I know I won’t be the first one to tell you that autumn is in the air… the TV has steadily been alerting us of new episodes of our favourite seasons coming back this fall. And you know what else happens in autumn? Back to school shopping… one of my favourite things from childhood!
Except the only thing that has changed is now, is that a large portion of back to school shopping is done online (at least 1/3 of back-2-school shopping was online in 2013 according to Google Canada… we can only assume it has increased drastically since then!)
As a web design agency, our question for you this fall is, is your website ready for back-2-school shopping? (Especially if you stock these hot items for back to school: supplies, clothes, shoes, bags (book and lunch), electronics, dorm items and accessories)
Back-2-school website readiness checklist
Is your website mobile friendly?
Since 77% of Canadians use their smartphones for researching information and products (We Are Social Singapore, Social, Digital & Mobile Around The World, Jan 2014), you’re missing out on mega back-2-school shopping traffic if your website isn’t mobile friendly. Not only are you missing out on traffic, Google may be punishing you and lessening your visibility in Google searches if your site isn’t mobile-friendly. Although this is no quick fix at all, requiring the transformation of your standard website design to responsive design, it is an ideal investment for long-term success as the use of smartphones and tablets will only rise over time.
Does your website load quickly?
Like 40% of Internet surfers (according to Kissmetrics), I admit to having no patience when it comes to waiting for websites to load. If I cannot see your site, let alone your offerings and benefits within three seconds I, like many others, will give up and research a new site to check out.
Is your website user-friendly and easy to navigate?
“If a website degrades the user experience too much, people will simply stay away.” No pressure but if your website isn’t as close to perfect as possible and doesn’t function as expected, visitors will leave. If your Google Analytics shows low traffic and high bounce rates, try these 5 simple tips for improving user experience. In a nutshell, can your visitors find what they need within 3 clicks? If yes, that’s great! If no, maybe it’s time to rethink your websites’ information architecture.
Does your website rank high in Google searches?
Since Google dominates the search engine market with 67% share (according to Experian) it is imperative that your website shows up on the first page of Google. If you rank low in Google searches check out this Best Practices for Search Engine Optimization post to improve your search engine ranking.
Do you have back-2-school videos posted on Youtube?
According to Google Canada’s Back-to-School Trends Report, there has been 120% growth in watch time of back-2-school videos globally. To increase engagement and garner traffic to your website, upload “Back to School” videos to YouTube that highlight your product or service.
Do you plan to offer promotions, discounts, coupons, lower-rate/free shipping or pick up in store, contests this season?
Now is the time to implement new campaigns to attract new customers and to increase sales. Some common back-2-school promotion tactics include discount offers, such as BOGO or Buy-one-get-one free, or half off, as well as coupons. You can also hold contests to award prizes (such as discounts or coupons) to collect visitor information and send them automated emails. Another big hit during back-2-school shopping is offering a lower rate, or even free, shipping. A different way to approach this is to offer in-store pick-up for free as well.
Are you present and active on social media?
Since Canada has the highest social media network penetration in the world, with 82% of Canadians using a social network (from We Are Social Singapore, Social, Digital & Mobile Around The World, Jan 2014) it is crucial that your business exist on Social Media as well. Social media is a great platform for engaging with consumers, driving visitors to your website, and for marketing promotions.
Do you have Google Maps integration or other store locator?
It’s so 2000 to simply list just your businesses address on your website. These days users expect seamless integration. If they can’t complete their back-2-school shopping online, or need to pick up items in store, users want to be able to Google your business, locate it on Google Maps and head out with the press of a button and directions in hand. Visitors will appreciate this tiny integration that makes their lives so much easier.
We’d love to hear what have you done to get your website back-2-school ready or if you back-2-school shop online. Please leave comments below!
Incredible quest there. What happened after? Good luck!
Incredible quest there. What happened after? Good luck!
Hi are using WordPress for your site platform?
I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up
my own. Do you need any coding knowledge to make your own blog?
Any help would be really appreciated!
Hi are using WordPress for your site platform?
I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up
my own. Do you need any coding knowledge to make your own blog?
Any help would be really appreciated!
Excellent weblog right here! Also your web site so much up very
fast! What web host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link on your host?
I want my website loaded up as fast as yours lol
Excellent weblog right here! Also your web site so much up very
fast! What web host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link on your host?
I want my website loaded up as fast as yours lol
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this
onto a cowoorker who was doing a little research on this.
And he in fact bought me dinner becausse I found it for him…
lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!!
But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this issue here on your blog.
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this
onto a cowoorker who was doing a little research on this.
And he in fact bought me dinner becausse I found it for him…
lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!!
But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this issue here on your blog.
Hey I know this is off tppic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to
my blog that automatically tweett my newest twitter updates.
I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this ffor quite some time and was
hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this.
Please let me know if you run into anything.
I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
Hey I know this is off tppic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to
my blog that automatically tweett my newest twitter updates.
I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this ffor quite some time and was
hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this.
Please let me know if you run into anything.
I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
Good day very cool site!! Man .. Excellent ..
Superb .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds also?
I’m glad to seek out numerous useful info here in the put up,
we’d like develop more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing.
. . . . .
Good day very cool site!! Man .. Excellent ..
Superb .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds also?
I’m glad to seek out numerous useful info here in the put up,
we’d like develop more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing.
. . . . .
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a coworker who has been conducting
a little homework on this. And he actually ordered
me dinner simply because I found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time
to discuss this issue here on your web page.
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a coworker who has been conducting
a little homework on this. And he actually ordered
me dinner simply because I found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time
to discuss this issue here on your web page.
Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What
host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host?
I wish my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What
host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host?
I wish my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Howdy I am so grateful I found your weblog, I really found you by accident, while I was looking on Askjeeve for something else,
Regardless I am here now and would just like to say thanks a lot
for a remarkable post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read through it
all at the minute but I have saved it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be
back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the superb job.
Howdy I am so grateful I found your weblog, I really found you by accident, while I was looking on Askjeeve for something else,
Regardless I am here now and would just like to say thanks a lot
for a remarkable post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read through it
all at the minute but I have saved it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be
back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the superb job.
I think the admin of this web page is really working hard
in support of his web site, as here every stuff is quality based information.
I think the admin of this web page is really working hard
in support of his web site, as here every stuff is quality based information.
It’s not my first time to pay a quick visit this website, i am browsing this site dailly and take pleasant facts from here everyday.
It’s not my first time to pay a quick visit this website, i am browsing this site dailly and take pleasant facts from here everyday.
I’ve been surfing on-line more than 3 hours nowadays,
but I never found any interesting article like yours.
It’s beautiful value enough for me. In my view, if all
webmasters and bloggers made good content material as you probably did,
the net will likely be much more helpful than ever before.
I’ve been surfing on-line more than 3 hours nowadays,
but I never found any interesting article like yours.
It’s beautiful value enough for me. In my view, if all
webmasters and bloggers made good content material as you probably did,
the net will likely be much more helpful than ever before.
Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is fantastic, let alone
the content!
Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is fantastic, let alone
the content!
I think that is one of the so much important info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But should statement on some normal things, The web site taste is ideal, the articles is really excellent : D. Excellent process, cheers
I think that is one of the so much important info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But should statement on some normal things, The web site taste is ideal, the articles is really excellent : D. Excellent process, cheers