How to Get Your eCommerce Business Black Friday Ready

Black Friday can feel like the World Cup for eCommerce businesses. It’s a day of massive traffic, huge sales potential, and intense competition. Success doesn’t happen by accident, it’s the result of careful planning and strategic execution that starts before the first customer clicks “add to basket.” This guide will walk you through how to get your business ready, covering when to start and what channels to focus on for maximum impact.

When Should You Start Preparing for Black Friday?

Getting ready for Black Friday should ideally start as early as possible, but your exact timing will depend on the size of your business and the number of products you want to promote. For many eCommerce businesses, kicking off your preparations about a month before the big day is the sweet spot. This gives you enough time to refresh your website, line up marketing campaigns, and sort out your inventory without feeling rushed. Smaller stores with fewer products might be able to move faster, while larger retailers or those managing hundreds of SKUs will need to plan further in advance to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

It’s also becoming more common for businesses to launch their Black Friday deals up to a week ahead of the traditional date. Starting early helps capture shoppers who are eager to snag deals before the rush and spreads out the surge in orders, reducing pressure on your fulfilment and customer support teams. Early sales also help you stand out from competitors waiting for the official day, and give you time to adjust offers based on initial response.

Refresh Your Product and Category Pages

Your website serves as your digital storefront, especially during Black Friday, when it needs to shine brighter than ever. To earn customer trust and drive conversions, providing an exceptional user experience is essential. Start by refreshing your category pages and updating your product descriptions. Consider adding an FAQ section to address common concerns, highlight new features and benefits, and include any information that can help buyers make quick decisions. High-quality, professional images are a must, and if possible, adding videos to showcase your products in action can be a game-changer for hesitant shoppers.

As you prepare for Black Friday, think about what potential customers will be searching for. Instead of simply typing “Black Friday deals” into search engines, they often use specific, intent-driven phrases such as “best gifts for dads,” “wireless headphone Black Friday deals,” or “vegan skincare gift sets under £50.” Consider creating blog posts or gift guides that target these long-tail keywords. For instance, a post titled “Top 10 Black Friday Tech Deals for 2025” or “The Ultimate Vegan Skincare Gift Guide for Black Friday” can start ranking in search results just in time for the shopping frenzy.

When you add new content and refresh old material, remember to optimise everything for Black Friday. Integrate relevant keywords throughout your site, particularly on product or category pages featuring these deals. Additionally, consider creating a new category page dedicated solely to Black Friday deals. On this page, you can optimise it with relevant keywords associated with Black Friday.

To build trust and enhance conversions, prominently display customer reviews for your products. Shoppers are more likely to make a purchase when they see genuine feedback from others. Make it easy for customers to leave reviews, and consider gathering testimonials on platforms like Google and Trustpilot to boost your credibility. Reviews not only reassure potential buyers but also help improve your SEO, allowing your site to rank higher during this competitive shopping event.

As you get ready for Black Friday, use this checklist to give your product and category pages a competitive edge:

• Refresh meta titles with phrases like “sale” or “Black Friday Deal”.
• Update meta descriptions to highlight timely offers.
• Optimise on-page content for clarity and relevant keywords.
• Refresh product descriptions with benefits and up-to-date information.
• Add clear, descriptive alt text to images for improved SEO.
• Add new, high-quality images and videos to better showcase products.
• Include an FAQ section if common customer questions arise.
• Create a space for customers to leave reviews directly on your page.
• Encourage customers to leave Google and Trustpilot reviews.

Amazon Advertising

A great platform to market your products during Black Friday is Amazon, as they introduced the holiday to the UK.

Refresh Your Amazon Listings

If you do not currently have Amazon listings for your products, we recommend creating them. Treat your Amazon product listings with the same care as your own website, by refreshing your content specific to Amazon’s search engine.

• Titles: Amazon’s search algorithm heavily weighs the title. Include your main keywords, brand, product type, key features (like material or size), and colour. Make it descriptive and easy to read.
• Bullet Points: Use the bullet points to highlight the most important benefits and features. Think like a customer: what would convince you to buy? Mention warranty (if applicable), materials, key uses, and what problem it solves.
• A+ Content: If you are a brand-registered seller, use A+ Content (Enhanced Brand Content) to add rich images and text to your product description. This is your chance to tell your brand story and visually showcase your product in action, which can significantly increase conversion rates.

• Backend Keywords: Fill out the backend search term fields with keywords you couldn’t fit into your title or bullet points. Include synonyms, related terms, and common misspellings.
• Reviews: Products that have great reviews seem to float to the top. Try to get reviews on your products.

Create Compelling Amazon Ads

A powerful tool for getting in front of motivated buyers is Amazon Advertising. This could help you get a few more sales, as Amazon will prioritise your products.

