Getting good results in search now what?

[Esk247]

Right the walker and lawrence website is featuring among the top ten results or top three pages on google for virtually everything to do with luxury accessories and such.

We've seen an increase in visitors, getting 20-30 uniques a day regularly, bounce rate down from 54% to 40% and dropping all the time.

Why are we getting so few hits though? we're frickin top for loads

I would have expected at least one phone call from someone thats interested or a sale??

We're getting phone calls from people wanting to stock our items so why not people wanting to buy straight from the website?

 

[BrightIdeas]

A few possible reasons:-

Firstly, quite probably because the keywords that you rank highly for are not high volume keywords. Otherwise you would be seeing greater traffic levels (esp in positions 1-3). Do people type in 'luxury cushions'? Personally, I would probably be more inclined to type in 'designer cushions', for example, if I was browsing for nicer cushion options.

If you have researched these keywords and are confident that they offer good traffic potential, then perhaps traffic can be boosted slightly with better descriptions for better CTRs.

The other key possible issue that springs to my mind is whether what you're offering is what the end consumer is actually looking for. I imagine that yours is a pretty competitive market, and so you probably need to sell your proposition a little harder? Maybe show some really lovely lifestyle images? Focus on the quality message? After all, you are competing with the likes of Tesco, Ikea et al. whose cushions and soft furnishings are very cheap.

HTH.

 

[Esk247]

Well thats the thing. We're competing with high end so i've steered away from the 'blue cushion wiv stuff on it like init' keywords and focussed more on the 'luxury interior accessories' keywords.

People must type that stuff in because websites like amara.com are appearing in the same chunk of results as we are. Also David Lindley is featuring up there just above us in the search results for interior accessories.

We don't compete with Tesco floppy sack cushions that fall apart and were made in China. We compete with Liberty and designer boutiques.

We won't get thousands of hits, but i was hoping for a hundred odd a day so i could atleast do some decent split-testing with the website design.

Feedback has been good about our products. I just can't get the flippin website do actually do anything.

 

[BrightIdeas]

I would recommend that you try some keyword tools. I think you might be surprised by search volume. Google, Market Samurai and Wordtracker are the ones I use. Google is free. You can get a free trial for the other two

Just because some of your competitors are featuring in the search results for your keywords doesn't mean that they are good keywords to target. In fact, they're probably not targeting them.

Having seen your site, I think your keywords need to centre around cushions and tablerunners. You would be a bit crazy not to target these!
I'm sure your products are beautifully made.... Is there any way that you can get some really nice lifestyle shots done? Would be nice to see some nice images on the homepage in a room set, for example.

When you're a little known brand (compared with Liberty, etc.) selling online, you need to work so much harder to build trust.

Other ideas to build trust - press section? Testimonials from customers?

How long has the site been live for?

 

[Esk247]

Sites been up since September. This is the newer version of the website featuring only cushions and table runners, it's receiving better visitor rates.

If we compete on keywords such as cushions it could cost us thousands to get to page one, there are hundreds of websites paying to be up there and i'm not sure if our market would be searching for just the keyword 'cushion'.

I'm trying to work out what our target market actually does, from what i can see, they're not very search engine active. Perhaps we should be focussing our time and money purely on offline marketing, newsletters, press releases in papers etc.

 

[terryuk]

I would check out to see what people are doing navigation wise, are they viewing the products, how long for? Are they going to more than one product/category?

Personally, I wouldn't shop for cushions online but that's me.. what type of keywords are you ranking for? Vaguer they are, the more likely your conversion rates will suffer.

As for the 30 visits, it's not many at all but don't rely on seeing top companies page 1 to think there is a huge market in it... they will be there because they can and have other forms of advertising in place.... if you want to test I'd put some money into adwords you may even find that to be more profitable with the right campaign.

 

[Esk247]

We've tried adwords. £120 odd quid and sod all came out of it, we tried pushing up the keywords around cushions and table runners but still got nothing.

We're running one of those free adwords campaigns at the moment, the £50 voucher one. Not yet seeing many results, few extra hits but for £50 i could of had 500 flyers done and physically handed them out.

Will do more keyword research.

Visitors are spending an average of 4 minutes on the website, they're visiting all the pages, mainly cushions which gets 70% of visits from the homepage from what i can see.

 

[paulus]

Why are we getting so few hits though? we're frickin top for loads

Are you sure people are searching for the things you rank for? Are you sure that you are ranking when other people search (discounting any personalisation, geo-targeting etc).

