Forum Moderators: buckworks
I've had a website up since last September. I have valid HTML and have previously enjoyed great Google rankings for my keywords. Unfortunately I've not had any sales yet and I'm in the process of re-evaluating things. I'm wondering what the best strategy is.
I've seen an increase in hits to my site - after filtering out things and looking at just page views. I went from 15 pages views a day to an average of 60 page views daily. My page views seem to be doubling every three months. I have a newsletter that no one has subscribed to yet, polls with very little activity and little activity in my Guestbook. I have added a free sample offer for my product. I can accept credit card payments through a secure server. I've been steadily adding reciprocal links and I'm amazed at the numbers of webmasters who don't respond to my request even after I've had their link on my pages for about three months.
Some of the things I'm considering is a printable order form, an eBay store, actual photographs of my products (I currently use a graphic representation since my product is graphic in nature), and a database of products versus static pages.
One thing I know I need to do and I'm still grappling with is how to get my visitors to come back. I realize I need to offer something of value to them such as a forum or a free service. I also need to be more vocal in newsgroups and to act as a resource to others. I've seen this approach on other websites and wondered if any of you saw an increase in sales as a result of this method.
My widgets are often made by others so I would be looking for traffic from people wanting completed widgets. My prices are very reasonable considering what it costs to make a widget. I seem to be getting just lookers to my site.
My questions:
Should I be striving for more hits to my site and could this be a reason why I've had no orders? Are my hits considered "low" for an eCommerce site?
How can I get my visitors to interact more with my site so I know they are out there - other than through my logs? I would really like to see some activity in my Guestbook, newsletter and polls. I hate to resort to self-modifying these areas to give the illusion that my site is "busy."
On a positive note: I'm getting good feedback/orders locally for my products so I know there is interest.
Thanks for any advice!
actual photographs of my products (I currently use a graphic representation since my product is graphic in nature)
Good idea. We discussed using images to improve sales of your product here:
[webmasterworld.com...]
database of products versus static pages
Personally I prefer static pages (or static looking pages) but I've heard of users having success using dynamic URLs there were not complex. By "not complex" I mean there were only one or two variables in the URL and was not overly long.
I've been steadily adding reciprocal links and I'm amazed at the numbers of webmasters who don't respond to my request even after I've had their link on my pages for about three months.
Have you checked the stats on the outbound links? Are you losing potential customers via the websites that you're linking to?
I don't link out period, but if I wanted to do a reciprocal linking campaign, I would never give a link out until I had agreed with the other site for a reciprocal. They have no reason to respond to you - you've already given them a link.
Ask first, and then if they agree - put their link up.
TJ
I'm getting good feedback/orders locally for my products so I know there is interest.
Ask permission from your customers to put their feedback/comment on your web site and make a customer testimonials page.
I am fairly new to all this so take these opinions with a grain of salt.
Sales to visitors can vary alot depending on the nature of the site. My site started as an informational site and is fairly broad in nature so I am targeting about a 0.5% conversion(i think that figure has bounced around, as a "common rate") around as an 1 sale out of 200 visitors. Still not there after 6 months of work on the site. Remember pageviews overstate visitors, do they view 2,3 or 10 pages. Adjusting my site has bumped the conversion rate up but in small increments. I have not found anything to be a silver bullet.
On links opinions vary greatly, on my site about 14% visit my link pages. maybe 10% exit that way. But I get 10%-15% of my visitors from outside links. So a trade off with benefits to my visitors.
I would normally say that good quality pictures are critical, but it sounds like maybe not in your case.
Do you have a sample of your newsletter posted?
Are people visiting that page?
My 2 cents for now.
I feel pretty confident that I'm on the right track since my repeat visitor has increased slowly and my visitors are increasing. A sale would really boost my confidence! I'd better not quit my day job!
I'm curious about whether to do more in the area of directory listings but need to research this more.
First off, is this one widget all you sell?
If so diversification of your product line might be a good option.
Second, is there much competition for your widget?
If there is, are you the best? Check out the prices and the presentation of all your competitors. Do you have the best price?
Do you have the most comprehensive information available?
Starting a small CPC program might help as well. Goto (overture) was a huge help to us in the very begining, and then Google Adwords pushed us up to a new level. One where we were comfortable enough to focus on SEO and stop spending all that money.
