Ok, so the John Lewis Christmas advert is here. We love it! But it does mean – as well as bouncing foxes, badgers and Buster the boxer of course – that it is time to ensure that your website is ready for the festive season! Of course before Christmas and New Year we now also have Black Friday. So many offers – so little time!
These are all great digital marketing opportunities for your business. But how can you make sure that your website is Top of the SERPS this season? Here are a few ideas that could edge you up those all important seasonal rankings!
- Keep landing pages live all year round
A consistent and year-round landing page is important to capitalise on annual events. You can have a collection of excellent quality landing pages for all the major seasonal events and the page will then be there ready to be found. This means that you can prepare content well in advance, tweak the pages as needed, test them thoroughly – see our blog Does Your Website Pass the Test? – and will be in a strong position to top the search rankings when the time comes.For Black Friday 2015, Curry’s was one of the few UK retailers with a year-round landing page and this resulted in it being the only UK retailer ranking on page one for many Black Friday search terms – a digital marketing expert’s dream.
- Tailor your keywords to hit specific searches
Make sure that you are using the best keywords for the season. You will need to do up to date keyword research for this but it will be well worthwhile. If you sell shoes and a customer wants to look at mens slippers, research the way they are most likely to search for that and structure your navigation, categories and keywords accordingly – see the example from Debenhams below. - Capture data from your visitors
Someone may visit your website from a Black Friday or Christmas search but the story needn’t end there! Use the opportunity to get their email address – perhaps with some incentive such as an offer or prize – and you can then keep in touch with them via various means. Even if their initial visit does not result in a purchase, you are then keeping the door open to that happening. - Open for business?
During the festive season, many potential purchasers may use mobile search to look for products but are then more likely to be willing to visit a store. In our last blog we looked at the importance of Google My Business and it is essential to ensure that this and any other listings should be up to date, especially in terms of address and opening hours. - Answer the questions you think customers will ask!
In your meta descriptions, pages and all methods of advertising, make sure that you give all the information that customers are likely to need and that could make the difference between buying or not. Customers need to know how easily they can get hold of a product – and return it if it is not exactly what they need. Don’t leave it to them to make assumptions – make it crystal clear.
The festive season should be regarded as a season of opportunity! It is a time when you can win many new customers if you are properly prepared – and, the same as dogs, they’re not just for Christmas!
Author: Robert Walker