If you are ranking highly when other people search, what's your description in the SERPs look like? Is it accurate, inviting?

If you've registered your site with Google Webmaster Tools, it'll tell you how many times your site appeared at #1, #2, #3 etc and what the click through rate was for each position. That might give you some clues.

 

[terryuk]

We've tried adwords. £120 odd quid and sod all came out of it, we tried pushing up the keywords around cushions and table runners but still got nothing.

We're running one of those free adwords campaigns at the moment, the £50 voucher one. Not yet seeing many results, few extra hits but for £50 i could of had 500 flyers done and physically handed them out.

Will do more keyword research.

Visitors are spending an average of 4 minutes on the website, they're visiting all the pages, mainly cushions which gets 70% of visits from the homepage from what i can see.

I can think of a few ways which you could make the product pages a bit more enticing to buy and not everyone has Paypal.. but not all markets convert the way others do, I know some I need 10 visits for a conversion some I need 300... if you haven't got past 300 odd visits it's hard to tell if the niche is pants or not.

 

[BrightIdeas]

I would agree that you need to see more visitors before drawing any conclusions

 

[Esk247]

We've had 279 visitors from the start of October.

1,164 page views

4 pages per visit average

40.14% bounce rate

webmaster tools is showing 590 impressions but we've only been running that for a few weeks.

Adwords is showing click-thrus. but not many.

Haven't got localised search on or anything, have tried finding it in 3 different browsers too.

stockists are finding us and contacting us.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Why are we getting so few hits though? we're frickin top for loads

Any reason why people would be less likely to click on your listing than other people's listings?

I would have expected at least one phone call from someone thats interested or a sale??

I'd guess - and this is just a guess - that the web design/usability is doing a lot of damage.

Unless you're selling to goths, white on black designs tend to be poorly performing. Add to that usability things like having the text on the "add to basket" buttons in white on light grey, you're not helping yourselves.

Steve

 

[Esk247]

Any reason why people would be less likely to click on your listing than other people's listings?



I'd guess - and this is just a guess - that the web design/usability is doing a lot of damage.

Unless you're selling to goths, white on black designs tend to be poorly performing. Add to that usability things like having the text on the "add to basket" buttons in white on light grey, you're not helping yourselves.

Steve

Well I would agree with you, but i need to bring in more visitors to be able to fiddle with the website and watch my squiggly lines go up or down and then follow them through to the paypal bit to make sure there are no hickups for other people.

White on black is designed like that for a reason, i understand that it doesn't convert as well but we're not really converting at all at the moment. We don't need high turnover, we just need occassional sales through this channel.

Other websites that are truly dreadful are making sales where we're not. Thats the bit that i don't understand.

If other websites were superb, glossy, brochure websites with amazing imagery and such then i could understand that we're not as highly rated as them, but the truth is that website designed 5 years ago are still pulling in more traffic and conversions than we are. Everyone is, even a website that sells second hand peanuts is probably getting more trade than we are through the website.

 

[saxondale]

can you filter out clicks from UKBF and see what difference that makes, you`re getting less than 10 visits a day as it is.

 

[Esk247]

UKBF is generating a huge amount of the traffic. 30 odd percent.

now some of that is from reviews, some is from people that potentially want to stock the items as i've had a couple of phonecalls relating to that.

i could remove paypal and pay for a full shopping cart from the bank but thats £30 a month and if i haven't sold anything from the website then i'm not doing that, after spending £150 on adwords already and £50 on hosting and domain, then another £100 on marketing stuff within a month.

I would like at least one sale from the website after that expenditure. Plus its all facebooked and that still doesn't generate any hits.

 

[SFD]

Are you sure that you are ranking when other people search (discounting any personalisation, geo-targeting etc).

I'll echo this as I just searched using a few phrases in your title tags and couldn't find your site anywhere on the first page.

 

[saxondale]

so thats just 6 visitors a day, I`m sure a seo person will tell you the average for your sector



there is the obvious point - luxury cushions just aren`t selling in these tough economic times?

 

[Esk247]

I'll echo this as I just searched using a few phrases in your title tags and couldn't find your site anywhere on the first page.

hmm now thats odd. How would i know if its geo targeting though? i'm not signed in to google and its not set to prioritise results.

 

[Esk247]

so thats just 6 visitors a day, I`m sure a seo person will tell you the average for your sector



there is the obvious point - luxury cushions just aren`t selling in these tough economic times?

yeah well thats what i'm wondering. If thats the case then all is fine, i just dont want everyone else to be selling when we aint.

