What's the playbook for seasonal products in the off-season?

What's the playbook for seasonal products in the off-season?

'Q: My Christmas / patio / swimwear pages die every off-season. Should I delete them?'

Short answer: Never delete them — keep the URLs live year-round so they accumulate authority for next season.

The longer version: Keep them warm.
— Keep the URL at 200 all year. Deleting and recreating resets every signal you built.
— Off-season, soften the page: swap 'shop now' for 'back in [season]', show related evergreen products, and keep useful content (sizing, care, buying guide).
— Maintain internal links to it even in the off-season so it isn't orphaned.
— Ramp content and inventory 6–8 weeks before demand returns; ranking takes time to rebuild if you let it lapse.
— Keep it in the sitemap year-round.

Example: a pool-supply store deleted patio pages each winter and rebuilt them in spring, ranking from scratch annually. Keeping URLs live let them rank on day one of the next season.

Rule of thumb: seasonal demand is temporary; the URL's authority should be permanent.

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