Chase Jones, Marketing Manager, North America Small Business, PayPal
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If you’re like many small businesses, 
Optimize your website for mobile
On April 21st, 2015, Google changed the way it ranks websites in searches from mobile devices. The change boiled down to one factor: how well your site is optimized for mobile viewers. If your site isn’t optimized, it could mean that you now rank lower in mobile searches.
Don’t assume that your desktop website works just as well for mobile viewing. Pick up your phone and see how user-friendly it is. Google Developers has a mobile-friendly test you can take.1 If needed, look for a developer or third-party platform provider (such as BigCommerce) to help you launch a mobile-responsive experience.
Even doing small things, like putting your phone number at the top of your Home page so that shoppers can easily click to call, can be very effective at driving mobile sales.
Get a head start on your holiday sales strategy
Since you’re likely to see more traffic come through your website in the few weeks leading up to the holidays than you will all year, make sure you plan your marketing efforts appropriately.
Do Your Homework: Review your sales from last year. What were the big sellers? Which search keywords popped? Don’t know? Make it a priority to install tracking code and capture those metrics this year. It’s relatively simple to implement, and there are many good, free trackers. Beef Up Inventory: You know better than anyone else about lead times, especially for items coming from overseas. Place your orders now, so you’re well stocked for the holiday rush. Optimize for Search (SEO): Update your keywords for better search engine optimization, adding any product or category keywords you know will be hot sellers this year. If you have the budget for it, and are reasonably certain it will pay off, also consider putting some of your marketing dollars toward paid search campaigns. Create “Quick Navigation” Paths: While you should make sure your customers can easily navigate to any of the products they want, it can be especially profitable to include navigational elements (“quick links”) on your home page, linking shoppers directly to seasonal best-sellers. Build Buzz with Social Media: Don't forget to build holiday promotions into your social media efforts. Prepare a holiday promotion to launch on your Facebook page and Twitter account, offering special coupons for people who follow your social media efforts. Not only are you rewarding good behavior, your fans will be likely to pass on promotions and discount offers to their family and friends, bringing more first-time visitors to your website.
Get Your Website in Shape
Just like any brick-and-mortar store, your website must be ready to shepherd a crowd of shoppers through your front door, down the aisles, and to the register. For a website, that means quickly loading pages, easy-to-navigate sales paths, and a secure, glitch-free checkout process.
Test Your Infrastructure: Do a round of load testing to make sure servers can handle increases in traffic and transactions. Remember, page load time impacts not only the current visit, but future visits as well—not to mention search rankings. Clean Up Your Website: Do a survey of your website to see there are no broken images or hyperlinks. Would you shop for your holiday meal in an unkempt supermarket? Have an Emergency Plan: Make sure you have close-at-hand the phone numbers of your hosting and shopping cart providers, development team, and credit card processor. Just in case.
Think globally this year
“It is a small word after all” has never been more relevant than it is today. By leveraging free online tools and research on global trends, even small business owners can find success selling internationally.
Do More Homework: Learn the customs, duties, taxes and regulatory requirements of your targeted sales regions, which can allow you to position your products effectively and appropriately. Plus, stay on top of the product categories and brands that are hot overseas. Keep Shipping Costs Low: 47 percent of all online shoppers say that free shipping would make them more likely to purchase fro.... Consider the tradeoff between incurring shipping costs and the lifetime value of a new customer. Don’t go it alone: Leverage free resources and experts to help. PayPal’s PassPort—which helps small businesses learn about local customs, trends and shipping tips—can help make sure you’re up to speed on the latest global trade trends.
Finally, take some time to enjoy the summer, as well. Since there’s no need to tell you that the holiday season will be upon you sooner than you expect, make sure you’re well rested—and your business prepared—when it arrives.
1Google Webmaster Central Blog, February 26, 2015. http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2015/02/finding-more-mobile-friendly-search.html. The Google Developers site is provided for informational purposes and in no way represents an endorsement or approval by PayPal Inc.
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