Black Friday is right around the corner. Are you ready?

We’ve officially entered the final months of the year which means some of the biggest shopping days for most merchants are fast approaching. Where did the year go?

Are you ready?

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday need to be something you are thinking about. How are you preparing?

Here are a few ideas that may help get you in the right frame of mind.

Set a goal

Maybe last year you reached a specific dollar amount in sales that you want to surpass. Or perhaps you’ve been wanting to increase the average order value (AOV) by encouraging add-on products. Set a goal that’s achievable and yet a stretch.

Make updates to your Website

If you’ve been wanting to redesign your website, update content, change the photos or add a video, now’s the time. Folks will start to shop in November and you want their experience to be the best so they spend their money with you and not Amazon.

Make updates that impact SEO

Update your meta title and descriptions right away. Ensure your pictures all have alt text and upload your site map to Search Console. Search engines can take months to see the impact of your SEO changes so don’t delay. These need to be done at least 45-60 days in advance. So yes you’re at that deadline, but do it anyway. Do it now.

Test your checkout

Ensure customers can go through the entire process of making a purchase. Randomly pick a product and purchase it. If you run into any hiccups, fix it.

Setup email workflows

Create automated emails for abandon carts, campaigns, recommended products, and incentives. If you’ve already got these setup, check to make sure they are updated for the holiday season and include any promotions you’ll have running.

You’ve put a lot of hard work into your store this past year. Don’t waste peak retail sales months and start preparing for sales in your Shopify store.

A weak or subpar effort so far can be salvaged with a Website Rescue. It includes dozens of fixes that plague Shopify and will get your site ready for the holiday push.