Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

It`s a new year and hopefully people are starting things up with their business ventures.

I`ve started by over hauling my website and want to know what you think.

You may know my product as the Holdstalero Anti Fanny Pack.  I have changed the name to simply: the Grabit Pack

I`ve implemented suggestions presented by those that presented information here in the past, so check out some of your thoughts in action.

I did this myself and want to know what I can do to get retailers to carry my product and get people to buy it.  Does my site convey that?  What advice do you have.

Check it out here: www.grabitpack.com

Thanks and Happy New Year!



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Louis Kiss
http://www.grabitpack.com
the ULTIMATE Gadget Holster
http://www.clinchwallet.com
The most PRACTICAL wallet available

Did you do any keyword research?

Right now, the most heavily optimized keyword on your 1 landing page (not your homepage) is  "product information".  Maybe something more desciptive, and that people actually type into google would work better for you?

Also, I highly recommend putting a `buy` button on the above landing page so that it will be easier for your customers to buy (this will help you from an SEO standpoint as well).





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Best Regards,

Victor Wise

I have a question: What do you do with the Grabit Pack when you want to sit down and not have this thing all over your leg?

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Louis Kiss
http://www.grabitpack.com
the ULTIMATE Gadget Holster
http://www.clinchwallet.com
The most PRACTICAL wallet available

Can you be more specific with your question?  (ex. do you want to know what it feels like when you sit down? do you have to take it off in order to sit down?)  I don`t understand what you`re asking.

There are pictures of the model sitting on a motorcycle and it`s described in the text on the PRODUCT INFORMATION page.

The Grabit Pack is far superior to a fanny pack and those that are confined to wheelchairs particularly like it for it`s quick,easy access and unobtrusive design.

To answer your question bluntly:  You take it off if you don`t want it "all over your leg".

Besides that, what do you think of the website? ;)


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Louis Kiss
http://www.grabitpack.com
the ULTIMATE Gadget Holster
http://www.clinchwallet.com
The most PRACTICAL wallet available

I recommend that you invest some time conducting keyword research. with the various online tools there are out there. See how many people are typing in fanny pack and think if those people really want your product.
The headline on your landing page should always contain the keywords people are typing in the search engines - this will improve sales and spare you from some of googles wrath.

Sometimes, the way to go is to sell to the people`s desire`s,  not the actual product they are typing in.  What are the benefits of your product, what needs or desires does it fulfill? 



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Best Regards,

Victor Wise

Victor what are you holding a Fan?
I did not run a ranking check on your site holdstalero, so I will take victor`s word for it.
My assumption is that you designed the web site yourself or had someone help you. I`m not sure if you`re aware but you have two google verify strings on your index page. I would suggest doing the following if you plan on targeting the keyword "fanny pack".

I don`t know how your budget is but I would contract a professional web designer to design the web site for you to give it more functionality and feel to it.

Also, you look like a young guy that probably has some cute girl friends... Hire them for a day and use them as models. Loose the fellas with the big beer guts. No offense if it`s a family member but, get some cute pictures of girls wearing them too. Something tasteful .. get what I`m saying?
The first thing I saw when I went to your products page was a beer belly hanging and it made me think "If that`s how Im going to look, forget that" see where Im going with this?
Also, what ever you do, do not heavily rely on Google as your main source for searching.

What you need to do is give the people and the search engines what they want. fresh content and try to keep your keyword visibility up.
Also, on your design I noticed that you have you Cascading style sheet in your index, export it to an external css doc.
I also, noticed that you don`t have any keywords or descriptions on your index page. and finally embed google analytics to see where your traffic is coming from and that will help you see the whole picture.
Other than that.. It`s a good product.



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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

Hey Edgar,    It`s actually a deck of playing cards, I`m a sleight of hand magician.

Here is an interesting piece of research on how a pretty face can can push away customers.
Basically, it shows that a picture of a person staring at you causes you to get distracted and bounce much quicker, usually not even reading the headline.
The research also shows though that if you have the same person look away, locking gaze with another aspect on the site (such as the headline), than the bounce rate decreases and that headline is even more likely to be read.  
@Craig, I remember you saying the exact same thing in a previous discussion last year so I thought you would find this interesting.





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Best Regards,

Victor Wise

Okay, the reason I asked the question is that what caught my focus on the landing page was this big, bulky "thing" hangin` off my leg. I, like many people, mentally substituted myself for the people in the images, contemplating and trying to imagine, "how would this look, feel, and work on me."

The site content is a bit over-the-top on how wonderful this thing is, and it`ll solve all my problems, some of which I didn`t know I had. That`s good--the part about demonstrating a solution. But it also introduced problems in the way it`s presented, particularly bulkiness. I know that`s not your intent, because the implication of the content is exactly the opposite---it removes bulkiness!

So the content is sending mixed messages, not in a coordinated way. I think it may be due to a sort of mental perspective where you`re trying to sell "against" the fanny pack, but you`re not quite selling "toward" the Grabit Pack, y`know?

People want to vote for something, not against something, if it`s possible. A while back, we had someone with an invention that allows you to lay face down while catching some sun. This pillow-like device also stored things like beach accessories. What worked very well on their site (aside from the cute lady models) was a series of 1-2-3-4 images showing the "setup" for the device.

I`d like to see something like that, with a lot of "things" spread out on a table next to a Grabit pack, in one image. Then putting them into the pack in the next, focusing on the many pockets and pouches. Next image, buckling this onto the leg. Last image, pulled-back shot of "Voila, done!"

Since I didn`t even see the "Products" tab, and it`s redundant to the first page, I`d sugges renaming it to something like Product Information, maybe. Better, you could cut down on the rhetoric of the landing page, then have a "more..." and put people on the actual information page.

Overall, the main issue for me was the language. It too closely copies that of an infommercial, and while those work great on TV (with live action video), it doesn`t work well on a Web page. What happens, in my opinion, is the "excitement" gets lost in a sort of over-sell type of feel.

On the purchasing page (the tabs should be a bit more prominent for navigation), you have this massive "Right side sold out!" which so overwhelms the rest of the page, it makes it seem you`re out of business. I`d suggest having a standard shopping cart, rename the tab "Buy Now" (or something), and have the two versions as small thumbnails.

The thumbnails can be made to show larger, but when you sell out of one or the other side, a small, perhaps red note should simply say, "currently out of stock." Otherwise, you`ll lose people completely.

Since there`s apparently a major difference between left and right sides, how come that isn`t highlighted strongly on the landing page and other product information? I didn`t like being surprised by this bit of information when I finally decided to buy. I think people prefer a sort of full disclosure, right from the git-go, y`know?

Victor, that`s a great article on the use of faces, models, and orientation. :-) I remember reading about body language, and one of the principle aspects after the face is sexuality. The way this site`s photos are organized, it`s oriented to a female audience, with the linear focus of the images on the male model`s crotch.