I was originally researching about online search behavior during the Holy Week. Thought people are more likely to face the pc during the Lent, if they’re not out on vacation (the Philippines has some of the most touristy beautiful beaches in the world). I went through the first 3 pages of Google, until I found something much more valuable than what I was originally after. Reminds me of a familiar spiritual wisdom…
“In the eyes of faith, God can always give us something much more than what we expect. He will remain the God of surprises, where possibilities are without bounds.”
And for that, let me share some SEO wisdom for those targeting the “holy” niche. Faithful Web outlines and very well discusses the steps in creating a Lent page that gets noticed.
If you’re a webmaster/blogger from the Philippines working on for your online parish publication, I’m sure you’d have lots of fresh content to put up this Holy Week. Given that our country is dominantly a Catholic nation, Filipinos have this distinct Lent tradition to speak about. Some of these are:
1. Station of the Cross / Visita Iglesia
People flock into city and provincial churches to commemorate the journey that our Lord took on His way to Calvary. It’s composed of 14 stations, therefore 14 churches to visit for the participants of this Lent activity.
2. Seven Last Words
Whether you’re in the comfort of your home or you’re more sacrificial to actually get out and visit a church where you find tons of audience, you can have your soul nourished by the reflections given by priests and laymen about Jesus’ seven last words before His death.
3. Singing of the Pasyon
This is a practice brought mostly by our lolo’s and lola’s – the story of the Christ’s Passion sung in that distinct melodramatic melody.
4. The Flagellants
Yes, you can find spot them in Pampanga whipping their backs and cutting skin as they re-enact what Jesus did during the first ever Holy Week. To counter the misconception, Filipinos do this not to earn salvation (as we have that to be naturally given). The flagellants perform this as an act of penance for their sins. I’d say this is much more of a personal choice, not a church doctrine. If you want to spare the blood, you can simply watch the Moriones in Mariduque. They bring the Pasyon Play called the Legend of Longinus.
5. The Salubong
An Easter morning celebration, usually begun with a mass, to welcome the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Of course, the country will not be spared of the usual vacation-mode attacks of the people itching to dip in Boracay and Puerto Galera. Tourists who wish to witness that unique Lent tradition of the Filipinos will most probably take a side trip and book online for that hotel near the beach. Nothing is more divine than getting the best rates online during the vacation-stricken season of Lent. Search Engine Marketers of the travel industry will certainly be on their feet to cast the net (and be fishers of men online visitors).
Now I wonder if the search engine crawlers and spiders ever get a holiday break on Holy Week.
1 Comment
March 21, 2008 at 1:52 pm
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