Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

After two years in business, my online jewelry store is starting to do very well. We have a good amount of traffic and return customers. However, my conversion rate is still so low. We are barely hitting 1%. I realize with a product like jewelry, there are a lot of "window" shoppers, but my competitors and the leaders in the online jewelry game are hovering around 4-5% conversion. I would like to be able to raise my conversion to 2 or 3% this year.

Are there any tweaks - in terms of design or otherwise - that may help push my conversions? I am trying to build a library of informative content and add more products to the mix. I know customer ratings/reviews make a big impact in terms of conversions, and we have a basic customer review function built into our site through our e-commerce host (Volusion), but I think this function could be improved through some third-party applications. Any recommendations on this would be appreciated as well!

The web site is OceanaJewelry.com [URL=http://www.oceanajewelry.com]http://www.oceanajewelry.com[/URL]

Thank you all in advance for your time.

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Thanks so much. Dale! I truly appreciate any info I can get my hands on.

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We`ve had a lot of jewelry store owners join Startup Nation. I`m always a bit surprised there`s that kind of market for jewelry, but there it is. :-) So I took a look at your site, and it`s nicely set up, works very well, and I was able to "shop" quite comfortabley. The only problem I had was ..... so what?

Here`s what I`m thinking: The site is all white on white on white. You have this cool name, "Oceana" going, and that brings to mind...um...the ocean. :-) Right? Why not use that to develop a sort of "theme" for your site---to "imprint" the site into your visitors` mind.

I`m a big fan of consistency and repetition, along with stability. As you say above, lots of jewelry shoppers are window-shopping. But what if they see something they like; don`t want to buy it right now; but want to "remember" that they liked it? How easy is it for them to a) bookmark the item, and b) remember why they bookmarked it?

What if you build on the "oceana" theme, and offer bookmarking in the form of maybe an "Add to wish list" function, then "Bookmark your Wish List." Title the bookmark something like "Oceana Jewelry--Wish List" (obviously enough). Then, if you have graphic images building a theme on your site, people will remember what the bookmark stands for.

My thoughts, at any rate...

hi Kristin,

Great looking site by the way... just a few things I`ll comment in with regards to conversions.

#1) Ditch the Google Adsense advertisements. I assume you spend a great deal of time (and some money) getting people to your website right? So why give them the opportunity to go to your competitor`s website by way of Google Ads on your website? It takes too much effort to get targeted traffic to the site, only to have them leak off...

I clearly see the google ads the right side and at the bottom of your site. Not a good practice.

#2) Consider putting a Top 10 list of your best selling items. You may have to test placement, but make sure it shows up on every page. My first thought would be to place in the column on the right side on each page. You`ll be surprised at how people like to buy what others are buying, so allow them to see it with your Top 10 or Top 5 list.

#3) That big graphic on the homepage "Why Shop With Us" - my gut tells me to ditch it and have that for a page unto itself... That is really valuable real estate there on that front page and you got to use it to your advantage. At a minimum, I`d be using that space to create a "theme" about an upcoming holiday, or special occasion, etc... for example, St Patrick`s day is tomorrow... you could  of had a "St Patrick’s" day  theme going on showcasing some of the jewelry that would be a perfect fit for the occasion. Easter is this month also (the March 23^rd). You have Mothers Day coming up in May, along with Teacher’s Day, Nurses Week, etc… in fact, take a look at my 2008 Holiday Marketing Calendar since we’re talking about it J: http://www.webmediaavenue.com/calendar.html

#4) I see you have “Gifts for Under $50”... but you don’t have any other ranges people can shop under. What about “Gifts $100 - $250” and “Gifts $250 - $500” and “Gifts $500 - $1,000”??? I may have $300 bucks to spend but may not want to search through your whole site… so why don’t you apply the same thing for others with a little more money that you do for those $50 bucks and under?

#5) Education Center – I see you have one but you may want to bring it out and make it more visible (not dominant), but make it so it’s easily found.

#6) Phone Number – I’d probably add it towards the top section too… people would almost expect to see it up there and ‘not’ have to find it.

Anyhow... that`s all I have for now. I hope this helps and I wish you well in your endeavors!

Cartess Ross

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 let`s talk about some marketing ideas. send me a message.

She mentioned a serious problem... not something a few marketing ideas will fix.

Her conversion rates are barely hitting 1%, and her competitors are doing 4%-5%. While everyone would like "some marketing ideas", it really doesn`t do any good until the site is converting properly. If the site can`t convert, then the traffic from the "marketing ideas" is worthless...

Get the conversion issues worked out first.

Just my .02 cents anyways...

Cartess Ross


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CraigL - Thanks. All great feedback. We do have a Wish List - the button is next to the "Add to Cart" button on every product page. But I had not considered the bookmark idea. That is a great suggestion!

Cartess -
Thank you so much for your detailed feedback! These are great ideas. I especially like the Top 10 list idea. I know I need to use the right navigation better. Unfortunately, I built this site using a basic template provided through my eCommerce platform and it doesn`t provide a right nav other than on the homepage (you`ll notice those right-hand product listings go away after you leave the homepage). I BIG negative for us. This year, I plan to redesign my site - or at least the right navigation and homepage - so I can use the real estate on the homepage and right nav more effectively.

I used to have the range of prices for gifts in the navigation but then it seemed so busy. The Gifts Under $50 got the most attention and traffic so I eliminated the others for simplicity sake. I can actually add them back now with a dropdown/secondary menu.

Thanks again!