 

[SFD]

hmm now thats odd. How would i know if its geo targeting though? i'm not signed in to google and its not set to prioritise results.

Post up or PM me some of the terms, just a couple, and I'll see where you appear on my searches if you want.

 

[Esk247]

Well for luxury cushions middle of page 3

luxury interior accessories top of page 1

interior accessories middle of page 2

luxury table runners top of page 2

interior accessories yorkshire page 2

interior accessories whitby page 1

we were on page 2 for pink cushion but we've dropped out of that for some reason

thats a few, there are several others

 

[SFD]

It's quite unlikely you will get very much traffic from anything other than page 1, and the terms which you do have on page one 'interior accessories' is a very generic term, especially when you are only selling a small range of cushions and table runners so conversion from that traffic will be very low anyway.

I think this is also why PPC will have cost you so much.

Well for luxury cushions middle of page 3

luxury interior accessories top of page 1

interior accessories middle of page 2

luxury table runners top of page 2

interior accessories yorkshire page 2

interior accessories whitby page 1

we were on page 2 for pink cushion but we've dropped out of that for some reason

thats a few, there are several others

 

[Esk247]

hmm interesting. Because that was the type of things i used to type in before i even set up the website.

Well what should i be trying to target then? individual cushions? like pink cushion or red cushion?

 

[SFD]

hmm interesting. Because that was the type of things i used to type in before i even set up the website.

I'm not saying your products aren't part of 'interior accesories' but it's like ranking for 'clothing' when all you sell are yellow woolly jumpers in size xxxs, it's going to be very few and far between on who actually wants what you sell.

Well what should i be trying to target then? individual cushions? like pink cushion or red cushion?

I would set up adwords on phrase match for 'table runners' and 'cushions' and see what phrases are most popular, then if they are relevant and convert, SEO for those.

 

[Esk247]

hmm right ive changed the adwords to £1 a day and featuring a wider spread of keywords that are relevant through cushions or table runners. I've selected the ones that are generating 20,000 global hits a month upwards.

added things like sofa cushions and table linen.

i was only paying for 3 phrases before now i've got 12 set up. perhaps that will generate better results.

I've paid £10.75 for less than 50 clicks too

 

[SFD]

Are you using exact match on these 12 phrases?

 

[Esk247]

no i've gone for broad match.

do i just add the [] around the ones that i want as exact match?

is it me or is adwords a really confusing control panel to use for people who don't use it all that often, the help menu isn't much help either. eesh.

 

[Esk247]

Update:

Well while i wait for those keyword changes to take effect over the next 7 days I headed off to the nearest town for a mooch around at pricing, product styles etc. I've done this before but mainly using online searches, this time i went straight to the stores and also had a look at how busy these stores were.

The first few i visited are selling traditional handmade cushions, individual and the fabric made by hand/woven etc. Thats not us, thats a different style of interior accessories and they're only selling for £25 max. So i thought my prices are out, by a long chalk, maybe this is why nobody buys.

Then i headed across to a few more of the elite stores, the high end, the boutiques. Ta Da. They're selling very similar styles to us, slightly smaller but at exactly the same prices. Stores were bustling, making lots of sales by the looks of it. So our RRP is about right for the market and our fabrics are the latest straight from the fabric makers themselves so our style must be spot on.

So our prices are right, our fabrics are right. It's just the website or the way people are viewing it that's off centre somewhere. More research is called for but at least i know the types of items we're creating are selling on the high street.

 

[saxondale]

Update:

or the way people are viewing it that's off centre somewhere. More research is called for but at least i know the types of items we're creating are selling on the high street.

cushions need touching ................. i bet you picked them all up and squeezed? can`t do that online.

 

[Matt1959]

glaring thing to me is that theres not enough people seeing your site as its not high enough in google by way of either organic listings or PPC which is a pretty elementary problem.

On the subject of PPC, you mentioned about how to do exact match which kind of suggests that you don't have the basics on PPC so it may be worth brushing up on that and giving PPC another crack?

 

[Esk247]

cushions need touching ................. i bet you picked them all up and squeezed? can`t do that online.

Well exactly. i get the feeling you need to see our cushions to get the idea of just how big and soft they are. Ours dont flop and die in your hands when you pick them up either

 

[Esk247]

glaring thing to me is that theres not enough people seeing your site as its not high enough in google by way of either organic listings or PPC which is a pretty elementary problem.

On the subject of PPC, you mentioned about how to do exact match which kind of suggests that you don't have the basics on PPC so it may be worth brushing up on that and giving PPC another crack?

