Picture this: A customer is traveling through West Palm Beach this month. She’s got her handbag over one shoulder, a boarding pass in one hand, and is scrolling through her phone with the other. As she waits in line with her carry-on luggage, she’s looking for a massage, wax, and facial combo package at a med spa near the airport, planning to have it all done before her flight back home tomorrow afternoon.
Businesses with seasonal peaks know how to capitalize on increased customer interest. Property management businesses see an uptick from out-of-town owners preparing for their return, med spas receive high-intent requests before weddings, boat detailers are slammed during holiday get-togethers, etc. But how can seasonal businesses make sure they’re able to convert increased interest into booked jobs and sales?
Mobile Readiness
During peak season, most of your website interactions are going to be from a mobile device. Whether your customer is in the queue at the airport, transporting their luggage from the terminal to their ride, relaxing in their hotel bed, or waiting on the dock, they’re going to be reaching for their phone and will need a frictionless experience on your website to get what they need.
- Can they quickly find out what services you offer without digging through complex navigation or lengthy intro paragraphs?
- Is your phone number tappable? Are all of your primary buttons and links sized appropriately (minimum 44×44 pixels)?
- When they reach your contact form, can they easily tap through the questions? Can they select options from dropdowns without mistapping adjacent content?
Seasonal Service Pages
For example, seasonal residents who have been away from West Palm Beach for months might be interested in an overview of their property before they unlock the front door. Med spas might have packages and treatments that are popular before weddings, family reunions, fundraising galas, etc. Boat detailers might promote full detailing in the run-up to holiday parties and get-togethers on the water. Studio 47 Web Design can help these businesses showcase seasonal offers and timely services online, ensuring their promotions reach the right audience at the right moment.
- If you’ve been promoting a seasonal page for years, is the information still accurate and helpful? Is the page too long? Can you break it into sections that make sense? Can you cut some of the copy? Can you add new photos of your work? Can you make it easier to contact you?
- If this is a new page, does it need to replace an old page that covers similar services? Will this page get confused with a permanent “services” page? Consider linking seasonal pages from existing service pages.
- On both seasonal and evergreen service pages, make sure you’ve answered questions about what happens after someone asks about your services. Do they need to schedule a consultation? Are there particular considerations or recovery time after receiving service? How far ahead can people make an appointment? Can they get the service anywhere in Florida, or just in West Palm Beach? What’s a great option for first-timers?
- On both seasonal and evergreen service pages, make sure you’ve optimized them for SEO (https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo). There’s no formulaic list of keywords to include in your H1, although it helps to be descriptive, but it does help to organize your service pages in a way that’s easy to scan, write service descriptions that are easy to understand, and provide clear paths to book.
Forms and Site Checks
Forms that ask for job specifics are helpful to get ahead of questions you’d otherwise need to chase down after a customer reaches out. This saves your team precious time that can be redirected to answering questions and closing jobs. Generic fields like “Tell us about your project” require additional legwork and cause frustrating delays that might convince customers to try someone else. However, cramming every question onto a form could scare away casual browsers who just want to inquire about availability. How can you find the right balance?
- What information do you need to provide an estimate or move forward? A boat detailing business might ask for boat length, boat type, marina, detailing services needed, date(s) needed, photos, name, phone, email, and preferred method of contact. That’s a lot of information, but it’s necessary to provide a quote.
- Can you explain anything that might confuse them? For example, if your business requires on-site inspections before finalizing a quote, explain this on the form so customers aren’t expecting to book the job during their initial inquiry. If you’re not taking bookings less than 24 hours in advance, share this policy.
- Once they hit “submit,” what happens? Can you customize the confirmation to clarify the next steps? Can you share your typical response time, anything they should do to prepare, etc.?
Website Audit
Chances are, you are in the lull of your business right now because it is a perfect time to make updates, ask for help, or book a website audit to make sure your site is primed and polished before customers flood in. Here are some things to double-check before peak season:
- Are any of your prices or hours out of date? Are any of your team’s bios missing? Can all of your forms be successfully submitted? Do you have any duplicate or similar pages that might confuse customers? Are your confirmation emails still going to the right place? Click this page to learn more.
- Do you have a plan for seasonal or promotional pages, as they will need an update next year, or can they redirect to evergreen service pages after peak season?
Start small by identifying your top three most-viewed pages that drive traffic during peak season, browsing them on your phone, and submitting a test inquiry. Need more help prepping your website? Reach out.
