10 Tips to Get Your Website Ready for the Christmas Season
We’re all in the midst of planning our marketing campaigns for this coming holiday season. This means having to update our websites with promotions and even writing more content geared towards the coming season. Though we’re still in the midst of the global pandemic – the truth is, business owners and consumers alike have stood up to these challenges with resiliency and adaptation to change.
But one thing’s for sure – that one of the most successful strategies that many businesses have adapted this year is a strong online presence through their website and through various digital marketing strategies. Companies who have adapted early even before the pandemic are now reaping the benefits of not having to stop operations despite the pandemic.
For those who are only starting to think about their Christmas strategies, this blog is for you! Here, we’ll share some tips on how to get your website holiday ready for this coming season!
Tip 1: Create a Calendar for Marketing Plan and Execution
Creating a cohesive calendar for your digital marketing plan should be implemented – this will track both you and your customers’ progress and to guarantee that you are ready for the holiday season.
In plotting the calendar, highlight important dates then work your way backward to leave enough room for other execution. Along with plotting comes planning your creatives in advance. What creative direction will you use for your ad visuals? For your email marketing? What about other promotions? Then provide a specific amount on how much marketing Dollars you would want to spend and which channels you want to spend it on. Doing this will give you a clear goal that will help you to stay focused and deliver the best campaigns targeting different consumers.
Tip 2: Be in the know for the Latest eCommerce Trends
In the past years, eCommerce websites have emerged at the top with many consumers preferring to purchase online directly on a company’s website. In the recent months (and we’re predicting in the years to come) many small businesses would venture to eCommerce to increase their reach and to virtually make it easier for consumers to purchase their products.
For a few tactical ideas that you can try to boost more traffic to and engagement to your online store, look for trending products to add to your store using Google trends and also look for “most popular” search in the biggest eCommerce platform. Another is opting for using hashtags to your products and tapping influencers to get social love and maximum online presence.
Tip 3: Plan Your SEO Strategy
SEO may be a slower burn than paid advertising when it comes to generating traffic for a website, but trust us, it helps to maintain strong digital presence in the long run. It takes time to build presence with SEO through keyword-rich web pages and well-written content. That’s why integrating a blog page with written articles can help customers search on google on specific topics they want.
Create blogs that will increase internal linking within your pages. This will be able to let your customers explore your website fully.
Tip 4: Design & Implement an Engaging Website Experience
Visualize yourself as a customer, what would you like to see, receive or check when looking at your website for information, products or services? Have a clear goal of what your website looks like for easier navigation – from design elements to site layout, to call-to-action and more. Remember that poor web design can cost your business.
For more design tips and better customer experience, have a personalized approach website message with top bar notification messages, pop-ups and more according to time, location, number of previous visits and more. ay also consider writing dedicated messages for new and returning customers. Remember that
Tip 5: Ensure the Website & Online Store are Optimized for Fast-Loading
This is quite critical yet needs to be run in a smooth and no-glitch process. Always make sure that your homepage loads quickly as it affects the bottom line of your business. Keep your homepage clean from any widgets, like photo or product galleries, Facebook Messenger, Google Maps, YouTube iframes, etc. You can place them anywhere else on the website – but just don’t bombard your website with unnecessary widgets.
In this day and age, having a fast-loading website is a PLUS. Slow website loading not only increases your website’s bounce rate but it digresses consumers away from having a great shopping experience on your website.
Tip 6: Create a Loyalty Plan
This technique works wonders all the time: give someone something like loyalty points, which makes them more likely to do something for you in return — like share a commodity or service with their friends. A loyalty plan can be in any form as everyone will follow the same basic principle.
Tip 7: Budget, Create & Optimize Digital Ads & Social Campaigns
The holiday season is truly a time for preparing a budget only for this season. Be ready to optimize your digital ads and social campaigns. Don’t get left behind and make use of the effective seasonal marketing strategies. In order to successfully implement a campaign, track both impressions and clicks of ads, email blasts and social media campaigns results from different user groups to adjust effectively in the coming months.
Tip 8: Let Customers Contact You Easily
It is very important to be alert to your customer’s needs and issues and be ready to address every website or marketing conversation with your customers. Even though we miss the face-to-face experience of going to a store and speaking with an actual person, it’s always good practice to communicate via online messaging.
To have clear and smooth transactions with customers, suggest personalized rules that show contact forms during off-hours or an alternative off-hours phone number.
Tip 9: Turn Curious Shoppers into Repeat Customers
All retailers love new customers who are curious to know what your product is all about. But the key here is to turning them into repeat buyers who love and who will endorse your product. In order to generate more repeat customers into your website, let your customers experience being important when they visit by giving them gift vouchers. This will encourage them to shop more and return as frequent as they want.
Just as well, target your digital campaigns towards customers who have purchased from or visited your website before. This will remind them of your product and naturally if they were happy with their first visit or purchase – most likely they will make a repeat purchase!
Tip 10: Persistently Create Valuable Content
Managing a website is truly a challenge, but with proper navigation and original content, you’re keeping your website unique and fresh to everyone who visits.
Keep in mind that your audience should be excited to hear from and engage with your business. It’s also vital to be interactive whenever possible — create competitions, hold special promos, etc. One other tip is to create content that is always up-to-date and in line with current events and holidays. This keeps readers on their toes knowing that content is made with the right circumstances in mind and that each content is new and fresh!
The holiday season is fast approaching. Don’t let your business get left behind during this Christmas season. A website with a great design is crucial especially in this day and age. iManila can create an exceptional yet easy to navigate website that will convert curious customers into repeat buyers. Learn more by contacting us now!
