Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi all you creative and energetic people!

Recently started a new lingerie site.  Since it is a very competitive market, I first signed up with Google Adwords for advertising.  Lots of clicks, no sales.  Cancelled Google, just signed up with Overature (Yahoo) and had great results showing up in the search but still no sales.  I would appreciate any suggestions or comments on the site itself.  Really appreciate your time and look forward to any input.

What a great community!

Have you tried an advertising email blast with the likes of
Constant Contact??
I Love your site!! I have had similar problems, lots of clicks and
very few sales. I do have my faithful return customers, I am just
playing the waiting game and Christmas is just around the
corner..
Good luck

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Sarah Founder www.sarahsperfectgift.com Gift giving made easy

I`ll check that out.  I had never heard of it.  I appreciate your input and I really like your site too!  Best of luck to you!

Vicki

Of course you`re getting lots of clicks, you content is FANTASTIC! I love your sidebars and you outfit names, so clever and devious, and truly entertaining!

I am currently working on a site for my biz right now and I can truly appreciate all the downright HARD WORK and TIME you have put into ths site, Kudos!

I am no expert, but take these tips from a visitor standpoint :

• Perhaps you may want to reconsider you home page layout, primarily your Table of Contents, maybe switch the location of the goddess picture & notes with the TOC and have your catagories boxed out with catagory name headers and pics of a bestseller (or sale item) under each header so your products are quickly visible. (view a site like walmart.com for a basic idea of what I mean)

 

•  With Halloween coming, and your wondefully naughty `costume" collection, capitlize on those sites that offer specialty items and target "seasonal specials" catagories by setting up a store link with "eBay" and "Amazon"

 

• Price point: I am not sure what margins you are working with, but some items seem like they should more, and others seem too high (when comparison shopping)

 

• Incentives like free shipping, or a free collection of "fantasy" ideas might incense potential buyers to take the plunge. (I love the way you think, but not all of us girls know what to do once they get those outfits on!)

And finally, get the word out! A late night ad on your local tv station may be pricey, but an ad in a local shopper, womens magazine, or any other publication that reaches your target audience will suffice, it all depends on your available budget.

I hope any of these ramblings might serve to be helpful to you and I wish you the very best in your endeavors!

Rachel Amo

 

 

Wow, thanks for all those great suggestions.  I appreciate your time, input, encouragement and insight.  The items are priced according to guidelines set up by the manufacturer.  I have at least 4 different companies, all are high quality, but some are more expensive.  Tried to get a wide variety.  Your suggestion about the costumes is great.  Once again, I appreciate your time.  Will look forward to seeing your web site when you are up and running.

Best to you,

Vicki

Hi Vicki,

First thing I see has nothing to do with sales conversion, but hurts you in the search engines is the lack of a Page Title.  You should have your site name in <title> tags in your code.

The main problem I see with your site is that it does not look like you are selling anything on your home page, nor when you click on a link.  You must then click on an additional link to see any products for sale.  Your menu system has no flow to it.  Visitors are used to seeing ecommerce sites with a certain flow, and they might get lost looking for products on your site.  Take a look at other sites, like victoria`s secret, and see how they flow visitors to the products, and ultimately, sales conversions.

You have great content, and it looks like you are putting some SEO techniques to use, which is great!

Steve


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Steve James Fresh Yields- a new media firm, providing ecommerce solutions, redesign consulting, web design, email campaign management, and internet marketing.

Steve,

Thanks so much for the advise about the Page Title.  Got my guy on it right now!  Your other observations are appreciated also.  Thanks for taking your time to check it out and give me your input!  Appreciate it!

Thanks, Vicki

Hi Vicki,

I think the good news is that you`ve already won half the online battle by driving traffic to your site, so it`s good news that you`ve cleared that hurdle. I`ve got a couple of questions for you though...

What kind of keywords have been running your ad under? Sometimes specific keywords can generate a lot of traffic but few conversions.

Do you use any form of web analytics to track the behavior of visitors once they come to your website?

If you do, do you notice any patterns in their behavior as an aggregate?

For example, do specific pages have a high exit rate? This might help pinpoint the conversion problem.

What`s your bounce rate on your landing page? Are visitors clicking thru on your pay per click program but not finding what they expected?

Do you have a specialized landing page for your marketing campaigns or do you just drive traffic to the homepage?

Answers to some of these questions can help everybody diagnose your conversion problem and find a sustianable solution.

Andrew

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PeerSight, e-enabled roundtables for small business http://www.peersightonline.com

Hi Andrew.

Those are some great questions.  Currently my mission was just to get potential buyers there to the site and I guess I hadn`t thought the rest through.  There is so much more to this than I ever dreamed.  Really trying to do my homework, plus hold down another full-time job, so I`m a bit ashamed to say that it`s been more like trial and error.   As far as I know, there is no way to analyze visitors and their behavior.  I took a quick visit to your site, which looks like it is filled with great information, and after I finish this note to you will go back and do some reading.  I certainly appreciate all your information, which, as I said is all new to me.  Knowing all that,  if you have any other suggestions, I really appreciate your time.

Thanks so much,

Vicki 

Hi Vicki,

I am probably going to annoy some people by saying this, but as I web designer I am get to go ahead and say it. it is good for companies like yours to push your local market. Find great things to do locally that draw people to the site. Mailings, Coupons in the mail, even flyers on mailboxes can be a fantastic way to get people in your area to buy from you.

Of course this is the old fashioned way to do things, but it gets the word out and you will get customers from people they know. SEO is all fine, but I think people put way, way too much time into trying to position themselves. The reality is thge more people pushing for the same position only means it is more difficult (or impossible) to achieve the position.

Put a flyer on a mailbox or a door and people see it. If they go to the site that "visitor" is by far more valuable than a surfer`s click.

As your site gets local traffic you can connect with other local companies. Perhaps the cleaning company wouldn`t mind dropping off a brochure while they are cleaning if you put a link on your website for them...And because you are local it may do them some good. Think carpet cleaners, dry cleaners with delivery services, restaurant delivery services, pizza shops in rich people neighborhoods.

People will see who you are, they will tell their friends and family and your business will grow. Keep in mind your shipping may be less in your local market making your prices more attractive, too.