Critique my site please!

[diane22]

Hi,
I've recently made some changes to my website, and am hoping you can tell me what you think of the overall site. I get about 50-100 people a day looking at it (mostly from ads, so they're a fairly targeted crowd) and hardly any sales. Is it the site? The product? The checkout process? Prices?

fetchingdogcollars dot com

Thanks!

[Silky]

Hi Diane,
First point - the prices are in dollars so I'd turn off straight away. Are you targetting the UK market at all or is this only for the USA?

I actually like the site, love the big images of the collars and the gallery of the dogs but the prices seem relatively high - I've seen similar products cheaper. Also - and again this is a product issue rather than a website critique (sorry!) - if I buy a swanky dog collar for my mutt, I'd probably look for a matching lead too. A possible missed opportunity here?

I'm sure someone will come along soon with comments on the techie side.

Silky

[NetConneXions]

hi diana,

Its a nice site, i like it. It seems to work good. I am actually quite surprised that your making no sales with that many visitors.

Have you got google analytics installed and the checkout pages code in there so you can tell if your visitors are abandoning carts?

have you done a full test purchase to ensure the site is working?

Are your prices competitive? You need to give the visitor a good reason to at least sign up.

Add a newsletter signup mod as your using zencart, and perhaps say your frequently doing promotions so sign up to receive them?

[edit]
oh and theres a big gap on the top left, id either stick a graphic there, or shove the menu up the screen.

If your worried the checkout process is too long, install the one page checkout mod.

[edit2]
oh i just noticed, the index page top left is missing this image: http://www.fetchingdogcollars.com/includes/templates/fetch/images/logo.gif

[diane22]

Thanks so much for both replies!

Silky - I haven't marketed to the UK yet, because I figured shipping prices would deter most customers. I'll have to look into that further. You're the 2nd person to mention the leads, so I'll have to make those much more obvious. They're currently on the collar pages, as an option to "Add matching leash".

PhillipH - I'm only using the Zen Cart tracking right now. I'll add the google analytics! I've done tests to ensure the site's working. I'm worried that only offering PayPal is a deterrent. I'll look into the one page checkout as well.

Thanks again!!

[FireFleur]

Odd you are not converting with that type of traffic and the fact they are coming in via ads.

So, it probably is something to do with the market, have a look at your closest competitors and see if their prices or something is widely different.

What is the conversion % you are getting?

[PointandStare]

Number 1 reason for not buying -
No returns details, no company details, (not even a telephone number), I have absolutely no trust in you/ your company whatsoever.
You do have an SSL cert which s good but that's only part of the story.

[diane22]

Thanks PointandStare. I do have returns info on the site, but I guess I need to put that in a better spot.

[AndyP]

OP: when you say "ads" can I assume that these are PPC ads such as Google Adwords, for example? Assuming so it is likely to be your call to action that needs looking at. Confirm that this is the case and I will dig a little deeper.

[diane22]

AndyP - Actually, my current ad is at www dot pamperedpuppy dot com. It's a 150px ad on the index there. I've had another targeted ad running at Facebook. I've never put much faith in Adwords.

[AndyP]

Hmmm...OK....and therein lies the rhub I believe..... How can you not have faith in something so proven? .....it can simply be that you do not understand it...spend some time learning how to market yourself thru that medium, there are shedloads of tutorials out there, stop wasting money on irrelevant media as that is giving you low quality traffic at best, visitors and not buyers, and really target your market with "buy me now" ads. Follow the advice given by others here and you will see a turnaround.

"I've never put much faith in Adwords.".... I seriously cannot believe that you have said this!!!!

[diane22]

Ok, you convinced me :) I'll give it a go

[Mark_anderson]

Hi,

Lot’s of friends has critique on your marketing now I want to point out some weak points of your site.

What I found in your site is lack of consistency in data weather it is text color or logo is concern.

First thing I found the heading which you have colored pink in the first page, if I move to your next page (about us, FAQ) you have used black color instead of pink. So, it shows lack of consistency. You don’t have color theme.

Second: You don’t have logo, home page has different and contact + about us has different one. It shows how professional you are.

Third point: The home page is empty. The left corner is looking as waiting for any advertisement. xD

I didn’t visit your checkout or listings because I found lot’s of mistakes at most important pages.

