While we may still be in August, I can guarantee that within the next 4-6 weeks your local department stores will
start showing signs that they are preparing for the Christmas season. September has become the month that many
traditional "offline" businesses start gearing up for Santa's visit and while an early start on your search engine
marketing efforts may not attract the jolly guy in the red suit, there is a lot you can do now to ensure many other
visitors locate your website.
Avoid The Last Minute Rush
Last year, I wrote an article entitled "Last Minute SEO Christmas List" which was published in November.
In that article I looked at the different last-gasp SEO efforts your company could make if it had not yet implemented
a search engine campaign. With US online sales for 2003 estimated to top $100 million (up from $73 million in 2002),
let’s not take any chances with our efforts and make sure your website is ready now.
Rather than re-hashing the same general advice regarding search engine marketing, let’s take a look at some
techniques you should be thinking about if you want to ensure a Merry Christmas.
If You’ve Added Content, Did You Optimize It?
Chances are, you have added or will add new content or products to satisfy your visitors over the Christmas period.
While your older, established pages have probably received attention; it can be difficult to keep all your new pages
optimized. Take time now to review them to ensure that they at least have unique, keyword-rich title and Meta tags.
Have You Checked Your Keyword Density?
Every page on your website should be focused around a theme. If you don’t know the theme or keywords a particular
page of your website is targeting, visit one of the many keyword density analyzers that are freely available. A great
one can be located at Search Engine World.
Simply tell this little "spider simulator" which of your pages to check and it will analyze your content and let
you know which search terms are the most repeated on that page. Make sure that you have between 3-5 search
terms targeted on each page and aim for density between 5-15% (depending on the number of total words for that
page).
Keep Up To Date With Keyword Trends
Have you checked the search frequencies for your targeted search terms recently? It’s amazing how quickly trends
come and go. If you have not reviewed your targeted search terms in the past 2-3 months, now is the perfect time to
go back and review the numbers. You should not only use tools such as
WordTracker, but also read publications for your industry to help spot potential trends or search terms that
might develop between now and the end of the year. If you can identify a potential keyword to target now, before it
shows up on WordTracker, you can help your business stay ahead of the competition.
Staying Ahead Of Your Competitors
Speaking of competition, have you checked the websites of your top competitors recently? While making fine
adjustments to your campaign is great, they cannot be successfully accomplished without reviewing the efforts of
your biggest competitors. Which products are they targeting; what press releases have they issued? Knowing your
competitors’ movements will not only help you with your SEO efforts but also prepare you for theirs.
Review Your Inbound Links
How is that all-important inbound link campaign coming along? Chances are, once you managed to get a couple
of dozen websites to link to your website, you took your foot off the gas. Don’t get complacent, especially if you want
your website to be at the top of the search engine results come Christmas. Techniques for linking have been
discussed exhaustively, so we won't go into much detail here. However, make sure you regularly go back and review
the websites that are pointing to your company. "Are they still linking to you?" is the biggest question. Are
they using keywords in their link to your website? If they are simply using the domain name as the link, send them
a polite email asking them to include your most important search term in their link. If you are already linking back to
them, take the lead and make a similar change on your website first. That way you can show them the type of format
that you would like them to use in return.
Improve Usability Of Your Site
Few search engine marketers cover usability when discussing optimization. However, ensuring a visitor to your
website not only sticks around longer than a few seconds, but also buys from you goes hand-in-hand with any SEO
campaign. Make it easy for every visitor to your website to navigate to your products or services page. Use every
opportunity to initiate a "call to action." If your biggest seller happens to be the latest MP3 player, make sure
there is a prominent link or graphic to that page from your index. Also make sure your website contains the important
information most visitors are looking for when deciding to make a purchase online. According to eBrain Market
Research, the features sought after by most consumers are:
90% Free Shipping
81% Discounts to Frequent Shoppers
77% Tracking on purchases
62% Published Privacy Policy
51% Received a High Rating from an independent source
Implementing an extensive search engine marketing campaign to double the number of visitors to your website
can take time and effort. However, in some instances, it can be easier to make some minor changes to the
usability of your website to increase your conversion rate. Doubling your traffic while doubling your conversion
rate can make for some great fourth quarter numbers.
Your Wake-Up Call
Although space does not allow for a comprehensive outline of steps to take to ensure your website is ready
for Christmas, I hope that this message serves as a wake-up call to everyone responsible for marketing their
company's website. While Christmas may well seem like a long way off, search engine marketing contains a
lot of research, implementation and patience (as you wait for search engines to spider and index your site). By
starting your search engine campaign in August, you hopefully won’t need my last-minute articles come November.
About The Author
Andy Beal is Vice President of Search Marketing for KeywordRanking.com
and ProRanking.com, global leaders in professional search engine marketing.
Highly respected as a source of search engine marketing advice, Andy has had articles published around the world and
is a repeat speaker at Danny Sullivan's Search Engine Strategies conferences. Clients include Alaska Air, Peopleclick,
Jos. A. Bank and NBC. You can reach Andy at andy@proranking.com and
view his daily SEO blog at SearchEngineLowdown.com.
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