Hmm this be true. I know 'about' exact match but i've never actually implemented it before.

I'm not expecting to see thousands of hits, the people we're aiming for don't have time to search forever online and we won't be doing cheap cushions, so that cuts us out of a lot of markets. I'm really aiming for those that like all the extras and customer service that go with the items we sell. We don't just shove them in a carrier bag and post them to you. So i'm trying to work out how to get that over on the website without it being too wordy.

We had a wordy website before and that had a poor bounce rate (70%) since changing the site to black and with better, more colourful images, bounce rate is down to 37% now.

Progress progress.

 

[papverpoppies]

Could it be that you say delivery up to 14 days on your cushions.......when I want a cushion I kind of want it ASAP......I think that will put an awful lot of people off.

POppy xx

 

[Esk247]

Could it be that you say delivery up to 14 days on your cushions.......when I want a cushion I kind of want it ASAP......I think that will put an awful lot of people off.

POppy xx

Hmm true. I wonder if 5 working days would be better? I'm keen to allow us a big enough window for any problems as we're using a new courier company and they haven't been fully tested out yet.

 

[trebor8]

Hmm true. I wonder if 5 working days would be better? I'm keen to allow us a big enough window for any problems as we're using a new courier company and they haven't been fully tested out yet.

I think all orders despatched within 24hrs or next delivery might nail it.

Also, i feel a few people doing searches for interiors (anything) are actually looking for insperation on doing out there living room out etc. Maybe show your cushions on a nice sofa as part of an overall interior design but with emphasis on your cushions. Show how adding a few of your nice luxury cushions can brighten up any living room. I think people need to be able to visualize how these cushions might look in there own home

 

[Esk247]

Well i'm thinking something along the lines of this. It's all in photoshop so you can't click on anything but i'm just looking at how colours would work.

http://www.walkerandlawrence.co.uk/new

which is kind of born from www.thewhitecompany.com

 

[trebor8]

Looks better!

also your links in left column, your home, about us, etc.etc imo should go after the links of your products, not before. i don,t think customers really care too much about you. They want great lookin cushions

also, start learning about marketing techniques, see this thread for starters

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=181858


time to get a bit more jiggy with your site,

 

[Esk247]

Looks better!

also your links in left column, your home, about us, etc.etc imo should go after the links of your products, not before. i don,t think customers really care too much about you. They want great lookin cushions

also, start learning about marketing techniques, see this thread for starters

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=181858


time to get a bit more jiggy with your site,

Agree that products come before anything about us in the menu box.

We need the website to have some expandability because we'll be introducing some new products later on, just got to concentrate on the cushions and table runners first to prove that we can make some sales online.

Will have a look at that thread.

 

[bdw]

Unless you're selling to goths, white on black designs tend to be poorly performing.

I would agree with this. Cushions to me suggest warm and cosy. Your original colour scheme suggests the exact opposite. I hope you don't mind me saying so but to me it looks like an advert for a war movie or a new video game or something. I think black can work for luxury goods but not with that background. I am afraid that old grey wood will not sell cushions and I actually find that the contrast hurts my eyes.

Your new design is better.

Regarding keywords, based on nothing more than gut feeling I personally doubt that many people will use specific searches like "luxury cushions". They may include the word cushions in combination with other words but I think they are more likely to make the choice of whether the sites in the results are what they are seeking after viewing them.

.

 

[Esk247]

I would agree with this. Cushions to me suggest warm and cosy. Your original colour scheme suggests the exact opposite. I hope you don't mind me saying so but to me it looks like an advert for a war movie or a new video game or something. I think black can work for luxury goods but not with that background. I am afraid that old grey wood will not sell cushions and I actually find that the contrast hurts my eyes.

Your new design is better.

Regarding keywords, based on nothing more than gut feeling I personally doubt that many people will use specific searches like "luxury cushions". They may include the word cushions in combination with other words but I think they are more likely to make the choice of whether the sites in the results are what they are seeking after viewing them.

.

I think i've aimed at the wrong keywords. I personally was searching under the term 'luxury accessories' or 'luxury cushions' before i set the website up and thats when i found limited competition so i shoved some PPC in to that.

Having used webmaster tools and such I've found that people are actually typing in things like scatter cushions or throw cushions or specifically pink cushions etc. So now im starting to direct what i'm paying for on PPC toward those.

It's an interesting learning curve. Now it's time to start making some money though, new website will go up with white background and i'll see what people do when they visit this time round.