I’ve mentioned my thoughts, I hope this help you to improve.

[wood1e2]

Also once in the blog I couldn't see how to get back to the main site...

The drop shadow at the bottom of the page is very clunky.

What part of the website is secure under GEOTrust? All the pages I went to were HTTP none of them were HTTPS, which I thought meant secure?

[oldeagleeye]

Diane. I think your 2 biggest problems. (1) Paypal. I certainly wouldn't use it. (2) People that shop on the Net are incredibly easily put off. To that event you should make your retuns policy more transparent but here is what the real I think is the real put off or barrier to converting into sales.

You price in Dollars but you don't say if that is US or Canadian Dollars and if I am not mistaken there is a 20% difference. That could make or break a sale on top of what are relayively high prices. Rob

[AndyP]

OK.....there are without doubt a number of issues on the site that basically relate to customer confidence and also (from a UK perspective) DSR issues that really do need to be addresssed.

Design elements are also important as has already ben mentioned and are again worth looking at. The more professional that you can make your whole operation the better.

As I previously said, I think that your current marketing spend is wasted and you need to dump low grade media that bring low quality visitors and no real buyers and opt for proven media using highly targeted ads with direct landing pages - rule of thumb being potential buyer of a particlar product sees your ad, clicks thru to the exact page with that product on, good product info and lots of "buy me now" and that will have a real impact on your conversions. Include as much info in your ad as you can including the shipped price....you want to attract buyers, not visitors....many people fall foul here by inviting people to have a browse...thats not want you want....you want people to click thru (bearing in mind that you are paying for that click) knowing exactly what they will see and how much it will cost.

As for Paypal...I have to disagree with the previous poster. Whilst Paypal "can" be seen as a bit "ebayish" it still has its merits and is trusted by many buyers plus there is the big advantage of people impulse buying when Paypal is offered..... Paypal users almost always know their passwords by heart and can make an immediate purchase whereas people tend to have to go and find their credit cards to type in the detail....realistically that can be a barrier, albeit a small one.

I think it is a little confusing to some people here as the OP is a US site owner with a US site for US buyers..... so things like dollars etc will be obvious to the OP's target market... i.e. Americans in America, in much the same way as we say Pounds assuming that everyone understands that we mean British Pounds as opposed to Eygptian Pounds or whatever.

Anyway, just a few thoughts that hopefully might help.

[Dawg]

What's wrong with Paypal? From a consumer POV it is very acceptable, (mostly for the reasons that merchants dislike it), and there have been several threads here detailing increased sales after installing Paypal. On one site I have quite a few regular, repeat customers changed from Worldpay to Paypal. (This was before Worldpay offered Paypal; that's a sidetrack.)

[oldeagleeye]

Dawg. There was a big scandal many years ago where it was suggested Paypal was selling it's customer database. The case I understand was hushed up and settled out of court.

I have serious concerns to over 2 major high street banks making their databases available to Tesco and Sainsbury too The reason. Both those banks have been hit the hardest by philshing scams. Both are behind those supermarkets own financial products. In other words Tesco Bank or Sainsbury Bank is allowed to share data with RBOS. Where does Tesco gets it's leads from and that database . It's club card. Where does Sainsbury. The Nectar card. Not for me I am afraid.

[AndyP]

Getting a little off topic aren't we?...Let's stick to helping the OP.

[oldeagleeye]

We are helping the OP. She asked if it might be the checkout process - ie Paypal holding her back.Lighten up buddy.

[AndyP]

With respect I don't see how you talking about your concerns with Sainsburys and Tesco Banks is helping the OP in any way. Fact is that Paypal, whilst viewed as a bit second rate or possibly amateur (by some), is highly respected and certainly popular with a huge number of people and the OP should not be advised to not have this as a payment option as it will not impact on her conversions. The conversion issue, in my belief, is down to a number of other factors but primarily that our low value visitors from low value sources.

Just my opinion of course, others may differ.

[seasonsonline]

Not that I'm an absoloute expert- yet, but I'm looking at it from a customers eyes, and the first most obvious thing I noticed is that there aren't any obvious indications as to your prices!- Certainly not on the home page.

