How to take advantage of a spike or increase in website traffic during the pandemic

Have you heard? There’s a global pandemic going on 😷

We’re now several weeks in and the initial shock over COVID-19 has passed… but now we’re faced with this “new normal” situation and everyone’s doing their best to figure out how to ride it out… and even make the most of it. Some even find themselves in the unexpected position to thrive!

Day to day life as we knew it is on hold and this pandemic has changed EVERYTHING for who knows how long. It’s an upheaval for everyone’s personal life but it also has direct implications on business, work, and finances too.

Everyone is at home, mostly indoors, and social distancing is in full swing. All I can say is thank goodness that spring is in the air and the flowers are starting to pop!

We’ve also seen a complete disruption of digital behaviour and the craziest thing is that it pretty much happened over night back in mid-March 2020! We’re all spending an insane amount of time online, basically glued to our screens, phones, laptops and TVs …. but not always in the ways that you might expect.

This situation means different things for different people, brands and businesses - and yes, that means your website and it’s traffic are going to look different from what you’re used to.

News flash: the pandemic has brought about a massive change in consumer habits and purchasing priorities, and that is seen especially clearly with people’s internet habits and what’s going on online.

For some industries and niches, the pandemic has brought a significant drop in website traffic and business. They’re taking a beating and every day is a struggle to stay afloat and figure out the best way to keep the lights on without going under. A drop in website traffic isn’t just a blow to the ego - it has a real impact on a business’s bottom line which affects real people and their families.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom for everyone!

This global pandemic has been a blessing and business for many industries and they’ve actually found that business is booming and better than ever!

You might have unexpectedly found yourself in this joyous situation and maybe you’re like, wow ok website traffic has spiked or majorly increase and business is thriving as a results! If you have, that’s awesome and I hope that you are able to make the most of this truly insane situation! I’m here to help you out as best as I can and share my tips and recommendations for fully taking advantage of this positive change in website traffic - for however long it lasts.

In this blog post, we’re going to go over what to do if your website’s traffic has spiked or increased because of COVID-19.

Whether you’re an independent content creator/blogger, a small business or brand, or a bigger company, I want you to take a step back and look at this increase in traffic & business with clear eyes and your head on straight. Now is your time to shine and truly hit the ground running so that you can make the most of this boom.

After you’ve read this post, I want you to feel like you have a plan and actionable steps that you can follow to max out your situation, and hopefully keep riding that higher website traffic and set your business up for future success.

How to add related products to your Squarespace website or online shop

Squarespace’s e-commerce platform is quickly becoming a powerhouse in the online space, and as a web designer/developer and digital product creator, this is great news!

It’s super easy to set up an online store or e-commerce shop on any Squarespace website - seriously, you can start selling products/services on your website in just a few clicks. The ease and functionality of Squarespace’s e-commerce platform has helped thousands of brands and businesses launch successfully, in all sorts of industries and niches.

As robust as Squarespace’s commerce platform is, however, there are still a few features that aren’t built in…yet. Certain features or display settings must be set up manually.

Adding related products is probably the the most common Squarespace commerce “hack” and it’s definitely the one I set up most often on my clients’ websites.

Whenever a brand or business sells products on their Squarespace website, I always recommend that they add related products to each product through the product description/summary field.

There are a few reasons for this but it comes down to two main benefits:

Improved user experience for the online shopper
Facilitating up-sells or cross-sales of other (related) products

Think about it: if someone is browsing your online shop for the first time and they’re interested in a particular item, don’t you want to make it dead simple for them to shop more related/relevant items? Heck yeah you do!

If you put the right items in front of them, stats show that you will increase the value of each order placed - meaning they’re more likely to purchase multiple items via your related item prompts than if they only saw the original product item. Not only does this improve the conversion rate of your website, it also brings in extra revenue.

Watch the video tutorial or read the blog post now, let’s take a look!

6 Q&As about Squarespace SEO for e-commerce websites and product based businesses

We’re back at it today with another round of Squarespace SEO Q&As that come directly from you, my readers and audience. But this time, our focus is on e-commerce and product based websites.

As a Squarespace designer and writer who blogs/creates a lot of online content about the topic, people have come to know and think of me as an expert in this (super small) niche of Squarespace SEO - heck, I literally created a whole course about it!. I don’t say this to #humblebrag but to let you know that thousands of people find my website every month through Google searches about “Squarespace SEO” and they usually end up sticking around and asking more questions. I want to share some of those real life questions about Squarespace SEO that have landed in my inbox recently, mostly coming from my newsletter subscribers (you guys are the best!).

You know how they say that there’s no such thing as a dumb question? I truly believe there isn’t - everyone starts out as a clueless beginner, a total newbie who has no idea what they’re doing. We only improve and get better by asking questions, learning as we go and seeking information from people who are a few steps ahead of us.

That’s why I’m so excited to share these real crowd-sourced Squarespace SEO questions with you today. I know that if one person is taking the time to ask the question, there are plenty of other people who have the same question but are too shy to hit ‘send’ on that email to me. I hope that many people can benefit from these answers and see that they aren’t alone in their questions!

How Analytics Can Improve The Ecommerce Customer Experience

Consumers are BORED.

SICK AND TIRED

of being marketed to — but they will happily share a positive customer experience with friends and family — and “as many as 89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience.” (source).

So how does the world of data and analytics intersect with the online customer experience? What can organizations, retailers, and individuals glean from analytics to help them form more meaningful and long-term bonds with clients and customers?

Here are key ways in which analytics can be fed back into your customer experience during multiple stages of the customer journey.

Tech TipsCharlotte O'HaraFebruary 5, 2018ecom, ecommerce, squarespace commerce, squarespace tips, shopify, Analytics, Squarespace analytics, goog, keywordsComment

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