3 Quick And Dirty Holiday Hints for Procrastinating Etailers

I had the privilege of teaming up with Marketing Experiments for the web clinic Ecommerce Holiday Playbook for Procrastinators (on-demand version of this webinar will be posted soon on MarketingExperiments.com. Along with my tips, Marketing Experiments included "not this, but this" examples, so you will want to catch the whole show.

I'll share with you 3 of my tips as a teaser (because you really should see the whole replay, why not make it a lunch-and-learn?) I chose tactics the last-minute-marketer can employ to make the most of the holiday season in as little as 5 minutes, that don't require IT involvement and that likely don't require a long design/approval process. Quick wins, baby!

1. SEO Include Value Props in Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Some claim 80% of web sales begin with a search engine query. So it's important that you sell yourself in your search listings, whether they be organic results or pay per click. Even if you're not the top search result, a good value proposition like Zappos' free shipping both ways or 365 day return policy make you stand out.

2. Add Holiday Keywords to PPC Campaigns

Want to grab keyword ideas for before and after the holidays? 3. Sell The Convenience of the Online Channel in Your Email Subject Lines

We know folks research online and purchase offline, but we want customers to convert online! Not only does it improve the P&L (profit and loss statement) for the ecommerce division, each conversion can be properly traced to its referring site, campaign or keyword (well, almost always).

Here are some examples of retailers who either sell the benefit of shopping online or address the most common reason people prefer shopping offline: shipping charges:

Easy-to-Make Holiday Cards. We'll Mail Them.
Avoid the Rush! Get Your Gifts Now, Save $15 & Pay NO Shipping!
Avoid the crowds - Shop from Home and get Free Shipping
The Gift Guide Is Here: The Best Gifts at Even Better Prices
Email Exclusive Free Shipping, No Threshold. Today Only!

You can also check out my webinar recap over at the Marketing Experiments Blog.