Black Friday and Cyber Monday tips
SEO best practice for small businesses
If you’re a retailer with an online store, you’re probably gearing up for one of the busiest times of year. It all kicks off with Black Friday – when big sales, major discounts and grabbing a bargain are everything. And with many shopfronts still closed or with strict restrictions in place, the online frenzy is set to continue all the way through to the end of the year.
But what can you do to make sure your website is ready for peak season?
You can amplify your exposure and maximise your sales with my Black Friday and Cyber Monday tips.
- Make sure your sales pages are on point
- Get your product descriptions hitting the mark
- And ensure your SEO is ticking all of the boxes.
1. Create your sales pages early
If you haven’t already created your sales pages, now is the time. By publishing your pages ahead of time, you’ll give the Googlebot the time it needs to discover and index the page. Your sales page will only be shown in the search results pages once it has been crawled by Google, so if you publish last minute you could miss out on important exposure.
Tip: Use this URL Inspection Tool to make sure you aren’t blocking Google from crawling your sales pages.
Your sales page will only be shown in the search results pages once it has been crawled by Google, so if you publish last minute you could miss out on important exposure.
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2. Do your keyword research
It goes without saying that keyword research is absolutely crucial for any piece of content you publish on your website.
Psssst, use my FREE keyword research guide for step by step instructions.
3. Make the copy on your sales page compelling
Make the copy on your sales pages so compelling that they can’t wait to hit ‘buy’.
Call me biased, but the effectiveness of all of the other steps in this article are really underpinned by the inclusion of high-converting copy. Without cracking copy that is specifically designed to lead your customer to a ‘yes’, all of that work you do to get them on the page (keyword research /SEO) will be a waste of time.
Conversion copywriting tips:
- A compelling headline is an absolute must
- Speak directly to your dream clients – build a bridge between their pain points / feelings and your offer.
- Stay focussed on them – use ‘You’
- Use long-form copy that informs, persuades, and convinces
- Show proof by highlighting stories and successes rather than talk over and over about your offer. Testimonials are great here, especially when they share a transformation of how a customer went from A to B thanks to you or your product.
- Prep your dream clients to say yes to your CTA by asking questions throughout your copy where the answer is yes. This way your ideal client is already primed for a yes answer at the end.
- Move your audience to act with a really clear and absolutely irresistible CTA.
- Give a Deadline
4. Get your page titles and meta descriptions in order
Your page titles and meta descriptions are like a mini sales pitch in Google’s search results pages. You only get a limited number of characters so you need to make them count. Compelling, persuasive copy that draws in your dream clients is absolutely crucial here….. with a little bit of help from your keyword research.
5. Promote your sales pages on your home page
Not everyone will land straight on your sales/landing page. Make it easy for all of your users to reach your offer by linking to the landing pages from your home page. This will also help Google find your pages quicker.
6. Use a consistent URL
Use a consistent URL for recurring events rather than a new URL for each year.
For example:
use /sale/black-friday
not /sale/2020/black-friday)
7. Use quality images
As with all pages on your website, relevant, high quality images are important.
- Use a static, visually engaging image that accurately represents your sale or offer.
- Trim any whitespace around the border.
- Use appropriate image titles that incorporate your focus keyword. You should use hyphens between words not underscores or spaces. For Example: use Black-Friday-sale not: black_Friday_sale / blackfridaysale.
- Read How to add SEO Friendly Images to your website for a step-by-step guide.
8. Ask Google to recrawl your page
Ask Google to recrawl your page to get your content updated more quickly.
9. Make sure your website is mobile friendly
A mobile friendly website is essential all year round, but especially during peak sales times like Black Friday. Adobe’s 2020 shopping predictions report forecasts that some 42% of all holiday sales throughout November and December this year will be via smartphone.
This means that your website needs to provide an incredible experience on both desktop and mobile.
Check your site using Google’s FREE tool.
Tips for mobile usability:
- Pages need to be easy to read and simple to navigate on small screens.
- Check that your buttons are big enough to tap on mobile
- Ensure your website is as fast as it can be (excited shoppers are not going to hang around for a slow website). You can check your site speed using Pagespeed Insights.
- Set up a quick and easy check out process with simple payment options that work well on mobile. No to lengthy forms to fill with lots of awkward typing. Yes, to pre fill info, Afterpay, Paypal, and a streamlined checkout process.
These Black Friday and Cyber Monday tips will help you get your offer organised ahead of one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.
Struggling to create the right type of content or get your offer ready?
I can help.
