Holiday Gift Guides: 5 Reasons to Add One to Your E-Commerce Website

American consumers are set to spend almost $800 each on holiday gifts this year. They are welcoming suggestions for where to spend those dollars. In fact, more than half of shoppers want, and use, guidance from retailers to help them choose the presents they buy.

If that statistic alone isn’t enough to get you started compiling a list of your e-commerce website’s best products, consider these reasons to make a holiday gift guide a part of your site.

An e-commerce website’s holiday gift guide builds brand awareness.

When consumers are ready to buy gifts for the holiday season, you want them to come to you. The problem is that there are so many other e-commerce websites to choose from. Many consumers will only be drawn to your brand if they have been given a reason. This is where the gift guide comes in.

With some shoppers beginning their gift research as soon as October, you have the chance to catch their attention early. Be at the top of their mind by putting a gift guide on your e-commerce website. By providing guides that consumers find helpful, informative, and relevant, chances are they will come back to you when they are ready to buy.

So what kind of gift guide is likely to stick in shoppers’ minds? Something that contains items that are relevant to the people they are buying for. Furthermore, offer products within their price ranges. Consider including a gift guide, or several, that do not just serve as a collection of products but that are focused on certain groups. Targeted lists for spouses or children are often popular. Offer products at a range of prices to appeal to your target audience’s budget and needs.

An e-commerce website’s holiday gift guide simplifies decision-making.

Even early shoppers, the ones who do not wait until the last 10 days before Christmas still do not want to spend hours tracking down the perfect gift. As a result, they may enjoy a gift guide that serves as a gateway to early decision-making. 

Now, instead of needing to research multiple websites to find the right gifts for their intended recipients, consumers can use your gift guide to narrow down their options. If your e-commerce website’s gift guide is well put together, it will offer a selection of appealing products that your target audience can see themselves purchasing (and their recipients enjoying). You are more likely to make a sale if you can offer them great items while saving them time on decision-making.

An e-commerce website’s holiday gift guide provides gifting inspiration.

Occasionally, people are just plain hard to shop for. This can be because they are picky about what they enjoy or because they already have everything they need. Sometimes, it is because they refuse to share a wish list with their family and friends. Often, these folks are the last ones shoppers buy for.

Providing consumers with gifting inspiration, especially for these difficult recipients, is a good way to earn some sales for your e-commerce website. Your gift guide should serve as a place where consumers can get great ideas for even their hardest buys. For example, consider creating a gift guide for “the person who has everything,” or “gifts no one will want to return.”  

Use your own creativity, and your own impressive stock of products, to build gift guides that inspire consumers by meeting them at their pain points. Offer unique, workable gifting solutions with your suggestion list. When people can depend on your company to come through in the gift ideas department, they will come to you willing to spend their money on your products and services.

An e-commerce website’s holiday gift guides help its SEO.

Including a holiday gift guide on your e-commerce website isn’t just about making life easier for the consumer. These guides can also be a boon for you, as they boost your search engine optimization performance around the holiday season.

The primary way these guides do this is that they offer plenty of content that can be optimized for your holiday keywords. This material makes it easier for search engines to find your website, link it to your products and services. Search engines see it as valuable information that searchers should have. With a strong holiday gift guide, you can improve your chances of gaining visibility for your e-commerce website in search results.

An e-commerce website’s holiday gift guide improves email campaigns.

Finally, an e-commerce website’s holiday gift guides can improve the productivity and profitability of a company’s email campaigns. In fact, email campaigns that include links to gift guides enjoy a higher transaction rate than those that do not.

Linking to a gift guide in your emails is one way to encourage people to click through your email to your website. They may find your holiday deals attractive. The promise of easy access to a curated list of gifts may convince them to check out your brand. After all, time-saving techniques for scoring great holiday products are an irresistible draw during the holiday season.

Holiday gift guides can serve as an effective addition to an e-commerce website. Thanks to the benefits they offer consumers, guides put your business front of mind for shoppers ready to buy. They also ease decision-making and provide inspiration. Guides help your website’s SEO efforts and improve email campaigns. Consequently, this will also improve your visibility and your bottom line over the holiday season.

If you need assistance creating a holiday gift guide or preparing your e-commerce website for the next month of shopping, please reach out to WEBii. We can develop a plan for your site that maximizes your profitability throughout December and beyond.