Today we share an insightful article recently posted by About.com’s Ana Rincon, one of our favorite small business experts.

The article, “Ten Tips to Increase Online Holiday Sales”, runs down ten important pieces of info to remember when getting your site ready for the holiday shopping rush.

Remember, the holiday shopping season usually starts around Thanksgiving, and that’s barely a month away. It’s never too soon to prepare for holiday shoppers, and the heavy traffic they bring with them. With that in mind, here are the article’s highlights:

1. Plan to add a touch of holiday spirit to your site. By this I mean one or two graphic elements — enough to remind shoppers that your site is a good place for gifts, but not so much that the graphics detract from usability.

2. If you use affiliate partners to sell your products, provide them with holiday themed banners and buttons. These can link directly to one of your special holiday promotions.

3. Do you offer gift certificates? If not, see if you can. Although they can be issued online, many people prefer to give a physical certificate presented in a special envelope.

4. Do you offer gift wishlists? Many people shop for themselves and give their loved ones suggestions.

5. Categorize your products to make shopping for gifts easier. Use titles like “For Her,” “For Him,” “Gifts under $50,” “Holiday Specials,” etc.

6. Communicate well with customers, both on your site, and through e-mail. Many will need reassurance that their gifts will arrive on time. Others are apprehensive about the entire online experience. Be especially clear about shipping times, fees, and return policies.

7. Consider investing in additional advertising and promotion. It’s easy to buy and manage Google Adwords.

8. Do you publish an e-mail newsletter? Get an issue out at least 5 weeks before the December holidays to encourage your existing customers to shop with you. This is a great tool for promoting special holiday gift offers as well.

9. Gift wrapping and gift receipts (that don’t show a price) are thoughtful features to add. This makes it easier for buyers to have gifts shipped directly to recipients - good for last minute shoppers.

10. Fine-tune and test your site. This is not the time to frustrate your customers with slow loading pages, error messages, or broken links.

As always, good advice from a smart source. Check out the original article here.