Whilst Christmas is generally seen as a fun and relaxing time for friends and family to wind down into the new year, it can also cause a huge headache for business owners who, in the lead-up, notice a huge drop in website conversions – and ultimately sales.
What’s worse, a site that isn’t fully optimised to begin with will usually suffer worse. So how can small businesses ensure their website is optimised and ready in time for Christmas marketing?
Assess what’s broken
You can’t begin to work on fixes when you haven’t analysed what isn’t working. It’s vitally important to understand your website’s user journey and conversion funnel to begin with. This will help you to determine where the sticking points are within the customer lifecycle. For example, are users placing things into their basket but not paying? The issue might then lay within the checkout process.
Page layout
Page layout can be a crucial factor in determining the success of your site. Is the key ‘Call To Action’ clearly visible? Is the process as streamlined and straightforward as possible? There’s an abundance of research and studies online that looks into how humans browse the web. Combine this with some specific insights on your own audience, such as by using heat mapping software to determine high click areas, and you’ll soon see where you’re leaking website conversions.
Fine-tuned text copy
Is the copy engaging enough or have you had a professional copywriter look over the content with another pair of eyes? How about SEO? Does the content contain the relevant keywords your prospects would search for on Google? Sometimes the copy may be perfect but it’s simply the strapline letting you down. So are you A/B split testing different headings to see which will convert? There’s plenty more to look at here, but these are a few things to think about.
Site responsiveness
Mobile traffic accounted for more than 53% of the audience share in 2019, a stat which is only growing, so is your site optimised for mobile? Combine this with 96% of the UK on WIFI and close to 70% having 4G coverage, nowadays it’s imperative that your site allows users to browse and purchase on the go!
Site security
With an attack on the web occurring every 39 seconds – costing small businesses on average £200,000 – customers are even more conscious about providing their details online. It’s therefore vital your site has an SSL/TLS certificate to provide peace of mind to any visitors looking to leave their details, be it downloading an ebook or submitting a payment.
Whilst there’s plenty more to optimising your website, considering the above themes will go some way in ensuring your sales aren’t hit as severely during the Christmas slump. However, we understand with the day-to-day running of a small business, dedicating time to this isn’t always an option. So if you want to ensure that your website is ready in time for some Christmas marketing, feel free to get in touch with Kariba for a free consultation and site audit.