How do i market my website?

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Sara.

Sara.

Free Member
Nov 20, 2007
46
0
  • #1
    Hi All

    I would really like some advice about how to market my website.I have been up and running since April 2007. Traffic seems to be quite slow at the moment and im having real trouble turning visitors into customers.
    I have swapped links, sent out flyers to a few businesses, put my site on google.
    Any advice would be great, im really frustrated at the moment :|

    Many Thanks

    Sara
     
    C

    Cartel

  • #3
    86 products?

    OK the site is not aimed at me...but I hate those distracting snowflakes. They remind me of early internet days where everything "could be a virus"....ok I know they are not, but add in the flashing adverts and there is a lot of distraction which takes away your message for your site...I read a couple of lines then got distracted (yes I am a man!) but I think you need to consider.
     
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    Scott-Copywriter

    Scott-Copywriter

    Free Member
    May 11, 2006
    9,601
    2,671
  • #4
    Hi Sara.

    Sales conversion is dependent on two things; visitor relevance and the sales process of your own website.

    The website is too cluttered to instantly appeal to visitors. They need to have their attention drawn to the sales copy or product offers on the page or many visitors will click off the website before they even look around. The left and right menu bars are also much wider than they need to be - if you reduce the width then it should make the website more spacious and visually easier to interpretate.

    Of course none of this matters if you don't have targeted traffic. To get the sales you must have visitors who are most likely to buy the kind of products you're offering. You mentioned sending flyers out to businesses, why? Businesses wont be the visitors which will buy from you, mothers with babies will and you need to target all of your flyers and marketing at them. Also submitting to Google will do pretty much nothing unless you optimize your site for good search engine rankings. It's a tough world out there :p

    Hope this helps.

    Sara. said:
    Hi All

    I would really like some advice about how to market my website.I have been up and running since April 2007. Traffic seems to be quite slow at the moment and im having real trouble turning visitors into customers.
    I have swapped links, sent out flyers to a few businesses, put my site on google.
    Any advice would be great, im really frustrated at the moment :|

    Many Thanks

    Sara
    Click to expand...
     
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    C

    chiggs

  • #5
    By sending out flyers to businesses, are you aiming for the 'collection raised for employee going on maternity leave' market?
    If so, could you offer a package, maybe a hemp bag stuffed with tissue paper (or muslins :)) and filled with goodies for about £40-50.
    Gift wrapped, this would be a good choice for the person at the company given the task of buying a present with the collection :D.
     
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    S

    seoangel

  • #6
    hello there are many ways to market your website post in free classifield article submision if you will send me your web address i will analize your site for you on your keywords etc i have a software that i can use i can send you a list if you wish on where to advertise your site the list will be to long to put on here
    sonia
     
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    D

    dazzi41

  • #7
    Hi sara
    I have noticed that another baby company purely because of sun blockers on peoples cars. Im not sure but maybe they give these out free with orders so that customers will be driving around with there advert on their car windows.

    Maybe you could try something like this
     
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    brianabbott

    brianabbott

    Free Member
    Dec 8, 2007
    69
    13
    South Shields
    www.landandpropertysourcing.co.uk
  • #11
    Hi Sara,

    Here are a couple of tools that may help you get started:

    http://www.keywordbox.com/

    That one will give you related search terms, which people are searching for on the internet. Pick the UK search (Union Flag) and then enter details of products or of information that your site deals with and a list of search terms will be produced. Try to use terms which are getting between 500 and 3000 searches as keywords on your site.

    Secondly, check each page of your site with this tool: http://www.freewebsubmission.com/web-page-analyzer.html Despite some mildy negative observations on this forum about it, it will help you improve your page code and page text.

    I hope that helps.

    Regards,
     
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  • #15
    As someone coming to your site for the first time, it is not obvious what the site is about...there is no "core message" on the first fold.. just some dissimilar products.

    You only have a handful of seconds to interest new visitors, and you do not do that.

