Last Minute Holiday Marketing Tips

It’s that time of year again where hoards of people load up on turkey, stuffing, and rolls and then gear up to brave the crowds late Thursday night to stand in line for retail’s crazy Black Friday deals. That is the popular conception of Black Friday, while in reality, the fact is many Americans prefer to stay in the comfort of their own home and wait for the deals to start on Cyber Monday. Since 2006, sales online have doubled the Monday after Thanksgiving.

What this means for your company is that there is a large revenue base to take advantage of in the weeks leading up to the holidays. Here are some last-minute search engine marketing tips for you to make your company more visible in the internet landscape.

• List Products in Google Product Search: This is an easy way for shoppers to see your products when they do a Google search. By listing your business in Google Product Search, Google will list your products in their Google Shopping results. This then highlights local businesses when shoppers click to see where they can buy the product. Businesses can also use Bing. Their version aptly named “Bing Shopping” is used to promote their products online. Bing and Google’s shopping feeds are free to use.
• Advertise Sales: Now that your products are listed it’s time to advertise the specials you have on them. This includes holiday markdowns and reduced shipping costs. Once advertised, search engines will notice your business and move your products to the top of the list.
• Utilize your Homepage: You have a great website but the homepage is void of your main products and instead just has links to them. To improve your sales, feature those products on your front page and they’ll gain the attention you want them to have. By displaying the product on the front page, the customer has fewer pages to go through to find them. They will enjoy their shopping experience more, and will likely return to buy products from the same site.

Getting a shopping feed and listing your company in Google Product search is easy enough but it does entail some data entry and you will need to create a Google Merchant Center account. After these simple steps, your business will benefit from one of the busiest online shopping days of the year on Cyber Monday and this shopping feed will help you through the holidays and for the rest of the year as well.