‘Tis the season for shopping! The holiday season is one of the biggest shopping seasons of the year. As consumers prepare to search for the best deals to shop for, businesses should prepare for the influx of traffic they will be getting this year. This year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping is expected to reach skyrocketing numbers, and businesses of all kinds should be ready.

Thanks to the power of the internet, Black Friday shopping is no longer limited to brick-and-mortar and Big Box companies. Businesses with websites are now some of the top targets for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers. 

Black Friday Starts a Multibillion Online Holiday Shopping Season

According to 2021 predictions from Adobe, the e-commerce demand for holiday shopping this season will hit over $200billion. Plus, a recent Marketo report shows that online shopping has increased over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. But this is not a recent trend. Online holiday shopping around Black Friday and Cyber Monday has increased in North America and Europe year after year. 

This means businesses better be prepared from all angles – including their website. To help brands gear up for the unpredictable online holiday shopping season, we’ve put together a quick overview of the things you should do to make sure your website is ready for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond. 

Set Up Your SEO 

The best place to start when preparing your website for a busy traffic season is to make sure that all of the pages on your website are optimized. Ask your web developer to do an SEO sweep of your website and make sure you are ranking where you need to be for specific keywords.

Make Mobile Optimization a Priority

We know that nearly half of online shoppers use mobile devices. Users are likely to abandon a site due to lack of mobile optimization. Make sure your e-commerce website is set up with mobile optimization to keep mobile users engaged. 

Simplify Your User Experience 

Online holiday shoppers are frantically looking for the best deals before the items are gone. Keeping your website navigation, messaging, and calls-to-action clear and easy to follow will lead to higher conversion rates. 

Keep It Secure 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are prime times for online scamming and increasing cybersecurity threats. Make sure your cybersecurity is prioritized and both your business and users are safe from fraud or malware. 

RTR – Review, Test, Repeat 

Once you are ready, have your web developers and analysts review historical data from previous years to look for trends that may impact your website during the online holiday shopping season. Then test your website, landing pages, pop-ups, and ads to make sure everything runs smoothly and quickly. Then do this over and over again.

Bring Joy and Good Tidings With A Strong Website 

The holiday season is a perfect opportunity for businesses to showcase their products and services to a broader audience. From web development, web design, data & analytics, and cybersecurity, you should be prepared for whatever may happen on Black Friday through the end of the year. Not sure where to start? Laing Media offers web development and digital marketing services and consulting for businesses in all industries. 

Visit https://www.laingmedia.com for more information.