    But primarily you need to go through a proper process of internet marketing - it is much more tham just having a website

    First find a hungry crowd searching for something

    Turn strangers into friends, then turn friends into customersL

    Do that by giving them something. For example...target mums interested in stretchmarks with a free stretchmark removal guide

    So... the process is, first do keyword research - for example around 100 people search "removestretch marks" on google per day with around 44000 competing pages - where 35 search "removing stretch marks per day withonly 9000 competion" - which is a much easier target ( dont get worried about those numbers ! a couple of tens of thousands is fine - just dont go after targets of hundreds of thousands competing

    Then do four things.....

    First set up mini one page sites on web 2 resources such as squidoo/ scribd etc targetted to those expressions ( very fast! if you can type you can do it in half an hour...post something really interesting with a link to your site, and maybe a relevant amazon book ( with your affiliate id)

    Second and VERY important, write articles for such as ezine articles. targetted to those expressions-

    Third Create a landing page on your site for EACH keyword expression you target- with some valuable information and a downloadable guide in return for an email - research thius guide to give really good info.

    Fourth promote your new pages on resources such as stumbleupon, and netscape - this can give fast traffic,

    In this way you create traffic free. You are not at the whims of google - your traffic will come from these other sites and articles , although do what I have said correctly for a number of keywords expressions, and you will get organic ranking as a byproduct for the long tail expressions

    MOST important you will start to build your optin list..repeat the process for interesting stuff about organic nappies, clothes etc: ( eg the amounts of poison fertiliser wasted in creating conventional baby clothes)

    Once you have the emails you can start marketing your products to the list - using good copy and great offers.

    That is how internet marketing really works - it is all about list building - you will waste a lot of money and time, trying to optimise for most of the products you have on your site - and dont attempt to use adwords until you have sorted the site out.
     
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  • #17
    lottysloft said:
    Would you mind having a look at my site, it just new in December, I will though take on your advice and give people interior design help and advice.

    Thanks

    Karen
    lottysloft.com
    Click to expand...

    I have had a quick look Karen...

    First focus on a hungry crowd: not a product - who are the people who buy interior design - and what are all the things they are interested in? - and aim to supply all they want. Also you are in an ideal market to sell information products ....the interior design secrets video or whatever...

    Shabby chic is just one aspect of what your crowd of home design interested people may look up on the web....

    Then do proper keyword research..
    "shabby chic" is far too big i terms of traffic and competition
    fine differences are important
    "decorating shabby chic" is good (decorate shabby chic is not!)
    "retro kitchen" at first sight has too much competition - but if you analyse the competition it is both low rank and backlinks

    Find at least five of these phrases and dedicate a specific landing page to talk about each: all aimed

    At promoting your 5 free guide to home design...one part of which is shabby chic etc etc - in your case I would definitely use a video squeeze page -

    And I would also make a ONE TIME OFFER upsell of a physical object, or more likely a video design guide - If this is a designer market place - get audio interviews with the designers and put them up on the site too


    Advice is similar in terms of using ARTICLE marketing , web 2 minisites - promotion using digg,stumbleon etc to generate traffic.


    Focus on the list. Then promote product.
     
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    N

    NuBlue

  • #19
    Hi Sara,

    Just a quick observation, the news articles (some of which look really good from an SEO point of view) take me to another site. I would suggest trying to create your own articles and having the content on your own site.

    The more content you can accumulate on your site the better, as each page of content can pontentially rank in the search engines and target traffic to your site.
     
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    T

    theinternetalphabet

  • #21
    Hi Sara. I am running this website and it is currently free to take part and it should be good fun too. It is called theinternetalphabet.com and has already had 200 hits since January 8th so its off to a strong start. As soon as participation takes off I will be lining up press and media interest and am in the process of contacting various publications for editorial coverage. Please take a look. Good luck with your marketing in future.
     
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    BeautyScientist

    BeautyScientist

    Free Member
    Jan 5, 2007
    403
    21
  • #23
    I have signed up for your forum and added a comment. That might help a bit. I think you have triggered off an interesting discussion on this thread so thanks for that.

