Shopify store owners can always benefit from learning from market leaders, and in this post, we’re excited to share tips on getting the most out of Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) campaigns courtesy of Shop Circle co-founder Luca Cartechini and CTO Stefano Nada. 

First, Nada suggests store owners ensure their SEO rankings continue to perform well. There are many ways to make this happen, which could take up an entire e-book, but an overlooked area is often product descriptions.

To optimize product descriptions, you can consider:

• Adding high-quality unique images
• Including keywords
• Including keyword-rich descriptions
• Adding CTAs
• Including testimonials

Also, Nada recommends Shopify store owners relying on highly customized themes continue to iterate and experiment to determine if there are more ways to make those themes perform better for customers.  “Try reducing the overall page weight,” he says, “and always remember that more speed equals more conversions, even more so during high traffic events.”

As for the standout success story he has seen during BCFM, Nada points to Shopify itself.  “Shopify started a tradition to release, close to BFCM, an interactive real-time map of the activity on Shopify during this crazy moment,” he says, pointing to the map as a helpful guide that could help Shopify store owners predict the volume they might receive during the shopping period. 

Cartechini’s advice centers on preparing a calendar of promotions so you aren’t cheapening the effect of a major price drop, come BCFM. “Start planning for Black Friday now if you haven't started…This is the time to entice with coupon codes and special offers. Make sure you plan your content marketing, creative, copy, social campaigns, landing pages, blog posts, and discount codes well in advance to get sign-off and automate or schedule any rollout where you can.”

That preparation extends to guaranteeing your servers can handle a major traffic rush. “Even if you’re not anticipating a huge surge in visitors, you should get in touch with your hosting company ahead of time and make sure there’s a contingency plan in place if you get a sudden spike in traffic to make sure your website doesn’t go down,” he says. 

Lastly, he recommends store owners have their ducks all in a row, so to say, by finding the right apps that can benefit their business, no matter the kind of products or services they offer. 

Cartechini's recommended apps for a successful BFCM are:

• Order Tagger
• Conjured Referrals
• Opinew
• Back in Stock
• Countdown Sales Timer
• Shipping Rates Calculator Plus

‍