Ecommerce Best Practices for a Successful Holiday Season: 5 Do's and Don'ts

7 min read

The holiday season is upon us, and for small businesses with an online presence, it’s the prime time to thrive. To help your business shine during this festive period, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of dos and don’ts that will supercharge your marketing strategy, drive traffic to your website, and boost those all-important sales. Let’s dive into the essential practices every small business owner should consider.

The 5 Things You Should Do

Here are five key steps that should be included in any successful holiday season marketing plan.

Plan Your Holiday Campaign Early

Start the planning process early, but remember that in the realm of online advertising, it often takes 30-60 days to gather crucial insights and gain traction. To ensure your advertising peaks precisely when you need them to, it’s not only important to plan early but also to execute your campaigns early. This proactive approach guarantees that your marketing efforts are optimized and ready to shine during the holiday season.

Optimize Your Website for Mobile

In an era where mobile usage is skyrocketing, having a mobile-friendly website is non-negotiable. Fast loading times, visually appealing images, concise descriptions, user-friendly checkout processes, clear pricing, and intuitive navigation are paramount. Mobile shoppers value a seamless, efficient experience, so ensuring your site caters to their needs is essential for driving holiday sales.

Streamline Your Checkout Process for Better Results

To combat cart abandonment and boost your holiday sales, it’s crucial to simplify the checkout process, offering multiple payment options and transparent shipping costs.

Equally vital is instilling trust in your customers during the checkout process. This involves prominently displaying trust badges and other security measures alongside the checkout screen, assuring your customers of a safe and trustworthy transaction, ultimately leading to more successful holiday sales.

Kliken Ads utilizes Generative AI to suggest headlines, images and calls to action that are the most likely to convert based on your business category.

Keep Your Ads Fresh and Engaging

Use A/B testing to experiment with ad copy, visuals, and targeting. This data-driven approach helps you optimize campaigns for maximum effectiveness. With Kliken’s AI suggestions, it’s simple to regularly update ad headlines and descriptions to keep them appealing throughout the holiday season.

Harness the Potential of AI-Powered Insights

Unlock the potential of AI to gain valuable insights into your audience’s behavior. With Kliken’s AI, you can automate optimization tasks, making campaign adjustments in real time, like fine-tuning ad bidding strategies, honing ad targeting, and allocating budgets where they deliver the best results.

Moreover, the insights generated in the dashboard allow you to make informed decisions when refreshing your ad images and copy, ensuring your marketing remains relevant and effective during the holiday season.

The 5 Things You Shouldn’t Do

Now let’s look at the actions you should avoid when optimizing your campaigns during the holiday season.

Overcomplicate Your Website

Avoid overwhelming visitors with a cluttered website. Ensure it’s user-friendly, showcasing clear and concise images, descriptions, headlines, prices, and policies. This not only makes it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for but also conveys trustworthiness and professionalism, essential for a successful holiday season.

Ignore Social Media

Social media is a vital platform for engaging with your audience, especially during the holiday season. Recognize the power of storytelling and audience engagement. Additionally, ensure your social posts align with your online ads to foster brand recognition when customers search online. Consistency in your messaging across platforms is key to building a strong, recognizable brand presence.

Neglect SEO

Remember the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) during the holiday season. Optimize your website and product listings with clear and concise titles and descriptions, while incorporating holiday-related keywords. This not only enhances your website’s visibility in search results but also contributes to improved organic traffic and search engine rankings, further boosting your holiday success.

Neglect Shipping Deadlines

Missing shipping deadlines can lead to customer dissatisfaction. Clearly communicate order-by dates and shipping options to manage customer expectations.

Forget to Maintain a Balance Between AI and Human Expertise

While AI can be a valuable tool for enhancing campaign efficiency, it’s vital not to replace human expertise entirely. AI can provide suggestions, but remember that nobody knows your customers better than you do. Ensure that the content and strategies align with your brand’s unique voice.

The AI assists you in building campaigns more efficiently but should complement your human understanding of your industry and audience, rather than replacing it. Strike a balance between AI-powered insights and your strategic, brand-centric expertise to achieve the best results.

The holiday season offers tremendous opportunities for small businesses with an online presence. By following these dos and avoiding these don’ts, you can ensure a successful and memorable holiday marketing campaign.

Remember, exceptional customer service is vital during this time of year, as it will not only drive sales but also leave a lasting impression that keeps customers returning long after the holiday lights have dimmed. So, get started, spread the holiday cheer, and watch your business thrive during the most wonderful time of the year.

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Holiday season 🎉

Nov 3, 2023

About the author

Rebecca Fulton, the Marketing Director at Kliken, boasts two decades of expertise in B2B and B2C marketing. She has honed her skills in customer acquisition, retention, and loyalty across a spectrum of businesses, from large franchise organizations to nimble startups.