SEO Can Make Your Online Store a Powerhouse for the Holidays - Additional Holiday Marketing Strategies
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In addition to the above steps, Nick says, “Never underestimate the power of free promotion in your website marketing strategy.” For example, radio stations tend to do Christmas giveaways, so Nick recommends approaching stations early about including your products (and site URL) in those events. “For the cost of a few products, you can get a lot of free advertising which often translates to links back to your site,” Nick explains. “I sent free samples of hot sauce to a couple of DJs at SIRIUS Satellite Radio. They called me up and wanted to get more for stocking stuffer giveaways for listeners. They even had me come in to do a show with them. My website URL was mentioned twice a day for two weeks while they ran the promotion.”
Another local radio station plugged Sweatnspice.com during a tasting show. Says Nick, “The relationship started when they contacted me through my Hot Sauce Blog requesting samples. I sent them that, and more. That was three months ago and they continue to plug my website and my products whenever the topics of zesty food or hot sauce come up.” This is a great example of how blogs can contribute to product promotion and sales. Blogs are also search engine friendly and tend to get a lot of inbound links from other bloggers and niche sites that focus on topically-relevant content.
Nick offered up some next steps to help website owners deal with the huge increase in sales they will enjoy once their website ranks well in the search engines.
- Prepare a schedule of discounts, giveaways and newsletters which begin to appear on your website in mid September.
- If you have an opt in newsletter, prepare these in advance with your scheduled discounts, that way once a week you can quickly send out a newsletter to tickle your subscribers’ memory about what incentives you are offering and how your products make great Christmas and holiday gifts.
- Make sure you have enough inventory to accommodate an increase in sales that additional promotion is likely to bring. This is not the time to experience delayed shipments because some products go out of stock.
- Prepare yourself and your employees. Make sure you've scheduled all vacations and you have plenty of staff on hand. Make sure you have enough packing supplies.
Conclusion
Christmas in August? This is certainly the case if you want to apply SEO to your website in time for the upcoming holiday rush. It is never too early to start planning your online promotion strategy, particularly when it comes to SEO. Nick’s proven success with incorporating SEO into his holiday mix of marketing tips and tricks has propelled his website to the top of his industry niche. By applying some of his suggestions, you can hope to see an increase in sales, if not this year, then next. Happy Holidays!
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