    I think in addition to all the good advice on here I would also ask yourself the question, what sort of site would you like to visit and what would keep you coming back?
     
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    H

    Ho Raven

    Free Member
    Jan 22, 2008
    11
    1
    Surrey
  • #24
    Hi Sara,

    I run a small marketing consultancy for mums in business and noticed your thread.

    In response to your question, there is no easy answer to this - your business like many other businesses in the mother and baby sector is searching for a way to get noticed - but there are plenty of things you can do for yourself to acheive this.

    1) Have you set-up an analytic account on Google? the service is free - just follow their step by step instructions - once you've done this, you can look at where vistors are coming from and how long they spend on your site.

    2) Develop plenty of news worthy stories about your business - have you spent time crafting news releases and making sure that you are in constant contact with the main editors of the Parenting titles online as well as off line - it's not difficult - plenty of places to get advice on how to write a Press release.

    3) Make sure that google and other search engines recognise your site by putting in plenty of words that are "metataged" which people search on - When your site was built, this should have been done for you. And if you are in Google Analytics - you can tell which are the key words searched on, so you can develop more content that will allow search engines to rank your site under the key words.

    Think about the key words that mums/pregnant mums will be searching for and make sure that your site has plenty of information around topics that will interest them.

    If you want more info - or would like to more about the work I do, please get in contact - you'll find me at Mummy Marketing.

    If you're interested, I am running a networking/workshop for busy business women to help answer some questions about marketing - the Workshop is in Wimbledon on 27th February.

    Kindest regards,

    Ho
     
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    Alcsl

    Alcsl

    Free Member
    Jan 25, 2008
    202
    36
    Nottinghamshire
  • #27
    Hi Sara,

    I think your site looks nice. I noticed an image missing (the paypal link of the left middle of the homepage), just little things like that can slightly distract users from a site. It seems easy to navigate so best of luck with your venture. Have you tried listing your products in Gumtree, Fridayad, classifieds, etc. yet? It's free and should generate some traffic to your site. It's a numbers game really.

    Also, submit your site to Kellysearch and applegate if applicable, again free and even if you only get a handful of people through them, it's a handful of people that didn't know you existed beforehand.

    Al
     
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    Spiritas

    Spiritas

    Free Member
    Jan 29, 2008
    114
    15
    Sussex
  • #28
    Looks like an oscomerce site if so have you put the SEO module on, it makes the urls search engine friendly theres probably a similar setup for other commerce packages.

    Then yes as the previous person said you need seo and marketing like all websites. "The price for not having to pay for premises is you have to pay for passers by." Hmm I might register that as a famous quote. :D

    Spiritas
     
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    SillyJokes

    SillyJokes

    Free Member
    Jul 26, 2004
    4,581
    595
  • #30
    I had a quick look and three really really important things sprang to mind.

    First your contact details do not say ,"Trust me, I'm for real," unfortunately I don't see how you can change that, we used to have a Po Box back in the day but it's far better to have a real address and phone number. We all had to start somewhere.

    Secondly and probably most importantly, I couldn't see your postage charges. They weren't clearly shown. When I looked and looked I couldn't find them, the helpful info wasn't helpful.

    Worse still you can't even see them in the online basket and must register to find out what they are. A lot of people simply won't bother looking and will go on to the next eco baby website and I'm afraid there do seem to be a lot of these about.

    Forcing people to register to shop is one of my pet hates. It's fine for the likes of Tesco and John Lewis but for a small new store selling limited range it looses more customers than it keeps.
     
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    E

    EPA

  • #31
    Sara,

    This is purely my ideas based on my experience with my business.

    Your website needs a little more changing to keep your buyers attention.

    Firstly, your site is too fussy and is all over the place. There are too many things going on for me to focus on anything. Also using bold red lettering is not right for your market; it usually depicts DANGER or caution. Try using soft inviting and neutral colours. Get inspiration from larger organisations like Mothercare or Mammas & Pappas etc. There sites have one thing in common, easy to navigate and the layout of contents. I use the K.I.S.S philosophy – Keep It Sweet & Simple.

