We all know how Santa makes his list and checks it twice, before setting off on his Christmas rounds. This isn’t a bad idea and, if you’re leaving your online marketing campaign running over the festive season, there are a few things that you may want to double-check before leaving the sanctity of the office. Here is our online checklist for the Christmas season. PPC Related:
Give your Credit Card the gift of extra funds:
Boxing Day usually offers a surge of traffic. Whether this is cabin fever, or the fact that people want something to look forward to during the long winter months, we don’t know. But traditionally on Boxing Day search volumes sky-rocket and this is just the beginning of the traditional January surge in traffic and sales. If this festive surge hits your website then you definitely don’t want your card to run out. Therefore, before you leave the office for the festive season make sure that you’ve paid off or extended your overdraft in order to cope with the surge in demand for your products and services.
January Feeding Frenzy:
While no one knows how your market will respond this year to factors such as the recession, January is typically a very busy month online, in terms of both traffic and online activity. Before leaving the office, make sure your PPC campaign is ready for this and you have set all your negatives so that you don’t waste money. Likewise, it is important to check that your match settings are properly in place to ensure that you don’t spend more per click than you should. After all, the point of your PPC campaign is to make money for your business, not for Google!
SEO Related:
Upload a blog post:
An onsite blog is a great way to communicate with your customers, but take care not to abandon it over the festive period. Your customers may still want to keep up with your exploits over the festive period, particularly as the internet provides a welcome relief while trapped at the in-laws. Google also favours fresh and relevant content, so keeping your blog updated is particularly useful in order to get rankings over the January surge period.
Site Related:
Give your site a quick MOT:
We often don’t look at our sites for long periods, and why should we? Most of the time we’re too busy and if anything goes wrong it’s usually our customers that let us know. However, if you’re away from the office, then how can customers let you know? Just before heading off, why not fill out an enquiry form, fill out a Call Me Back option or make a purchase. That way you can be sure that everything is working correctly, while you’re sat at home eating cold turkey. This may seem obvious, but it’s amazing how many of us just assume everything is working, because it worked last time we checked it back in 2007!
Products and Prices:
So you’ve caught up with all your Christmas deadlines, ordered Great Aunt Maud that Spice Rack from Lakeland and you still have time free? Why not give your website a clean-up? Look at it with fresh eyes and ask yourself what’s the first thing a new customer will see? Your website is your key selling point and in order to make it work for you during the Boxing Day surge, you need to ensure that your best selling products are at the top of your list. Also make sure that all your prices are correct and any holidays that you don’t sell any more are firmly deleted.
Newsletter Related:
Communicate with Your Customers:
Are you having an incredible January sale? Reducing the costs of some of your most popular holidays? Then why not let your customers know? It’s easy to assume that because someone once had a great time on one of your holidays that they’ll book with you again, but if they don’t know of your amazing offers then you could find them booking with a competitor. Let past and future customers know of the offers that they’ll find on your website, by sending out a newsletter. Even if you aren’t hosting a January Sale, then why not send out an email newsletter wishing them a Happy Christmas? After all everyone likes to feel appreciated.
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Online Checklist for the Christmas Season
