If you don't have your holiday marketing plan yet, you're getting a very late start. But there are still things you can do in the short term to help boost sales for the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays.
Organic Rankings -- Possible?
Organically, you're going to have a hard time unless you choose some long-term phrases that you can rank for simply by building a page that actually contains the keyword. The problem with those long-tail terms: a lack of traffic. You'd need to build 300 pages based on 300 terms to see a significant spike in traffic before Christmas -- that's a lot of work and time.
Paid Advertising
You're better off investing in paid advertising to push sales through the holidays. There are some inexpensive ways to capitalize on paid advertising. For some ideas, check out my last column, "Alternatives to GoogleAdWords -- Worth Your Time? "
Retargeting
Start a retargeting campaign to support your holiday sales. The right creative can increase conversion rates by targeting the visitors that have already been to your site. You can also lower acquisition costs because retargeting is much less expensive than PPC advertising, so "reacquiring" those lost visitors is much less expensive than another organic click -- and you can get them back without relying on a Google, Yahoo, or Bing search to do it.
A few sites can be helpful for a relatively low investment. Retargeting works via cookies and is relatively painless to the user. Check out FetchBack.com, Dapper.net, or Retargeting.com to get started.
To see how it works for yourself, visit one of those retargeting sites and then surf the Web for a bit. Hit news or informational sites and watch for the retargeted display ads. I was on the FetchBack site and went to FoxNews.com and saw the Fetchback.com display ad. This is pretty amazing technology that won't break the bank for a short-term campaign in time for the holidays.
E-mail Marketing
If you haven't implemented a holiday marketing strategy, you're probably hurting for sales. E-mail marketing still has one of the highest conversion rates in online marketing -- if your list is clean and targeted. Here are some tips to get the most "bang" out of your e-mail blast:
- Keep it short and to the point -- this isn't a newsletter.
- Offer minimal choices -- an e-mail blast shouldn't have tons of links and navigation. Your deal and a button to click is plenty.
- Run your blast through SpamCheck and make sure it has a low score (below 2) to ensure delivery.
- Don't forget tracking scripts on your links so you can attribute your sales to your e-mail marketing campaign!
Go Viral
Viral marketing is probably the most difficult type of campaign to bring to fruition. It really depends on the product or service and what sort of spin you can put on it. The Will It Blend? guys hit a goldmine with their viral videos in a relatively short amount of time.
The reality is, more viral campaigns fail than succeed. That doesn't mean you can't do it, but be realistic and know that luck plays a big part in having a campaign go viral.
Remember, you need a network of people to help your video, article, or image go viral. If you don't have that, start building it now and try again next holiday season.
So it isn't too late, but you better get to work to realize a boost in your holiday revenue. As a bonus, I can tell you that I, along with last-minute shoppers around the world, respond like hounds at a BBQ to a rate cut or free last minute shipping. So consider using that as your e-mail marketing, viral marketing, retargeting, and PPC ad theme -- it isn't too late to get your hooks into other shopping procrastinators like me.
Join us for SES Chicago on December 7-11. Now in its 11th year, the only major Search Marketing Conference and Expo in the Midwest will be packed with 70+ sessions covering PPC management, keyword research, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), social media, local, mobile, link building, duplicate content, video optimization and usability, while offering high-level strategy, keynotes, an exhibit floor, networking events and more.
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Biography
Carrie Hill is the Director of Search Strategies for Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc. She and her husband are also small business owners, so she understands the obstacles that small business owners face. That combined experience helps her apply specific Search Engine Marketing strategies to gain positive results for clients. Carrie is heavily involved in search engine marketing research and has had the opportunity to transform a wide variety of new and emerging concepts into revenue-producing products.
Article Archives by Carrie Hill:
Holiday Search Marketing? You'd Better Be! - November 10, 2009
Alternatives to Google AdWords -- Worth Your Time? - October 27, 2009
Saturating Your Message in Search Marketing - October 13, 2009
Small Business Guide to Tools that Help Your SEM - September 29, 2009
When and How to Outsource Your Small Business Search Marketing - September 15, 2009
Going the Distance -- Integration of Your Marketing Efforts - September 1, 2009
» More Articles by Carrie Hill
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