Gift guides are goldmines for brands, especially during the holiday season or celebration moments throughout the year. Getting your products included in a roundup isn’t about luck, but more about the PR strategy, positioning, and making your brand discoverable by both humans and our increasingly integrated AI summary friends. Here’s how to make it happen.

First Things First: Understand the Power of Gift Guides

They’re not just lists. They’re curated recommendations from trusted sources. When your products land in one, it gains authority, credibility and exposure for your brand. Editors are looking for products that solve problems, have unique stories, and stand out in design and innovation.

Brands should be thinking beyond traditional holiday guides. Consider guides for birthdays, health & wellness, hobbies, self-care, or super niche communities. The more angles where your products fit, the better your chances are of being featured.

Build Your Pitch Around SEO-Friendly Keywords

Editors, bloggers, and AI-driven search engines/discoverability platforms rely on searchability. Using clear, descriptive and SEO friendly language makes sure your products get noticed.

We’d recommend using natural, descriptive keywords like, “luxury natural skincare,” or “eco-friendly cleaning product,” or “tech gifts for travellers.” Highlight the occasion as well with phrases like, “perfect gift for your bestie,” or “holiday stocking stuffer,” or “gifts for under £50.” Include benefits and unique selling points like “sustainable,” “handmade,” “innovative,” or “natural.”

Have a look at some previous gift guides for keyword inspiration, or some of the guides your competitors might be in that you’d like to see your products featured in. Take note of the phrases and the descriptors they use freque

Get Familiar with and Leverage AI Discoverability

With AI tools increasingly powering content curation (and content creation in some cases), being discoverable means more than just human-friendly copy. Focus on structured data by including clear product titles, descriptions and metadata on your website. AI algorithms use this info to categorise and suggest products to searchers.

Including descriptive alt texts for your images also ensures your product names, descriptions and category tags are consistent across media mentions, your website and your social posts. AI loves consistency.

Timing, Timing – And We Can’t Stress This Enough – Timing

Editors are planning gift guides weeks and even months in advance. Build out a PR calendar and make sure you’re pitching early. For holiday guides, aim for late summer or early autumn. For seasonal or more niche guides, plan to pitch about 6-8 weeks in advance of any relevant events.

Make Your Pitch Personal, Story Driven and Easy to Use

Personalized pitches stand out. Reference the specific guide, past features and why your products would be a good fit. Give your product a narrative and let it tell your story. Make sure you’re also including product photos, pricing, a direct link for purchase, and any exclusive discount codes you can offer editors for their readers is always a bonus! The more information you can share, the better.

Track and Optimise

Hooray! Your product’s been featured! Once your product has landed in a guide, make sure you’re tracking the results. Use backlinks, monitor website traffic spikes, and see which keywords are performing well. Then optimise your future pitches based on those insights like what types of guides drove the most engagement or which keywords and descriptors got the best traction. AI-discoverable content can lead to even more exposure.

How Americana Can Help

Getting your products into gift guides takes carefully planned strategy, storytelling and smart use of SEO and AI-friendly language. At Americana, we help brands craft pitches that stand out around the world. With the right approach, your products won’t just be seen, they’ll be featured. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help!