    If you are doing the site yourself, don’t. Hire an experienced designer. Your future earnings depend on this.

    Once you have something that is easy to use and looks professional, sales will come in.

    I agree with Chiggs regarding marketing some products by offering bundles and possible adding to your ‘Refer a Friend’ tab, by offering a discount on their next purchase if their friend makes a purchase, in order to get repeat business. Or similar, repeat business is what you need.

    Do loads more research…do you have a business plan? Keep up to date with the latest trends and by being well informed you will be able to increase sales and ensure you can keep up with demand once you do.

    Good luck
    :)
     
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    C

    Chris Kaday

  • #32
    Actually Earl I think 99% of sales sites on the internet actually need an undertaker to bury them. Too high expectations, no differentiation, tiny operating margin, overcrowded market. The only people making any money are the hosting companies!
    Chris Kaday - marketing guru
     
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    V

    valdor

  • #33
    You should try article marketing. This involves writing short (~350 word) articles on a topic relevant to your business (e.g 'How to reduce nappy rash'). You then submit your articles to as many article directories as possible (be aware that some directories wont accept your article if its been published on other directories). Make sure you have a link to your website in the author bio and resource box of the article. This should bring targeted traffic to your site.

    You can also try advertising on gumtree, friday freeads, and other free papers.

    I am not sure what the competition is for your market but you may benefit from google adwords, there is a way to pay minimum for your clicks if you geo target the ads and word the ad correctly.
    Hope this helps.
     
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    E

    eggman08.2008

    Free Member
    Apr 28, 2008
    97
    0
  • #34
    I know your asking about your web site and what im about to say has nothing to do with that but i'l say it anyway.
    Why not try having little house parties. You know, like a Ann Summers party but with your baby products instead. Ann Summers must generate a lot of custom from doing that or they wouldn't still be doing it. You could adverties it in local nurseries etc. Its worth thinking about.
    I WOULD NOT try and make it kinky tho, that would be sick.
     
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    S

    Simon First Angel Film

  • #37
    Hi Sara

    Have you thought about incorporating video? You could promote the products in a much 'cleaner' way, announce special offers, or simply give your site some unique identity and visitors something to watch? Also, with the right idea, you could try some viral video marketing through YouTube etc, if you worked with a company that is great coming up with concepts, etc? We do this, but I think we may be too far for you. Good luck with it!
     
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    S

    simonr

  • #39
    I know I'm coming at this very very late and unlike some people I kind of liked the colour scheme of the website etc. What did strike me, however, was that it was totally 'sales' orientated.

    The first thing I saw were things to buy - even the "welcome to Mum's Space" isn't until I've scrolled down the page a bit... and no where did I see anything other than stuff for sale - not articles, not a jot of human interest etc.....

    I should add that my kids are 18 and 15 so this site is clearly not for me, so my opinion's not worth much, I know.....

    S
     
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    R

    Ronster

  • #40
    Hi Sara
    This is my first time using UKbusinessforums so I hope it's useful for both of us.
    I specialise in offering free online funding and have faced your problem. I had lots of advice and a partner went down the route of spending a small fortune on better and better sites that look good but still don't generate as much traffic as my simple review site. There are a number of ideas you can use without spending a penny....I love a bit of free.
    One of the most cost effective ways I have found for generating traffic is to write online articles and submit them to article directories. Ezinearticles.com and multiple distributions through isnare.com a couple of pounds per article are two of the most effective I have found. Each article can be taken and used by magazines and websites but must carry your back link.

    Top tips
    Choose a popular topic.
    Check that the title is unique by Googling it.
    500-750 words
    Informative articles about your website topic
    Check results after a few days by putting title in Google
    Read my article as an example Google it Fundraising For A Changing World

    All the best
    Ron
     
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