• Sponsored Products: These ads appear in search results and on product detail pages. Focus your budget on your top-performing products and those with the best Black Friday offers. Use both automatic campaigns (to discover new keywords) and manual campaigns (to target specific, high-converting keywords).
• Sponsored Brands: These ads feature your brand logo, a custom headline, and multiple products. Use them to drive traffic to your Amazon Storefront or a custom landing page featuring your Black Friday deals. A headline like “Save up to 40% on Your Brand’s Winter Collection” can be very effective.
• Sponsored Display: These ads can retarget shoppers who have viewed your products but didn’t purchase, both on and off Amazon. This is perfect for reminding potential customers about your deals during the peak shopping week.

Start your campaigns before Black Friday to gather data and optimise your bids. As the day approaches, be prepared to increase your daily budgets to stay competitive.

Meta Ads

Another excellent platform to market your products during Black Friday is Facebook and Instagram. These platforms serve as discovery tools where you can create demand and encourage impulse purchases.

Warm Up Your Audiences

Don’t wait until Black Friday to start running ads. Use October and early November to run brand awareness and engagement campaigns. Share valuable content, run contests, or promote your gift guides. The goal is to build warm audiences of people who have engaged with your brand. These audiences are people who have watched your videos, liked your posts, or visited your website and will convert at a much higher rate when you show them your Black Friday offers.

Use Dynamic Product Ads

If you have a large product catalogue, Dynamic Product Ads are essential. These ads automatically show products to people who have viewed them on your website. For Black Friday, you can create a specific catalogue of sale items and serve ads that highlight the discount. Seeing an ad for the exact product they were considering, now with a 30% discount, is a powerful motivator.

Craft Scroll-Stopping Creatives

The Meta feed is a crowded space. Your creative needs to stand out. Use high-quality video, eye-catching carousels, and clear, bold text overlays. Make the offer unmissable. A simple graphic stating “Black Friday: 50% Off Everything” is often more effective than a subtle, artistic image. Test different creatives and copy combinations early to see what resonates with your audience.

Google Ads

When shoppers know what they want, they go to Google. Your Google Ads campaigns need to be perfectly tuned to capture this high-intent traffic.

Structure Your Campaigns for Black Friday

Create separate campaigns specifically for Black Friday. This gives you greater control over budgets, bidding, and ad copy. You can easily switch these campaigns on before the event and off afterwards without disrupting your year-round “business as usual” campaigns.

Use ad extensions to make your ads more prominent and informative. Sitelink extensions can direct users to your main deals page, specific categories, or gift guides. Price extensions can showcase specific product deals directly in the ad, while promotion extensions highlight your special offers, like “30% off all knitwear.”

Optimise Your Bidding and Budget

Competition on Google Ads skyrockets during Black Friday, and so do costs-per-click (CPCs). Be prepared to increase your daily budgets significantly to avoid having your campaigns stop running midday. Consider using Smart Bidding strategies like Target ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) or Maximise Conversion Value. These automated strategies use machine learning to adjust your bids in real-time to help you get the most value from your ad spend.

Write Compelling Ad Copy

Your ad copy should create a sense of urgency and clearly state the offer. Include your Black Friday keywords in the headlines and description. Phrases like “Limited Time,” “Ends Monday,” or “While Stocks Last” encourage immediate action.

For example, a headline could be “Black Friday Sneaker Sale – Up to 50% Off,” followed by a description that mentions free shipping and highlights the limited-time nature of the deal.

Email Marketing

Your email list is one of your most valuable assets. It’s a direct line to an audience that already knows and trusts you.

Build Anticipation and Segment Your List

Start teasing your Black Friday deals in early November. Create a sense of excitement with “sneak peek” emails. You could even offer early access to your VIP customers, those who have purchased frequently or spent the most. This not only rewards loyalty but also helps you spread out demand and test your website’s stability before the main rush.

Segment your audience based on past purchase behaviour, engagement, or interests. A customer who has only ever bought menswear shouldn’t receive emails promoting your womenswear deals. Personalised emails that cater to a subscriber’s specific interests will always perform better than a generic “blast to all” campaign.

Craft Irresistible Offers and Emails

Your email design should be clean, mobile-friendly, and focused on the offer. Use a strong, clear call-to-action (CTA) button like “Shop The Sale” or “Claim My 30% Off.” Create a sense of urgency with countdown timers that show how much time is left on the offer.

Plan a sequence of emails for the entire Black Friday weekend:

1. The Teaser: Sent a week before, hinting at what’s to come.
2. The Early Access: Sent to your VIP list a day before the main sale.
3. The Launch: Sent the morning of Black Friday as soon as the sale goes live.
4. The Reminder: Sent on Black Friday evening to those who haven’t purchased yet.
5. The Extension: An email for Cyber Monday, perhaps with a slightly different offer.

Need Help with Your Black Friday Promotion?

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping events of the year, and we’re here to help you make the most of it. Whether you need expert SEO strategies to boost your search rankings, PPC campaigns to drive targeted traffic, or tailored advertising solutions to maximise your reach, our team has you covered.

Let us take the stress out of your Black Friday marketing so you can focus on what matters most. Get in touch with our experts today.

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