-And when you do click on a product I still feel I am in the dark as to "How much does this actually cost?" I clicked on a dog collar and it had a lot of options about sizes etc, and then "Price starting from $30". You don't seem to have a way of actually getting an exact price, unless you do the maths yourself when totting up the different extras chosen.

If I was a customer, I would be put off straight away by the lack of prices on the home page, and then would have certainly given up by the time I had tried to get a price for a product. Just my opinion, don't know much about dog collars but the website generally seems fine otherwise. -Maybe a bit more background colour wouldn't go amiss.

[Winston]

The site looks good.

It is clean and not cluttered, loads quick and easy to find a way around.

I am also suprised you are not making sales

[oldeagleeye]

With respect AndyP. You seem to think a lot of your opinion and to quote you.

Fact is that Paypal, whilst viewed as a bit second rate or possibly amateur (by some), is highly respected and certainly popular with a huge number of people and the OP should not be advised to not have this as a payment option as it will not impact on her conversions.

Sorry. I don't get that. The fact is Paypal is viewed as second rate and or amateur. Your own words not mine. Who cares if people on ebay love it. The fact is the general public do not because the merchant facilities are not vetted.

What's more. It is not for you to tell me or anyone else what the OP finds relevant.

I gave her good advice about the confusion over Canadian & USA Dollars and the mention bout Sainsbury & Tesco Banks too has to do with on-line shopping in general and peoples confidence in it.

In fact it is a scandal waiting to happen and that will have serious consequences all round.

[oldeagleeye]

QUOTE by AndyP. I think it is a little confusing to some people here as the OP is a US site owner with a US site for US buyers..... so things like dollars etc will be obvious to the OP's target market... i.e. Americans in America, in much the same way as we say Pounds assuming that everyone understands that we mean British Pounds as opposed to Eygptian Pounds or whatever.

If you are goona comment Andy. get it right mate.http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

Fetching Dog Collars is based in Alberta, Canada and run by me, Diane.

[Paramount Learning]

Hi there,

I took a quick look at your site and have a couple of comments.

Why do you have a skull and crossbone on the home page right alongside your fetchingdogcollars strapline? This might put off a number of your target market.

Trust is an issue as mantioned earlier. You should have a footer on everypage with contact details and returns policy. This will give purchasers a sense of security.

When you get to the pages of products from your home page you have to click through to get pricing and further information for each product. I never really understand why website designers do this as I would like to see the price alonside the picture so if interested I can make a quick decision. If I like three of more designs on your website I have to now click at least six times before I can make a decision.

If I would make any recommendation it would be to count the number of clicks someone has to make before a purchase is completed. Aim to minimise it. Lots of on line customers typically leave half way through the process as they get bored and frustrated at all the clicks. When buying on line I simply want to see the product/price, add to basket and get out of there.

Hope that gives you something to work on.

Best wishes,

Peter
Paramount Learning Ltd:)

[Sunburn]

The comments about the payment options are very important, those of us who work within the inet / online industries know full well that pay-pal is.. lets say "not great"; however the majority of joe-users who perhaps use it a few times a year pay-pal is more then adequate to pay for purchases online and see no negativity in using paypal and its services.

Ultimately the better solution for the op is to offer several payment methods so that the customer can decide how they would like to pay.

Geoff.

[jon.dc]

I like the clear images used and the white background, but as a potential buyer I feel there are to many clicks from selection to basket and getting to know the price. The navigation to products seems to fiddly also.

As a dog owner I would first select the colour, then style before I think about the size. Get them hooked on the collar they want before having to think about the size. It alienated me straight away having to choose a size to search under before I had found a collar I liked.

Hope that is of some use

[diane22]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the suggestions. I have a big 'to-do' list now that I'll be working on today.

[AndyP]

Please ignore

[oldeagleeye]

No problem Andy. You got a nice site by the way. Best get a stainless steel crash helmet if you want to survive in here however.http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

[AndyP]

Thank you for the compliment but please don't think for one moment that I chose to not post what I had written because of some lack of steel. I simply decided that whilst I accept and apologise for my oversight on the OP's location I will let others decide what is and isn't relevant in this thread.

Regards

[oldeagleeye]

Chill out buddy. It's the weekend.

[AndyP]

I am perfectly chilled thanks. Let's leave it at that :)