It is now November and that means holiday shopping season has officially begun. These days many people are avoiding the craze of holiday shopping and opting for the internet to help them out. Customers are not only using the internet to shop but if they do venture out to the stores you can be sure they are doing research online before they go. Today’s customers are using smartphones, search engines, and social media to make informed purchase decisions, so it is important to make sure your businesses’ online presence is up to date. Here are some simple ways to prepare your website for the upcoming holiday shopping season.
Basic SEO: Many small businesses with a physical location don’t realize the importance of the digital and online presences. Christmas is the busiest time of year for retail shops and people are beginning the shopping process on the web. Start with the SEO basics, by making sure there are page titles and meta descriptions on each page of your site. Make sure to add product descriptions, images, and reviews for each of the products you offer. Optimize for local SEO by making sure you have local pages including all information customers need to find your business in order to connect between digital and physical locations.
Mobile- Friendly Site: People are using mobile searches more than ever to find businesses around them. In fact, mobile has taken over the desktop in search volumes and will continue to rise. To increase footfall to your location from customers during the Christmas season make sure your site is mobile-friendly. Many people use mobile devices while out shopping to find the next location they plan to make a purchase in. If your site is unreadable on a mobile device that may be a potential lost sale for your business.
Social Media: Social media is a way to understand and communicate with your customers. By understanding your customers, you can provide helpful feedback that will assist them in reaching their goals, and hopefully come back again. Each social media platform can offer a unique way to assist and communicate with your customers.Platforms like Facebook allow you to reach and target specific audiences based on demographic or interests. Platforms like Pinterest’s allow for visual means to browse products and other ideas.
Address, Directions & Hours: Often times hours change during peak holiday season. Many shops open earlier and stay open longer, but if you don’t communicate that to your customers how will they ever know? If someone searches for your business but your website says you are closed when, in fact, you are open that is a loss of a sale. Take the time to update your hours as well as make sure your address is correct on your website, Google maps and all forms of social media. Embed a Google map on your contact page to allow customers to generate their own directions from your website.
For more helpful information on how to optimize your website for the upcoming holiday shopping season contact Boston Web Marketing.