eCommerce sites tend to be a bit easier to monitor and rate success with online goals being sales.  Sites that are not selling online still need to generate business – otherwise what’s the point of being online right?  Hopefully you are using Google Analytics to set goals for your site and to monitor their success.

If you don’t have goals set up – take a look at your non-eCommerce site and look for areas for generate leads.  A few examples of leads might be:

• Email Opt-In
• Online Conact Form Submission
• Online Quote Request Submitted
• Online Survey Completion
• Document Downloads

Each of these actions can  be tracked separately in Google Analytics and can provide valuable insight into how your site is performing.

Assessing an existing goal and working to improve coversions

Having goals set up for a website doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be a successful goal with regular conversions.  Through Google Analytics we can ascertain what is working and what isn’t.  Here’s a real time example:

Company X is a USA manufacturer who does not sell direct online.  They do however offer to quote out every product they sell and work directly with their online users.  This is a means to be able to sell direct and not upset their distributor networks.    After the site was live for several months we decided to add a quote request form to offer up this service and generate leads.

We added a quote request form to the site and featured it on the site’s home page.  We then monitored the site’s goal conversion rate over a few months and found that while people were starting to submit quote requests – they were few and far between.

We took it a step further and created a call-out for this quote request and placed it on the top and bottom of every single product page.  Below is a real-time screen capture of the change in goal conversions for these quote requests – showing two months before, and one month after this very simple change was made.

Note that in June and half way through July they were lucky to get 1-2 quote requests per week.  Once we made that simple change of adding this quote request callout to every product page, the number of quote requests they are now receiving has greatly improved.  One simple change can make a huge difference.

Be sure to monitor your site traffic regularly and look for areas to improve conversions.  Work to develop ways to convert online traffic into real business and get creative.  Adding a survey to your site is a nice way to generate leads if you are not currently quoting custom products.  Email signups are another great way to generate leads.  Start thinking outside the box – especially if you are not selling direct to your online website visitors.

As a side note – if you have more than 4 goals you want to track, and are using Google Analytics – you will need to create a duplicate profile.  Each profile in Analytics only allows for 4 goals.  (See post on creating duplicate profiles.)

Good Morning my internet friends!   It’s time to stop and talk about the importance of growing your website traffic versus the importance of improving your site content to increase conversions (Yet Again).

If you are the proud owner of a new website – and by new I mean less than 18 months old – then I hope you are working on improving your website and listening to what it’s telling you.  This is an area of internet I am very passionate about, and also very frustrated with why people don’t get it!

During the infancy of your new website – you should be watching your top landing pages and their bounce rates.  You should also be looking for ways to grow your conversions. Depending on your website, a conversion may either be an online sale, or an online quote requested, or even just a contact form or survey submission. Every online business varies in what they are trying to accomplish.   While your website is ‘young’ the traffic will be less, so you’ll want to work on converting more… then as your traffic grows – your conversions should increase accordingly.

Google Analytics does a fantastic job of letting know how people are finding you, where they are entering your site and where they are exiting your site. Your bounce rate can tell you a lot about why people are not buying or converting on your web site. If your top performing keyword and it’s related landing pages have a bounce rate or 90% – you have to take action. This means that 90% of the users visiting under that search term are NOT converting!    Why would not want to try to grab a hold of some of that traffic.

I find that people get wrapped around the axle about meta tags and “SEO”.   Let me again reiterate – search engine optimization is only a SMALL part of effectively marketing your website. STOP! Furthermore the common theme I get from customers is “I just need more traffic”. NO! You need to work on improving your site so you convert your existing traffic – as you make these improvements, your traffic will naturally increase.

You can have all the traffic in the world, if it’s not converting and your web site is not an effective sales toolfor your organization – your traffic is useless.

You gotta work your web site people! You have to listen to it, and be willing to constantly improve it. If you do that – you can reach markets that you might have never otherwise enjoyed.

The internet can and will help you grow your business, if you are willing to grow with your website. This post may sound like a rant, and it is. I just want you to get it! Stop focusing on traffic and seo, and start worrying about what matters!

Search Keyterms (or key words) are still a primary focus in web site search engine optimization and do continue to contribute to higher search result ranking.  While search rank should not be a primary focus, it should one of many internet marketing goals.  However, there is no point in achieving high search result ranking if the landing pages that are ranking well are doing nothing for your website conversion rate.

To put it another way (and to be blunt), if your content stinks and your landing pages lack the organization or information your visitors want or need, all the rank in the world will do absolutely no good for you.  In fact, it will drive business elsewhere.

