Autumn is when customers start searching online again: for a year-end menu, a present, a last appointment before the holidays. For a local business, these are the weeks in which a few small things on your website and your Google profile make the difference between a full and a half-empty calendar. No major overhaul needed, just a quick check. Below are the points that pay off most.
Get your opening hours and closing days right
Nothing is as annoying as a customer standing at a closed door because Google still shows your regular hours. Adjust your opening hours for the holidays, both on your website and in your Google Business Profile, and add the closing days explicitly. Google has a separate field for special hours. Do it now, so you are not typing away in the last week with the phone ringing off the hook.
Make your offer easy to find and instantly clear
People looking for something for the holidays decide quickly. So put your year-end offer up front: a menu, a gift voucher, a seasonal promotion, whatever it is. State clearly how to order or book and until when. A customer who needs two clicks to find out whether they can buy a gift voucher from you is one you have almost lost already.
Test everything on your phone
Most visitors come via their phone in this period, often in a hurry, often on the move. Go through your own site on your phone as if you were a customer:
- Is your phone number at the top, and can you tap it to call straight away?
- Can you find the opening hours and the address within a few seconds?
- Does the contact or order form work smoothly, without hiccups?
- Does the page load quickly, even on a slow connection?
Show that you are ready
A fresh photo, a short message that you are open during the holidays or taking orders, a word of thanks to your customers: it costs little and it builds trust. In December, people like to choose a business that looks polished and present. And feel free to ask happy customers for a review; this is exactly the period in which the next customer reads them most carefully.
No time to take this on as well? We get your website and your Google profile in shape for the rush, quickly and without fuss. A message to info@othala.be is all it takes.