Consumers might raise their eyebrows when Christmas tinsel hits the store aisles before Halloween, but there’s a reason why the holiday goods start showing up long before the first snow falls. The late November/early December shopping season is when most retailers see their yearly sales move into the black. Ensuring success in those crucial final weeks of the year, however, requires more than stocking products early. E-tailers, in particular, can take strategic action today to make sure 2011 closes profitably.

Want to increase conversions this holiday season? Start on this to-do list now:

1. Predict and optimize search terms: Poll your customer service reps. about the specific requests they’re getting, and analyze the long-tail keywords that lead visitors to your site. Listen to your customers, and adapt your tags accordingly for better SEO.

2. Add VeriShow call buttons to landing pages and banner ads: Don’t wait for prospects to reach your site; find them on the websites where they’re researching products and comparing prices. With a multimedia chat-enabled call button in a well-placed ad on a review site, for example, you can connect with a consumer and convert her regardless of whether she ever browses your site.

3. Offer video chats and product co-browsing with personal shoppers and gift specialists. When you free your sales reps. to provide guidance on gift selection, you win the loyalty of stressed-out shoppers.

4. Sell more and escalate high-priority, high-value customers. Train your customer service teams to recognize customers who present high sales value potential, then escalate their chat sessions to one-on-one video. Offer these VIPs one-of-a-kind inventory reviews via a live video feed. Use your real-time, multimedia chat features to prove that the online shopping experience can rival that of the finest brick-and-mortar stores.

Industry forecasters have projected a banner year for holiday online shopping in 2011. Making the most of that projection will require some effort. Website owners should prepare now to reap greater returns in November and December.