If you are using Google Analytics (or other similar analytical tools), you should be watching this information and making adjustments accordingly.  Let’s review a real-life example. Customer “X” sells a particular type of gloves online.  Of the top 20 performing web site keyterms, 6 of them are related to a paticular type of glove which is not selling well.  Out of those 6 search terms, 5 of them rank in the top ten positions in Google (or display on Google Page 1 search results).   When looking at sales, these gloves are just not selling.   This lends to the question… why?

Why are these gloves not selling if most of our web traffic is coming from those search terms and they have great Google search rank?

We dug in a bit deeper and checked out the keyterm bounce rate for Google traffic and the associate landing page specific bounce rate.  Here’s what I found…  The average bounce rate for those 6 keyterms was over 80% – Not Good.

The above graph is showing those top 6 performing keyterms and what the individual bounce rates are for each.  With that average bounce rate being almost 84%, we quickly realized there was an issue with the content related to those search terms.  To take it to the next level we can dig in to each of those keyterms and review the top landing pages for each.

The above graph shows that the top performing keyterms from the first chart has 2 associated landing pages.  We can then dig into those associated landing pages.  In this real life example, we learned there was a gross pricing error on their site, which made their gloves appear twice as expensive as their online competition.  No wonder they were not selling anything!

We were able to take real data and make sense of the fact that even though search results were fantastic, the site just wasnt working.  The product descriptions had errors that were causing customers to go elsewhere to buy the same product.

If your bounce rates are high it could mean several things (Read “Does Your Website Have Static Cling?“).  If it’s a product page, review the product description, pricing, shipping information.    If it’s not a product page, review the page layout and content.  Find out what your users are looking for when searching on those related terms and adjust your page content accordingly to improve conversions.

Please don’t ignore your bounce rate.  There is so much it can tell you about your web sites performance if you only just listen to what it’s telling you.

How many guys are out there searching on Google for cool and unique ways to propose marriage to their girlfriend?   How about this idea?  Plan a dinner or a summer picnic, barbeque – whatever, and order a carved watermelon centerpiece for your table that is hand-carved with the message “Will You Marry Me?” on it.    Add your girlfriend’s name for just a few bucks more!

So why am I blogging about these on an Internet Marketing Blog? Simply because the message is that you need to listen to what your web site is saying to you, and if you listen properly it can take you in directions you may have never thought about – that could grow your online business.

I have a client who has been selling watermelon boats and custom carved watermelon centerpieces – which in itself is a great concept!  Send them your logo and they will carve it on the face of a watermelon for your corporate event or whatever the occaision may be – whatever your message may be.

As we began to watch their traffic trends and site conversions, we found that they were getting quote requests for the custom watermelon carvings – which in truth I must tell you, is an area I did not think would be their primary focus.  But in looking at the numbers, I quickly realized there’s a lot of potential here to grow their website and online product offerings –  they have added some standard watermelon carvings options to their online store.  The Will You Marry Me marriage proposal carved watermelon is just one of those ideas.

We’ve listened to what the website was telling us through Analytics data, and what their visitors were looking for, and we’ve added products that answer that call.  The plan is to now develop a strategy for marekting these products and driving traffic to the website for these hand carved message watermelon centerpieces.  We’ll be posting on other blogs such as party and event planning blogs, engagement blogs, motivational and creative/crafty blogs and getting the message out about these “Message Carved Watermelons.”

As we begin to work the content for these new products, we will again need to listen to the web site and what it’s telling us…  We’ll be watching the bounce rate on these pages, which keyterms are working for which products, how many conversions (sales and/or quote requests), and so on.  Through doing this – we may even come up with more ideas for more products in the future…  We’ll be listening.

I must confess it’s been too long since my last post – but work is work and there’s much to be done.  Today I’m working with a customer on writing product descriptions for their site, and what I am reminded up is often times when we work with our customers, we tell them to do this and that to help sell their products online, but we don’t always explain the logic behind what we are telling them.

I had to take a breath to and explain the why’s of all the what’s I was requesting of them – and in hind sight it’s a practice I will introduce with all clients to give a clear picture of how to write effective product descriptions for your small busines web site (or really any web site content).  The basic concept to remember is this:

If we write FOR Google, the web site content is RIGHT for Google.

What I mean by this… There are several key elements of content related to your product.  Consider your users and how they will search for your products.  Know your search competition and keyterms that you will target and work those into all the key areas on your product page.

If we are talking about a database driven eCommerce site – then there are probably some standards in place on how your products are organized.  You may not realize it but each component of your product related data in your database can affect how your products get indexed and/or ranked.

