Christmas and the holidays are right around the corner, and while consumers are focused on buying everything from their lists, businesses also need to make sure their web site is upgraded for the holiday rush. These 10 SEO tips will help you keep up with the increased number of customers, and will allow you to really benefit from a successful season of profits and positive customer experiences.
1. Be Creative with Keywords
During the holidays, the right keywords will make all the difference in getting customers to your web site and online store. If you are busy working on other areas of your business, search engine optimization (SEO) in Toronto can help. These professional SEO companies can set up and boost the right keywords that increase in demand during each holiday. Since the Christmas holidays are right around the corner, businesses should make sure that their content uses terms like “Christmas gifts for men”, “best holiday gift ideas”, “popular present ideas for kids”, etc. These kinds of keywords have high buyer intent and search volume, so making sure they are part of your SEO strategy will be beneficial to you.
2. Upgrade and Optimize Old Content
Working with a reputable SEO agency is a good idea if you want to upgrade and optimize your old content, which is imperative during the holidays. Finding out which of your pages ranked well on Google Analytics from past holidays will help you see where you can improve, and what successful methods you can use again. It’s also essential to making sure that pages that you don’t want visitors to see are removed, as well as broken links.
3. Don’t Forget to Check for AMP
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) are pages on your web site that are adapted to suit mobile browsing. Instead of using the traditional web browser format, you can optimize your pages to load faster on mobile devices. This is extremely important all year, especially during the holidays, for improving the customer experience with your online store or web site. They load faster, look simpler, and are easier to navigate.
4. Use Social Media Platforms
Social media marketing is one of the fastest growing and beneficial aspects for businesses today. They aid in growing the number of customers you have by encouraging them to browse your pictures and posts for ideas, updates, and information on deals and promotions. Platforms like Pinterest attract millions of people by helping them find, collect, and share ideas for holiday gifts, meals, and activities to make the season memorable and fun. Social media also makes you more legitimate to customers, as they expect to be able to check out your brand online. It really works in your favour, as social media exposes you to a huge demographic. It also allows you to interact with them in a more real, and personal way, building your relationship with them.
5. Update Opening Hours during the Holidays
One of the great features of Google is that it tells search engine browsers whether your business is open or closed. If your opening hours change for a few weeks during the holidays, you should make sure that Google recognizes this change. If you don’t, people may not go to your store or visit your business because Google reports it as closed. Make sure that your hours on Google are up to date, and also adjust the dates on any social media platforms. You can also broadcast this information over your social media so that customers get notified.
6. Proactive Review & Reputation
A bad customer review can turn off prospects from your business. You should implement a reputation management software that can help you respond to any negative comments and begin a dialogue to resolve any issues. You can also use this program to eliminate negative Google reviews, so that your online brand reflects the positive aspects of your business.
7. Paid Search Ads
Many searches on mobile nowadays only show Pay Per Click (PCC) ads above the rest. This gives them a bigger screen space that regular ad placement will not be able to provide. Paid search ads can help you promote a new product or services to customers in a much more effective way. Google AdWords provides a variety of ad extensions that can show your local business information, so that users can quickly and easily get directions to your store or give you a call. Toronto’s Pay Per Click agencies can help you get set up.
8. Web Site Maintenance
During the holidays and all around the year, you should make sure that any bugs or broken links on your web site are fixed and dealt with as soon as possible. If you experience these problems, it could cost you your customers. Your site should be easy to navigate across all platforms, so you should also make sure that it is mobile-friendly. Additionally, web site maintenance can include changes to target Christmas shoppers. You should create campaigns that specifically target people who are shopping for the holidays. Your landing pages should also be appropriate to what you are advertising the most. It is important to know that 51% of online sales come from mobile devices, so you should optimize your mobile site with specific keywords and device bids to make sure that you are getting noticed above your competitors.
9. Limited Time Offers to Beat the Competition
The holiday competition is extremely high. Every business is taking advantage of the millions of buyers, and are putting in the work to optimize their web site and online store. Your call during this time of the year should be to give your product and services an edge over related products. You can do this by running a limited time offer that leads up to Christmas Day. By reducing the price, it will give customers an incentive to snatch up your product before they miss out on the great deal. You won’t have to worry about losing profits either, as the holidays are typically the time when most people go crazy for shopping.
10. Map Data: Right Address & Direction
To be sure that customers can find you, make sure your data on Google Maps is correct. Your address and phone numbers should be listed properly. If you forget to update your data, customers will not be able to find or contact you, causing extreme confusion and frustration during the holidays. Do a proper check of all the aspects of your business before the holiday rush begins.
Improve Your SEO Strategy with Help from Numero Uno
If you’re looking for the best SEO company and content marketing agency in Toronto, contact Numero Uno Web Solutions. We provide our clients with many marketing solutions such as SEO services in Toronto, ORM strategy development, content audit services, online reputation management, web designing and development, and more. We are a content and search engine marketing agency in Toronto that specializes in helping small- to medium-sized businesses improve their web sites. For years, we have clients across the Greater Toronto Area, Texas, Massachusetts, and Florida, boost their marketing strategies and grow their businesses. Call us at 1-855-SEO-XPRT to learn more about the services and expertise we provide at our Vaughan location.
