Christmas is just a few weeks away, and if you want to be ready for new site visitors and keep your current customers, it's time to audit your website. Internet users are accustomed to shiny new things, especially this time of year, so give them what they want. Here’s how:
17 tips to improve your website for the holiday season:
1. Study last year’s results
It’s time to look back and see what worked out for you and what didn't. If you started your business only 6-7 months ago, you might need another assessment method, but otherwise, you should at least have last year's Christmas sales results.
Along with old strategies that have worked out for you, try experimenting with new things on your website and apps.
2. Update local listings
Always remember your first customers are usually locals. Thus, update the listing for them.
Most searches conducted relate to "places near me," "services near me," or "products near me." Hence, you must keep locals updated with offers and activities. They must be aware of what’s happening with your brand, not just during the holidays but throughout the year.
3. Follow trends
Trends change every day. You can easily google what’s happening in the market and keep yourself updated. For example, this year, lavender trends with red, white, and green. Thus, if you own an apparel store, kids' store, or even a decorations store, make sure to add lavender. Blue and gold are in too.
Classics are essential if your target audience is over 30 because they prefer traditional items. Revamp your website and app with these colors too.
4. Email marketing
Email marketing is an age-old marketing strategy that is still going strong. People of any class, profession, or age will check their email 2-3 times per day. Thus, make sure to shoot out emails twice a day to your followers and customers and tell them about your discounts and offers. Your website and app must have a feature where people receive emails about your brand before the holidays so they can make purchases earlier.
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5. Paid advertising
Never underestimate the power of a paid listing. Only 1 in 4 people go to the second page of Google, and the rest stop on page 1. Do whatever it takes to keep your website and app on the first page of search engines because hardly anyone will see you if you fall to page 2 or worse.
Paid advertising is not a bad thing. You need to utilize it from time to time to boost your business. And the holidays are when people shop the most and have the money to spend.
6. Social media
Social media platforms are quite helpful during the holidays. Despite their age, people are always on social media, spending an average of 8 hours per day scrolling. Wish your followers “Happy Holidays” while telling them what deals you offer.
7. Seasonal keywords
Investing in seasonal keywords will never be a waste of money because, during Christmas, people won't look for "cheaper decorations shop near me"; instead, they will look for "Christmas sale near me," "Black Friday offers," or "New Years' discounts." They will also search for winter clothes or shoes in winter and click if they see "autumn sale" written somewhere. Thus, we need not explain why the brands should invest in seasonal keywords/festival keywords.
8. Loading speed to handle holiday traffic
Site traffic is at an all-time high during the holidays. Also, site glitches between checkout and payment tend to creep up at the worst times.
Work on your website's loading speed and easy checkout process. It will encourage customers to return to your site, not just during the holidays, but anytime.
9. Use bold colors
Christmas is the time to use bold colors. Refrain from relying on light pastel colors to catch people's eyes. Use bright colors to revamp your website, add micro–interactive features, and fill it with illustrations and GIFs.
While this might sound like a lot of work, people with a mindset think that if a brand can invest so much time decorating the website and an app, imagine how much time they must have invested in perfecting the product. It gives your customers a good impression and something eye-catching.
10. Make a temporary holiday website
Sometimes, huge brands create a separate landing page. Sometimes even buying domain names that have high-ranking authority. Although costly, sometimes the ROI is high enough to warrant it.
The website should be at most 4-5 pages or one long page with all the information on holiday offers. Also, it might surprise you, but if you make a new holiday site, you might not need paid advertisements. The URL itself might bring organic traffic to your website.
11. Rework product listings
If you own an eCommerce website, you must work on product listings and make them more festive. Add your holiday discount and edit details accordingly.
12. Holiday landing pages
Create a landing page with details about your holiday deals. If you need more money or time to make an entirely new themed website, making a separate landing page for the holidays also works.
13. Encourage positive reviewsPeople are always ready to give you feedback if you ask them. For example, after a few days, Amazon asks for feedback so that the person can use the product and tell them how they like it. Reviews for Christmas products should be taken after New Year's so that people can use the products thoroughly and satisfactorily.
14. What about your competitors?
Keep an eye on competitors for holiday sales and offers. See what they do and keep checking their results too. The best example of competitors' deals and offers are iPhone and Samsung. They come up with something new every Christmas.
15. Apps Availability
Make sure your revamped app is available on Android and iOS stores. If your app is unavailable to users, you lose a potential customer. The holidays are not the time to lose customers; it is the time to gain customers for the long term.
16. Launch a New Feature
Add a new feature or button that makes your customers’ lives easier. It will get them excited and cheered up! Some brands are known to bring something new to customers every season. For example, Netflix and Nike launch new features every season. It is an investment for the brand.
17. Work on App Store Optimization Strategy
App store optimization (ASO) is a must–work strategy if you want to get ahead of your competitors. If you’ve ignored ASO until now, it’s time to make some changes. Make sure your app has a unique title with a relevant keyword.
Include important keywords in your app description without keyword stuffing because staying natural and focusing efficiently on communication is the key, rather than writing for the App Store. Remember, with app localization; it's crucial to discover different countries' search terms and vocabulary. Numbers are also vital if you want to rank higher.
You need to increase the number of downloads to get more positive feedback. Get your app featured by the App Store and Google Play for maximum visibility. There's a lot of competition, but it's worth a shot!
Wrapping Up
Holiday sales can scale up revenue to new heights. However, it is wise to avoid a total revamp of your website and app at the end of the year, but a refresher will do wonders for sales. If you need a total redesign, you can request assistance from top websites and mobile app development companies to help you.