Start with your web site’s product categories:  If you have many products and they are broken into categories – name your categories in such a way that Google can sort them out, and your users can find products easily on your site.   I’ve seen product categories that make absolutely no sense that not a living soul would search on.  Know your search terms and think about them when writing your product categories logically.

Name your products accordingly in your database:   I’ve seen many cases where a customer provides product data for upload into their web site’s product database and the product title is merely a SKU number that means nothing to nobody.  Generally speaking I don’t recommend using a SKU in your product title.   Your product name – again – should include the terminolgy that your users will find your products under.  Consider also – if you are uploading your products into Google Base (Google’s shopping engine), product names need to be carefully considered.    

I should note that in some circumstances it is necessary to use the SKU.  You may have a site that sells replacement parts for machinery where people WILL search by a part number or SKU.  In that situation you absolutely want that SKU in the product name.  

Next consider your product images:  If your product images are named product.jpg or abc123.jpg what the heck is Google going to do with that?  If your product images are names using search terms that relate to your product title, then Google is more likely to pick them up in Google Images also.  Your Alt-Tags should also be written in such a way to compliment your image title and product name – using variations of the same keyterms that you are looking to get ranking on.  In watching traffic for your website, using tools like Google Analytics, you may find yourself suprised by how much traffic comes from Google Images.

Adding product documentation helps:  If you have supporting documentation for whatever product you are selling, be sure to include a download link for that documentation.  Consider also, when naming your documenation that you don’t name it sales_presentation.pdf or something generic – AGAIN – use your web site’s relevent keyterms based on your keyword research.  I’ve had great luck in getting documentation indexed in Google, driving traffic to some of the small business websites I market.

Write a GOOD product description:    Your product description needs to be written in a such a way that Google can determine what that specific product page is all about, in order to get it indexed.  If there is no product description, it doesn’t say much about your product (literally).  Sometimes it can be challenging to write a good product description because frankly there isn’t always a lot to say, but you can work in related product you recommend, look for ways to use multiple variations of your keyterms for that product, and write for Google.  Most people know what they are looking for before they hit your product page, and chances are they are not reading the description.  Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write it.  You definitely need to write it.

In short (ok maybe not so short) – these are tips for writing effective product content for your eCommerce website or small business website.  They’ve proven effective for me, and I’ve been fortunate to gain ranking on highly competitive keyterms using these techniques.

Keep in mind, there is a whole internet marketing plan in place for any given small business website I market, and each unique to their needs.  These plans also include things like online press releases, email marketing campaigns, social media activities, linking strategies and so much more than one can list in a short paragraph.  

You want Google to see your site like it’s looking at it through 3-D glasses.  It needs to stand out, and Google needs to know that the content you provide is relevant, and your products are important enough to gain that organic ranking we all work for.   Work all the steps of your marketing plan to make your site jump off the page at Google – and your users or potential customers will have a much better chance of finding you.

Write FOR Google = RIGHT for Google… Remember that. Everybody will tell you differently, I tell you this is what works for me and for the small business websites I market.

One thing I’ve learned in marketing web sites over the years is often times what you think will be your biggest selling product, may not sell well online.  In addition, often times I have clients who have this product they sell that they think wont sell and it ends up being their hotest online product and opens up a line of business they never expected.

When I do an intial meeting with a client to review a marketing plan and kick things off, there is some digging to be done.  Generally when I get a site from our production team, all products are added, but sometimes clients don’t add all their products and you have to figure out where those gaps are.  You may here something like this….

“I also sell a thingamajig but I’m not going to sell it online because it just doesn’t sell, or I don’t think people will buy them online.”

I always challenge that because what harm is there in putting all your products online.  You may find that the ones you thought would never sell end up being your top selling items, which can then lead to add-on purchases of the items you expected to sell.

I encountered this situation with a client selling a customized gourmet items for which they are getting quote requests.  This item, we did not think would be a hot seller, but as a result of the interest, we are rebuilding their online approach to enhance the user experience and make this product easier to buy.  

Each product type you offer gives you new avenues to drive traffic to your site through separate groups of keyterms and unique ways to optimize your web site.

Another way to approach this is to take a look at your product offerings and see where your competition is.  Your main product offering may have huge competition online, making it difficult to gain organic ranking, and challenging for people to find your product.  In this situation, focus on your niche products that are easier to get ranking on.  Start there and then continue working the marketing channels on your main product lines.  As your niche products begin to rank, and subsequently sell, chances are your main product offerings will gain popularity and ranking as well.

Embrace those surprises when they happen, they can open doors to new markets and new customers you never thought you’d develop relationships with online!  That’s the beauty of the internet.  Everyone is on the market for something, and someone is looking for your thingamajig!