Whether it’s back-to-school shopping, seasonal surges, or just plain old increased demand, every e-commerce store owner knows when to expect an uptick in business. Just like brick-and-mortar store owners spiff up their front window displays and rotate their stock in preparation for their busy season, so too should e-commerce store owners prep their online stores. Here’s what to focus on to attract both search engine and customer attention to your online storefront.
Spruce Up Your Current SEO
Search engine optimization best practices remain the same despite changing Google algorithms, AI search, and seasonal patterns. But when was the last time you checked on the basics or asked Dashboard to provide an SEO audit to ensure everything is shipshape?
The time to fix both on-page and technical SEO is now. Don’t wait, as small problems can quickly add up, prevent Google from indexing and ranking your pages, and keep customers from finding you.
Consider checking the following basics:
- Keywords – are you ranking for different keywords now than in the past? Should you update older blog posts, landing pages, or web pages with new content that reflects updated keywords?
- Pictures – are all of your pictures sized properly, and do they load quickly? Large files can slow down a website’s speed and negatively impact search rankings.
- Links – do you have a good internal linking structure on your site that leads customers and search engine crawlers to more pages on your site? Are there any ‘dead ends’ you can fix by adding more links?
- Fix Orphans – “Orphans” are pages that aren’t linked from other pages. They can be invisible to search engines because nothing links directly to them. Add links to the orphan page from a keyword related to the orphan page topic to help it get ranked by search engines.
- Navigation – are your menus organized logically? Are they easy to use on both desktop and mobile devices?
AI for Search Engine Optimization
AI is transforming the search landscape in ways that are still evolving. What we know as of today is that search engines are becoming much more sophisticated at understanding not just what we’re looking for, but the intent behind our questions. Instead of the traditional keyword-based approach, we’re moving toward more natural, conversational website copy that includes multiple, related keyword phrases, rather than a script focused on one particular phrase.
For seasonal shopping surges, consider these changes and create new web pages and content accordingly. The emphasis is moving from keyword density to providing original, relevant information. Think about your website copy like a conversation with your customers. What do they want to know? That’s a great starting point for writing natural, contextual content.
Update Your Site For Seasonal Surges
If a specific holiday or season brings the lion’s share of business to your website, it makes sense to spend time customizing pages for that season.
Does it make sense to:
- Add seasonal tags to website headlines, such as “Great Gifts for Mom” or “Fall Favorites?”
- Update product pages with similar text, such as pitching a product as the answer to a seasonal problem, a perfect gift for that special someone, or another holiday use?
- Add internal links to provide search engines with more routes to follow to index and archive your pages?
Update Images to Enhance the Shopping Experience
Another way to get your website ready for seasonal shopping surges is to update the images or pictures on your website. A great way to tell if you need to update product pictures is to look at the questions customers are asking about your products.
- Would better pictures answer some of those questions? For example, a company selling lawn mower tires might include a ruler next to the tire to reinforce the list of sizes available, such as 15″, 18″, etc.
- How about showing the product in use? Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, especially if you sell parts or components. It may be difficult for customers to tell if they’ve chosen the right valve, filter, or hose unless they actually see a picture of it attached to the unit it works with. Consider adding more pictures that show the product in action to help boost sales.
- Do customers share pictures with you? Happy customers often share pictures on social media of themselves enjoying new products. Reach out to them and ask for permission to use their pictures on your website. Always take the extra step of asking for permission, rather than assuming permission, and get it in writing.
Publish Seasonal Sales Weeks in Advance
It can take weeks for search engines to find and rank new product pages. Even submitting pages to Google and Bing’s indexing system manually doesn’t guarantee the search engines index them quickly. Therefore, be sure to have any new pages needed for seasonal or holiday sales published at least 6-8 weeks before the date you anticipate a surge in shopping activity.
Add New Digital Marketing to the Mix
Want to spice it up even more? Consider adding new digital marketing channels to your online promotions. While not specifically improvements to your website, these ideas can help drive traffic to your site, and in return, provide leads and sales.
- Build an automated email sequence to showcase holiday promotions and gift items. Leverage your existing customer email list and work with us to ensure it is used properly and effectively.
- Add holiday-themed social media promotions. We can create short reels and graphics to add a lighthearted touch to seasonal and holiday promotions or other types of social media content suited to your brand.
- How about a free holiday giveaway, like an e-book or other downloadable goody? Customers love them, and they can be lead magnets, attracting customers to your website and securing their permission to contact them via email. A home goods store might create a special holiday party recipe book; a hardware store might provide a downloadable tool checklist to ensure that a workbench is properly stocked. We can help develop ideas and create an effective lead magnet for your business.
- Google Shopping enables customers to discover, compare, and purchase products from a wide range of online and local retailers. It serves as a digital storefront that can dramatically increase visibility, drive traffic to your website and immediately generate sales. By listing products on Google Shopping, you can tap into the vast reach of Google’s search ecosystem, appearing in front of shoppers who are actively searching for items they’re ready to buy.
One of the key advantages of Google Shopping is its ability to showcase products with rich visuals, pricing, reviews, and availability. Maintaining accurate and up-to-date listings is essential. Shoppers rely on this information to make purchasing decisions, and outdated or incorrect data can lead to missed opportunities or lost trust. Retailers who update their Google Shopping listings to reflect seasonal inventory, promotional pricing, and timely availability are far more likely to capture this demand.
Let Us Be Your Elves
Like Santa’s elves, the team at Dashboard Interactive Marketing can be your helpers behind the scenes, sprucing up your SEO, enacting advanced digital marketing tactics, and helping to generate leads and sales. Please contact us now for help with holiday ecommerce preparations. Call us at 763-242-2454.