If you're an online retailer and you're looking to maximize this year's Christmas season then I suggest you check out Jessica Hupp's post at VirtualHosting.com because she has come up with over 50 ways that you can optimize your website for Christmas. From Landing Page Optimization to Usability to Analytics, she covers it all.

Read the entire post here. Here's a quick summary of their tips:


Usability

  1. Make it easy for buyers to find what they want
  2. Be sure everything works
  3. Be clear with errors
  4. Use descriptive headings
  5. Follow conventions
  6. Clearly identify the next step
  7. Use readable text


Landing Page

  1. Answer your customer’s question
  2. Create different landing pages


Checkout

  1. Make checkout easy for new customers
  2. Second Bite
  3. Make sure cart editing is easy
  4. Offer a progress indicator
  5. Keep payment options simple
  6. Offer total costs early


Copy

  1. Avoid excessive adjectives
  2. Use trigger words
  3. Use question-based headlines
  4. Make your copy “scannable”


Design

  1. Provide lots of photos
  2. Use text more than images
  3. Differentiate between significant and insignificant attributes
  4. Avoid “click here”
  5. Place important items in the upper left corner of your pages
  6. Don’t overload browsers
  7. Avoid banners
  8. Check for dead links
  9. Highlight just one thing
  10. Embrace white space
  11. Differentiate your site from others


Cross-selling

  1. Recommend products other customers like
  2. Don’t end the cross sell at the transaction
  3. Offer best-sellers


Trust

  1. Make your return policy easily available
  2. Offer assurance
  3. Prove there are real people behind your site
  4. Join trust groups and display their logos
  5. Use testimonials
  6. Back up statements with evidence
  7. Make yourself available
  8. Send out automated emails when contacted
  9. Offer alternate ordering methods
  10. Make it look like you have customers


Closing the Deal

  1. Create a sense of urgency
  2. Offer customer reviews
  3. Give an incentive


Tracking Tools

  1. Google Analytics
  2. StatCounter
  3. pMetrics
  4. Crazy Egg
  5. Site Meter
  6. Mint
  7. AWStats
  8. Opentracker



Comments (2)

Maybe she should've added in "Usability" a nice usable interface. I've been hitting a stone wall using my browser on various websites finding out they're not compatible with it.

coffee is closers or conversions

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About the Author

Manoj Jasra has been in the Internet Marketing industry since 2002, he currently leads Internet Marketing Strategies at Shaw Communications Inc. Prior to Shaw, Manoj was the Director of Technology and Sr. Strategist at Enquiro Search Solutions. Manoj provides business consulting through his company Jasra Inc and authors one of the leading Online Marketing/Analytics blogs: Web Analytics World.

Manoj Jasra has been in the Internet Marketing industry since 2002, he currently leads Internet Marketing Strategies at Shaw Communications Inc. Prior to Shaw, Manoj was the Director of Technology and Sr. Strategist at Enquiro Search Solutions. Manoj provides business consulting through his company Jasra Inc and authors one of the leading Online Marketing/Analytics blogs: Web Analytics World.