Every year, in the immediate aftermath of a holiday season that wasn’t necessarily all it could have been, retailers and small business owners resolve that next year will be better. Well, here we are, with the first quarter of the new year behind us and the holiday shopping season starting in earnest in less than 6 months. What have you done to prepare for the upcoming holiday season?
[Tweet “Customers now expect websites to provide a highly tailored, individualized shopping experience.”]
One area to consider for improvement is your website. Google has switched to a mobile-first index, which means they prioritize mobile-friendly websites when users search for a particular type of business or ask where the nearest business of that type is. Websites that aren’t mobile-friendly have no chance of showing up on the first page of search results, which is as far as the majority of web users are willing to look for information.
Google’s not the only one who’s changed their standards for websites. Customers now expect websites, particularly e-commerce sites, to provide a highly tailored, individualized shopping experience with personalized recommendations – even if they’ve never been to your website before! These expectations are shaped by Amazon and other major online retailers – and the younger your customers are, the more they expect from your website.
So one thing you can do right now to get ready for the 2018 holidays is to consider your current website. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is my website mobile friendly? Does it look great & function flawlessly on various devices?
- Does my website load quickly?
- Is my website optimized for voice search?
- Does my website have data capture tools built in so I can learn about & better serve my customers?
- Are the e-commerce tools I need to succeed already in place?
If you’ve answered any of these 5 questions with a “No!”, it’s time for a website upgrade. A website upgrade can take a little time, so the ideal time to make the necessary changes is now, while the holiday season is still a few months away. To find out about the great incentive pricing currently available on website upgrade packages, check this out. If you’ve got something more specific in mind, or have questions, drop us a line. We’re here to help.
