A better web presence: the gift that keeps on giving

As always, the competition to win over shoppers will be fierce. And one of the only ways to attract their attention this holiday season – and keep them coming back year-round – will be to find smart ways of promoting your online presence.

The following are four strategies to help you optimise your presence, strategies which will improve your ability to engage shoppers who are increasingly selective and savvy about the online venues they chose to do business with.

Ecommerce businesses will continue to entice customers with exclusive incentives, price matching, and the always-popular free shipping and buy-online/pick up-in store offers, all of which will no doubt contribute to this year’s sales.

Create more memorable branding

With so many online retailers vying for customers’ attention, make sure you stand out from the crowd. Whether you chose a conventional .COM or a new domain extension makes no difference in Google’s search rankings. What matters is that your domain name is memorable and descriptive enough to generate clicks.

And one way to achieve memorability is by choosing a shorter domain name, one which improves the recall of your brand name. A shorter name is usually stickier, clearer, and stronger. And, ideally, it will succinctly reflect your brand’s focus, vision, and values, establishing a strong first impression with customers.

Create a more focused branding strategy

To attract customers, you need to create an online brand impression that is not only memorable but also relevant. Fortunately, there are a number of domain extensions which will help you do just that. Domain extensions like .SHOP, .STORE, and .BLACKFRIDAY will help you create a more controlled online presence that alerts customers to what exactly it is you have to offer.

And even if you’ve already registered a .COM, registering your brand with these alternative domain extensions is a good defensive move as you will prevent cybersquatters or cyber abusers from abusing your name.

Create a buzz with your new products or services

Do you want to showcase – and create a buzz for – a new product or service this holiday season? Consider domain name possibilities beyond the conventional .COM extension. For example, consider registering a .BUZZ.

You could create a new webpage which links to your primary site, a webpage which includes your domain + your new product or service + an extension like .BUZZ – youramazingnewproduct.buzz. Or consider .COOL, an extension which lends itself to an easy hack – youramazingnewproductis.cool. Or highlight your biggest sale of the year with .BLACKFRIDAY!

Target the right audience

There’s a good chance that your audience isn’t as big as Amazon’s. Therefore, you need to work a little harder to make your online presence known. One way to successfully connect with the customers you’re looking for is by registering a country-specific domain extension (ccTLD), an extension which indicates to customers that you share their language, their currency, and their time zone.

And best of all ccTLDs have a strong impact on SEO as search engines use local IP addresses when generating search results! But a word to the wise: ccTLDs may not be right for everyone as they can cost you time and money. To see if this strategy is right for you, or if you would benefit from alternative ways to target country-specific audiences, check out our previous blog post.

Wrap up the year with a better online presence!

Much of this may seem like common marketing sense but, this holiday season, online retailers will continue to do business against the backdrop of an increasingly competitive marketplace. Knowing how to choose the right top level domain will help you capitalise on the opportunities that do exist, which could make all the difference to your end-of-year bottom line.

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