10 Tips to Prepare E-Retailers for the 2011 Holiday Season

5. Perform stress tests on your internal systems. Make sure you have enough phone lines to handle the additional volume, manual order entry systems that work flawlessly, and production and warehouse operations that are ready and efficient.

6. Ramp up your advertising mix. Any productive dollar spent during the year will become more productive during the holiday season. One item to pay close attention to is cost-per-click (CPC) advertising. If you're using a firm to manage your CPC account, have it come up with a scheduled increase of your spend. This will allow you time to monitor and fine-tune the increases and make sure that you're investing in the right keywords.