people interested in giving their dads the latest and greatest tablet for Father’s Day, make sure your LP and creative speak directly to those shoppers. And don’t forget to use keyword-inserted headlines in your creative messaging to deliver the most targeted and relevant creatives as possible.

What’s In It For Me?
Shoppers love freebies, special deals, free shipping and all that good stuff. Use these incentives to get your ads to pop when users are sitting in front of their computers. If you tend to offer gift wrapping (at an additional price), offer it for FREE on certain holidays. Give shoppers a reason to visit your site vs. the plethora of competing sites bidding on the same keywords and boost your CTR.

Check, Please

Check, double check and triple check your budgets so you have enough flexibility to ensure 100% coverage during the holiday season. On holidays like Father’s Day, don’t be afraid to get aggressive to boost your search ranking and online visibility. It may even help if you create separate holiday-specific campaigns to manage all keyword and campaign CPC’s and budgets, aside from your overall SEM initiatives.

Let Google Display Network Work For You

Develop contextually targeted campaigns focused on Father’s Day gift ideas, guides, themes and categories. This is a smart way to generate awareness and traffic without fighting with all the paid search competitors. And since you can pay by CPC’s – even if users aren’t clicking on your banners – it’s an efficient way to raise brand awareness and customer retention.

Do-Gooders

Tune into the innate desire and traits of shoppers to “do good” and, in turn, purchase products from companies with similar behavior. Donate a portion of proceeds from sales towards a charitable organization or cause that speaks to your brand values. And you can even take it a step further and align with a cause that speaks to dads this Father’s Day…perhaps Prostate Cancer Awareness or Diabetes Research.