Best of luck,
Will
A couple of questions for you:
Hope this gives you some ground for thoughts.
Leo
Good luck!
It is frustrating sometimes not being able to post specifics about our websites but overall we still all manage to understand each other!
palmpal
I've offered free samples but still need to increase the perceived value - more photos?
What is a CPC program?
Thanks,
Palmpal
Keywords may actually be part of the problem. The "lingo" used in my keywords is actually the same verbage that the do-it-yourselfers would use to look for "ideas" to do their own widgets.
I had mentioned this previously and received good advice. In a nutshell, I should take advantage of people who get to my site by any means and try to give them something they would want. The problem with this theory is that many visitors are looking for inspiration - not completed widgets. See the problem? I've already done an article about how my widgets could seamlessly co-exist with their widgets. I don't want to branch off into offering "supplies" for the do-it-yourselfers because there is tremendous competition in this area and it is not what my product is all about. I really need to find a better way to properly target my keywords - to people who like the look of widgets but don't have the time to do it themselves.
Any advice on how to properly target keywords?
My traffic is primarily from people looking for inspiration to complete their own widgets.
I believe my site looks professional. I used my graphic design ability to create my webpages in pleasing colors and a nice layout. Webmaster World helped me create valid HTML and a valid CSS!
"Why not having another way of buying widgets from your site, through a renoun online store or mall." - Thanks for the idea! I had a feeling that having a directory presence would be my next step.
Palmpal
That's a great idea to publish the newsletter in two phases - first to the subscribers and then later to the website visitors. I could offer my promos to the subscriber base only as a way to get people to sign up. I've continued to publish a newsletter to my family members who signed up - just to stick to my schedule also.
Thanks again - everyone on WW is so willing to help!
Palmpal
FYI: I actually had an email today from someone inquiring about one of my widgets and a potential order!
Should I be striving for more hits to my site and could this be a reason why I've had no orders? Are my hits considered "low" for an eCommerce site?
60 page views/day is nothing, it could mean 20 people per day viewing 3 pages each. I don't think you can draw any conclusions on 20-60 visitors per day.
I would concentrate in increasing the number of visitors first.
At the same time, you can also get some targeted traffic using Google Adwords to see how your site converts. I don't know your product, but if you are lucky you might be able to get clicks as low as 5 cents. For $100 you can get 2000 visitors to your site - then it will be easier to see how well it converts.
What is a CPC program?
CPC = Cost per Click
Paid keyword advertising. Look to Overture and Google Adwords. There are terrific forums here discussing each.
still need to increase the perceived value - more photos?
Good images are a strong factor, but make sure they are lightweight (fast load time). Adobe Photoshop 6-7 have a save for web feature that is fantastic for quickly building dial-up friendly images.
Will
Very interesting topic..........thanks for all the posts.
I have been doing some research lately for a potential customer who wants to increase sales from their site.
From my research, it seems that every area of web development is important.
From the product itself (Is it useful, beneficial to potential customer) to the marketing campaign.
I have been trying to come up with a proposal for this person that will give him a return on his investement.
Here are some of my findings so far........I would appreciate any feedback or add-ons to these.
1.Graphically pleasing and professional looking.Use of fast loading images brings 'reality' to site and product.
2.Good layout and navigation (inspires confidence in the product)
3.Easy and reassuring e-commerce section (aswell as secure)
4.Plenty of good content......testimonial page.......good use of grammar
5.Compatible and validated code to reach wider audience (accessibility issues, browser resolution etc)
6.Optimise site for Search Engines.....submit to major search engines.
7.Do links campaign for increase in traffic
8.Site translation for markets in Asia + South America etc
9.Pay per click campaign........Narrow Target market with very relevant keywords (1 - 5 keywords)
10.Patience
Doe anyone have an estimate of how much time this will take? (I was thinking a about a 100 hours myself....i know its a hard question!)
Looking at my potential clients site, it would need to be scrapped and started from scratch.
Its only one product.......I was considering using enrol (allows developer to use original designs for sites)
as an ecommerce package.........any other suggestions ?
Can anyone suggest a recommended gateway service.
This would be my first 'real' e-commerce site where results would be expected so any help, tips or advice would really be appreciated.
Thanks in Advance
Barry
