Start a few weeks before the holidays
Visitors start searching before they arrive, often while planning the trip. Changes to your website and Google profile can take a little while to show up, so aim to tick these off by early December.
1. Check your site on your own phone
Open your website on your phone, ideally on mobile data rather than WiFi. Does it load quickly? Can you find your phone number, hours and location in a few seconds? Can you tap to call? If anything is fiddly, visitors will give up.
2. Update your holiday hours everywhere
Put your Christmas, New Year and holiday hours on your website, your Google Business Profile and social media, and make sure they all match. Wrong hours is one of the most common complaints in local reviews.
3. Make booking or ordering easy
If people can book, order or enquire online, make the button big and obvious on every page. If you take bookings by phone only, consider an enquiry form for after-hours planners.
4. Mention the places visitors search for
Visitors often search by landmark or area: “near Main Beach”, “Wallis Lake”, “Cape Hawke”, “Tuncurry breakwall”. If you are near something well known, say so naturally on your website.
5. Freshen up your photos
Replace old or dark photos with bright, recent ones. Show your space, your food, your boats or your rooms in summer light. Add a few to your Google profile as well.
6. Tell people what is on
Running a special, live music, extended hours or a new menu over summer? Add it to your homepage and post it on Google. It gives people a reason to choose you today.
7. Ask for reviews while it is busy
Summer is when you serve the most customers, so it is the best time to ask for reviews. A friendly sign at the counter or a text after a booking works well.
8. Make sure your forms actually work
Send yourself a test enquiry through your contact form. It is surprising how often forms quietly stop working, especially after hosting or email changes.
Quick win: put your phone number in the top corner of every page as a tap-to-call link. It is the most used button on most local websites in summer.
Need a hand before the rush?
If your website needs more than a tidy up, we can refresh it or build something new, and our hosting plans include updates so seasonal changes are easy. Get in touch and we will take a look.