Get Found in Business Directories This Holiday Season

Key Takeaways

Helping customers find your company in business directories and keeping them informed online will be important this holiday season.
By updating your website to reflect your holiday hours and utilizing smart SEO and business listing strategies, you can generate more holiday revenue.
Depend on Web.com for online resources over the holidays and beyond.

It’s shaping up to be a holiday season like no other. After facing coronavirus challenges through much of the year, many small businesses are now carefully reopening and working to regain lost revenue. Companies that had a solid focus on online marketing have fared better than those that did not. If you have a strong website and online store, you understand the value of being able to sell your products even when your storefront is closed.

Now you’re ready to take that next step and do even more with your business. As the holidays approach, it’s the perfect time to take a fresh look at your website and give your customers an experience worth celebrating. With the competition out there, you’ll need every possible advantage to help customers find you and keep them updated about your business. Here are some ideas to help make this holiday season merrier for your brand followers and brighter for your business.

Refresh Your Website for the Holidays

The holidays will be unique this year, with more precautions being implemented for in-store shopping and many customers choosing to make their purchases online. Take this opportunity to refresh your website and make it festive – and highly informative – for the holidays. Don’t forget to make sure it is mobile friendly as many of your customers will be searching for your business and shopping on their smartphones and tablets.

It’s been a challenging year for almost everyone. Include some fun content, such as seasonal videos and music to get your website visitors in the holiday spirit. Consider having a giveaway (like a gift basket or free merchandise) that clients can register for online and in-store. Be sure your in-store holiday shopping hours are prominently displayed on your homepage and throughout your website.

You can quickly accomplish this by:

Going into your website builder, clicking in the text box with your store hours and selecting ‘Edit’.
Next, change the text to reflect your holiday schedule then click ‘Save’ or ‘Apply.’
You may also want to add information about in-store precautions you are taking during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, such as mandatory mask wearing and hand sanitizer stations throughout your store.
Don’t forget to hit ‘Publish’ when you are finished to make sure your updated information goes live and appears on your website.

Take a good look at your online store and make sure your product selection has been updated and that all sales transaction features are operating smoothly. You will also want to add a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate (if you have not already) to protect your customers’ data when they are making a purchase. This will help to build buyer confidence and brand engagement.

Utilize SEO Strategies

Ninety percent of customers begin their quest for local businesses by searching online business directories. Help your local customers find you and your company by implementing search engine optimization (SEO) keyword strategies. When people look for your business online, SEO keywords help your brand rank higher in search directories and make it easy for customers to learn more about your brand.

This is an affordable way to compete with your largest competitors and helps your business stand out in the crowded marketplace. With so many people searching and shopping online, a solid SEO strategy will be an essential part of your sales efforts. Look for SEO specialists to handle this aspect of your marketing as they have unique insights and experience that can help to make your plan more effective.

Update Your Google My Business Listing

If you don’t currently have a Google My Business account for your business, you should. This free and easy-to-use tool allows you to manage your online presence across Google searches and maps. A Google My Business Listing is a great local listing site resource to have throughout the year and especially during the holidays to help shoppers find and stay up to date with your business. You can list key details about your company, including a website link, location and hours, and make it fast and simple for holiday shoppers to find your business when searching online.

Update your Google My Business Listing hours by following these easy steps:

Sign in to your Google My Business account. If you have multiple sites, open the location you would like to update.
Click ‘Info,’ then select ‘Special Hours.’
Next to an upcoming holiday, click ‘Confirm Hours.’
Enter the opening and closing times for that day.
When you have entered all of your special hours, click ‘Apply.’

While Google My Business is the most popular listing resource, you can also have listings on online spaces like Yelp, Facebook, LinkedIn and Bing.

Let Web.com’s Help You Get Found in Business Directories

The experts at Web.com can help you make the most of the holidays with our professional services. Let our Professional Website Design Services team enhance your website or build a new one that is optimized to attract more site visitors and convert them into buyers. We can also create or improve your eCommerce channels to ensure your customers have a positive experience with your brand and help you generate more revenue.

Our expert Professional SEO Services group can develop and implement an SEO strategy for your business that makes it easy for customers to find you in online search directories. We can also help you measure success with detailed metrics that indicate what strategies are working well and identify areas for improvement. To protect your customers’ personal data when making a purchase on your website, we also offer SSL certificates to build buyer trust and confidence.

We are always here to help you achieve your goals, every step of the way. Let’s work together to make great things happen.

Make the Most of This Holiday Season and the Coming Year

Things are beginning to look up for many small businesses and the holiday season is the perfect time to reinvigorate your brand as we head into a new year. Follow these tips to enhance your business’s online presence, and you – and your customers – will have a lot to celebrate in the months to come.