Holiday Online Marketing Checklist

blog_holidayimtnIf you earn an income selling products and services to consumers, there’s a good chance the next couple of months are important. We made the list, you check it twice.

1: Work On Local Search

Google search results now display local results mixed among the organic results. Even if your business is online-only, this affects you because Google Places listings may be included in personalized results.
Be sure to get reviews and citations, submit to relevant yellow pages directories, and learn some basic local search ranking factors.

2: Clean Up Your Email List

Look through your email list for duplicate subscribers, old addresses that bounce, and anyone who recently requested removal. Get rid of them. Then test your opt-in form. Seriously- make sure subscribers are actually being added, and not seeing a 404 “page cannot be found” error.

3: Build Your Email List

Your list is your biggest asset. It’s never too late to do some pre-holiday email list building. Here are some ideas:

  • Tell website visitors about the special Black Friday offers you’ll be sending out after Thanksgiving. Use a strong call to action to get them to sign up.
  • Offer a free or discounted product/ service now (lead magnet) in exchange for their info.
  • Promote your lead lead magnet on outgoing order confirmation emails when someone purchases something.

Do everything you can to grow that list!

4: Fix Up Your Facebook Page

Take a good look at your Facebook page. Be sure to update it, and clean up any spammy posts. Add up a ‘shop’ tab that shows images of your products with links back to your site, too.
On your website, put a link back to Facebook, with a clear call to action. “For special offers, follow us on Facebook” will work.
If you don’t already have a Facebook page, set it up now!!!

5: Start Updating Your Site

If you don’t already, start making daily updates to your site’s content. Write on your blog. Post updates on Facebook and any other relevant social networks.
Update your home page whenever possible. Onsite updates help you rank better, and encourage visitors to return more often whereas offsite updates will build your following, so that you have a bigger audience to sell to.

6: Make Sure Analytics Is Working

Whether your site kicks ass this year or it fails, you’ll want to know why. If, however, some doofus erased the analytics tracking code from all pages of your site, you’re screwed. Check it now, not when you’re up all hours of the day busy filling orders.

7: Submit Your XML Sitemap

Submit your updated XML sitemaps to Google and Bing. While these maps may not improve rankings, they’ll help ensure that search engines are aware of all of your products and pages. But you already knew that, didn’t you?

Hopefully this list will help your prepare your internet marketing and avoid unnecessary stress this holiday season. However, if you’re sitting in front of your screen thinking “What the hell is a XML analytics Facebook SEO?!” please contact one of our Lead Conversion specialists by clicking here. We’d be happy to help you make sense of it all!

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