Cyber Monday is around the Corner!

The holidays are here, and the big push for revenue for businesses begins with Black Friday. This has become an event that I liken to a circus-like atmosphere, with shoppers camped out THE WEEK BEFORE that Friday, or getting up at 3 AM to stand in line outside the doors of Best Buys and Walmarts around the country, and store shelves emptying before breakfast is served in most households. This happening is for your brick-and-mortar merchants, but what about internet shopping? That is where Cyber Monday comes in.

The term “Cyber Monday” was first coined in November of 2005, according to Michael Saba of Paste Magazine, by the National Retail Federation, the self proclaimed “world’s largest retail trade association and voice of retail worldwide. NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad.” This is, according to Saba, “the year’s most lucrative day of e-commerce. Naturally, that translates into big discounts when you buy online; a raft of big-name online retailers are slashing prices, tossing in free shipping and offering myriad other perks to get people to spend their shopping money online in these lean times.”’

According to Wikipedia, this new shopping holiday seemed to be a natural extension of the market. “The name Cyber Monday grew out of the observation that millions of otherwise productive working Americans, fresh off a Thanksgiving weekend of window shopping, were returning to high-speed Internet connections at work Monday and buying what they liked."^[6] This is backed up by the numbers. “In 2010, comScore^[3] reported that consumers spent $102.8M online on Cyber Monday (excluding travel, 2009: $887M), the highest spending day of 2010. Cyber Monday has become an international marketing term used by online retailers in Canada, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany and New Zealand.”

The advantage of shopping online for your potential customers is not just being able to stay home and sit in their pajamas or on lunchtime at work with a laptop. The shopper has the ability to swiftly compare prices, and take advantage of special offers online. Other benefits include such things as free shipping or delivery, free coupons for future shopping, as well as saving money on gas and parking in a lot 300 yards from the store entrance. According to Superpages.com, other benefits include:

Find customer reviews easily: Christmas Internet shopping allows you to find customer reviews easily, as you can simply search for reviews for a certain retailer.

Easy to find gifts that go well together: online shopping makes it extremely easy to find gifts that go well together, as many websites recommend related items when you purchase a certain product.

For our advertisers, this is one of the best opportunities to help you build your business. We have spoken at length about optimizing your campaigns and websites, and to be prepared for the season. This is now the moment to see if your diligence will pay off. Some things to consider before this weekend:

What are you able to offer that your competitors are not? Since your visitors are able to quickly compare sites, you should display anything that makes your site convenient, inviting, and cost effective. Is it free shipping? Is it a time sensitive deal? Can you create, perhaps, a two for one offer, or a chance to save money on future shopping? Do some research and check out your competitors. Have they created offers and ad copy that you find attractive? Do they seem to be ahead of the game? If so, take a second look at your efforts. Why should someone choose you?

How are you delivering your message? So you’ve crafted your Cyber specials. Now you have to spread the news. You have a campaign in place, so what needs to happen to deliver the message? You should update your ad title and description, in order to craft your pitch. Perhaps it’s time to add custom descriptions and titles at the keyword level in order to add an extra sales pitch, for specific products.

Are you using social media to help drive your traffic? You should take time to update your Facebook fan page or Twitter account to reflect your message. If you are using other outside tools to help build your business, now is the time to make final preparations.

Are you locked and loaded? If you are hoping to absorb a lot of traffic, you might take a look at your balance. You don’t want to be caught with a negative balance, allowing your campaign to go on hold, and then having to climb to regain your spot. Take some time to make sure you are budgeted through Tuesday morning.

7Search wishes you luck this weekend. Be sure to check in with us with your PPC needs.