It’s the busiest season of the year—and this means more profitable traffic for your website. If you’re more excited to hear the payment notifications coming in from your payment provider than the jingling of Christmas bells, then you have to make sure that your website is ready to deliver this holiday season.
As the end-of-year shopping season approaches, we’ve prepared a mini-guide to help you optimise your website this Christmas. Here are a few things you should do to make sure your website will attract traffic this season and can handle the demand for your products or services.
Make your website look holiday-ready
You don’t only need to drive customers to your site; you also need to get them in the mood for some holiday shopping on your website or online store. What else could get them raring to spend more than a festive-looking homepage? Add some holiday cheer to your website by using Christmas-themed banners, graphics, fonts, and colours to get your customers in the Christmas spirit. You can also use the same graphics on your social media sites for consistency.
Don’t forget to highlight your holiday products and sales by creating distinct calls-to-action that will draw your visitors to your holiday promos.
Create special holiday promotions
The best way to convert a casual visitor into a buyer is through a special holiday promo or discount. Your special offer may depend on the type of service or product you sell, as well as prices, the buying behaviour of your customer, and demographics. Some of the most popular holiday promotions include:
- Buy-one, get one free or half the price
- Discount codes and coupons for future purchases
- Free shipping for a certain number of purchases
Offer freebies
Another way to spike traffic (and sales) is to offer something for free to your customers. Especially this holiday season when shoppers are trying to get the most for their money. You can add a website pop-up promoting a freebie or incentive.
Remember that the value of your free offer is subjective. They may cost you less or completely zero to produce but if it is of great value to your customer, then it’s a potent incentive. You can offer different holiday-themed freebies, such as:
- Holiday cards or ornaments
- Gift cards
- Free gift wrapping
- Buying guide or eBook
- Discount on the next purchase
Create holiday-themed content
Content is another powerful way to drive traffic to your site. We recommend creating holiday-themed content that will bring in a horde of new visitors eager to find ideas and advice on what to get for Christmas. They would want anything that will solve their problems during this stressful season, which is also a great opportunity to build authority in your niche. Don’t forget to promote your website/online store and products/services subtly within your content.
Also, take advantage of holiday-related and buyer keywords in your blog posts. This will push your content up in Google search results and therefore increase your chances of getting discovered in the web.
Holiday newsletter
One way to spread the word about your exciting Christmas promotions and drive more traffic to your site is by sending out a holiday newsletter to your email list. You can start sending out emails now to build anticipation, like a teaser for exclusive holiday deals coming in a few weeks. Or a limited-offer holiday offer to create a sense of urgency. This will help you get ahead of the last-minute Christmas rush. Don’t forget to include social sharing links so your customers can share your offer with their friends.
Grow your email list
As you’re now more likely to attract more traffic this season, grab this opportunity to get people on your list. You can create eye-catching, holiday-themed pop-ups that appear on your site when your customer is about to leave. This way, you can capture their attention at the right moment and reduce your abandonment rates. You can offer a special discount or an attractive giveaway in exchange for their email address.
Final thoughts for this holiday season
Remember, your website is like a physical storefront, and the more attractive it is to shoppers, the higher the chance for them to make purchases. This season you will have to make sure that your offers are unique so you may stand out as a business. If you need assistance with some last-minute tidying up, do not hesitate to give us a ring!