Shoppers spent a phenomenal £5billion (£208 the average spend per person) on online products in the 10-week lead up to Christmas.

£653million was spent online in the week commencing December 5, representing the peak of the transactions. The weeks before and after, however, still saw spending of £584million. IMRG forecasts a remarkable 36% increase in 2006.

• Email
  It's a good idea to plan your email calendar in advance, like an editor of a newspaper or magazine. That way you can plan for seasonal events that are pertinent to your industry.

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
  Create rich content related to seasonal events. Sites that offer gifts might think about optimising pages for specific times of year ie: Christmas! Whatever content you create it should be powerful enough to convert visitors into customers. Find out how we can build festive SEO into your online marketing plan.

• Pay Per Click / online advertising
  Think about phrases around seasons that relate to your products. For instance "Christmas wreath" or "romantic valentine break" and build your PPC plan. Alternatively utilise the services of a PPC expert who can ensure that you target the very best phrases at the best price.
• Link building
  Strike up partnerships with suppliers for both online and offline marketing events. Add a page to your site that links to useful, relevant third-party sites and ask them to link to your web site. This can be updated throughout the year. However it's important to make sure that you acquire good links.
• Viral marketing
  Spread festive cheer by creating something that people will want to tell their friends about. Whether it's an email newsletter, a special offer, online competition or a game.

• New year's resolutions
• Valentines
• Birthdays
• Easter
• School holidays and back to school events
• Summer holidays
• Spring holidays
• Winter holidays
• Autumn holidays
• Bonfire night
• Halloween
• Xmas