website traffic....?

[pureblisscandles]

I have had my website now for about 4 months and well other than my family and close friends I really have had no traffic. I googled my site and key words and I come right up but what else do you guys do to get traffic. I feel my prices are competitive and can't figure out why I have only had 6 sales on my site in four months? I think I am either forgetting about something or just do not know??? lol

Any tips would be helpful, I already pass out business cards like crazy and I have car magnets with my site and info....(I catch people reading it all the time when driving!)

I need traffic and more important sales from the traffic.... what do you guys do. I have a small goal of getting 20 sales a month. (hey it is a start). So check out my site and also let me know what you think, I will take the good the bad and the ugly....lol

Thanks

Lysa

http://pureblisscandles.net

[Love2Scent]

I think as a whole right now people are not buying as much. It is kinda hard to judge your success right now based on the state of the economy.

How many link partners do you have? Those really do help. Swap links with similar "feeling" websites.

Also, what keywords are you using? are they something the average shopper would be searching on like candles or scented candles or something more specific to your site. You need to think like a consumer when it comes to your website keywords.

Do you have a mailing list? Encourage people to sign up by offering a monthly drawing for a free candle or bar of soap. Once your list starts building use that a tool to reach your potential customers and turn them in to buyers. Send out periodic newsletters with new products or mailing list only specials. Make it enticing so they come back to your site to buy.

Is your website address on EVERYTHING? Your biz cards, products, brochures, etc. Hand out cards to everyone you meet. You never know where your next new customer will come from.

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to promote your website.

Chin up, fall time is coming and hopefully MORE BUSINESS! Best of luck to you.

[ah-soy]

I took a quick look at your site code and source and at first glance it looks to me as if your page titles and headers need work for search engine optimization. Here is a link to a Q & A about SEO:

http://www.vodahost.com/vodatalk/search-engine-topics-vodahits/26877-what-search-engine-optimization.html

Search out the posts by bethers and use the links below her siggie for great seo tips. She has a free download with a basic tutorial on this. Google 'search engine optimization' and lots of free tutorials and tips will come up.

Also, it can take 6 months or more for google to index your site...

Good Luck!

[Mom2]

You definitely want to add keywords and description tags into your html. Whoever designed the site for you should have done that. Its fairly easy to do yourself.

I do not think it is affecting your sales, but I found it a bit unusual that you had a bible quote on your site. This *could* potentially affect sales if someone is not religious. I have nothing against it personally but I thought I would mention it.

Your site looks nice and you have some great products. I would consider possibly some larger pictures though.

Good luck with your biz, I do think it has a lot to do with the economy.

edited: You can also add a site map to Google which will help in SEO.

[MissMary]

Both posts above are great advice. I also have to agree with the biblical quote. It's absolutely fine - but it could limit your audience.

Another thing I noticed - and this may totally just be me, of course - is that your text in the boxes and on the left are very similar texts and box style as Google Ads. Someone may come in and think it's another "affiliate" site and not spread the word. For me personally as a shopper - any site with a lot of Google Ads must not be doing well to need extra revenue. If someone mistakes that, they *might* be thinking the same thing, without giving a closer look.

[ladysj]

I am a little confused as to there the keywords should be placed on my website. Do all of the keywords I have go in to the meta tag keywords area or just the keywords related to that particular page?

I am so totally dumb & clueless on this although I am and have been reading up on this stuff it's still kind of greek to me.

[onlyscents]

Try this website for html

www.htmlgoodies.com

[VerticallyEnhanced]

Lysa...I peeked at your sie and just thought I would let you know that "Mandles" is trademarked and has been since 2004. I wanted to make them as well, but when I checked, the product name was protected.

[pureblisscandles]

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice, I have read the links and have learned alot. We submitted our sitemap 8/01/08 and already saw an improvement on search engine searches....

Now as far as my scripture.....I will say this as softly as I can.

I was inspired from God to start my business. It was made very clear that I had to honor God. After praying the scipture was revealed to me "I am the light of the world..." John 8:12 which I was so thrilled that scripture was used....what a perfect scripture for candles(light!) Well much to my surprise God did not give me this scripture just because it was appropriate for candles but that it was my duty as a christian to serve as a light to the world. As our business grows and becomes a profitable business it has been made clear to my husband and I that we are to be the "light of world" and support missions of the world.

Now if I had tons of web traffic and had no sales then maybe it could have been the scripture limiting my sales, however when I posted my post it was to get traffic....So honestly I do not think the scripture itself is deterring traffic....

I feel very stong about proclaiming the word of God, of course it is your choice to hear it or not, however it will not stop me. In fact every product I sell has the scripture on it, labels, etc....so maybe I should have a disclaimer, lol

I feel if someone decides not to purchase my products based on the scripture then that is a personal preference and I honor that.

But, you know there is a but, I as a christian feel where one door closes another one opens!

Thanks everyone for your replies and heres hoping to more traffic and more sales...

Have a Blessed Day

Lysa

[momtohaley2004]

Hi, I also checked out your site but only briefly. The one suggestion I can make is that your site seems too wordy. Maybe make the pictures bigger as they seem small. Nice presentation overall but I think if you put larger pictures and maybe make pages for your facts about soy. Make your product the center of attention on your site.

Just another thing to take not of too....a dot net website usually will have less traffic or so I learned from my own experience. Most commonly people search for dot com so when passing out cards, etc you may just say check me out at....pureblisscandles dot NET so that you also verbally emphasize it. Give it a little time too as word of mouth is the best advertisement. That and right now people just are not buying like they were this time last year. Heads up and good luck!

[pureblisscandles]

Hey thanks momtohaley.....

I was kinda thinking the same thing about being too wordy.......Not sure how I could make pics larger since prostores converts them???? Sure there is a way I just need to figure it out.....I know if you click on them they get larger??

Anyhow thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions and I will def start emphasizing on the net instead of com, too bad the .com was taken and it is not even a real site...

oh well thanks!!!

Lysa

[LeeAnn Carlton]

We too Have Bible scripture on ours..and we thought long and hard about this very subject...well if the bible verse makes them not want to buy...thats okay you can not please everybody. But me personally I love my God and he is the foundation of my home and buisness. So we decided our bible verse stays! LeeAnn~

[Toni S.]

Lysa & LeeAnn,

"AMEN" to your Bible Verses! I also have the same Verse as you Lysa and never hesitated one second about putting it on my site. If people choose to NOT purchase my products because of that, that's up to them!!

God Bless you both

[debscent]

It's your site, if you want something with meaning, that's biblical, by all means, do it. I get very irritated with everyone being so overly politically correct it drives me insane. Candles, etc. are so overly saturated on the web that you have to find something that makes it stick out above everyone else. I'd still target the christian aspect of your business, it can't be wrong.I noticed on your scent description page there are some typos, words that are intial capped that shouldn't be, and some spacing issues.

[SliverOfWax]

The scripture on your site is lovely and doesn't hurt it in the slightest. It's way at the bottom, anyway.

Definitely increase the size of your images. I will almost never click on something to see it. I didn't go with Zen for the very reason that there didn't seem to be any way to make the images the size I wanted. Maybe there is and I'm just too dumb to figure it out. Little bitty pictures is one of my biggest internet peeves. Tiny pictures and tiny font.

TIME. And hits. Time is your best friend. Submit your site to search engines. Don't do like me and say you'll do it tomorrow. Share links with people who aren't in competition with you.

And TIME. lol

[momtohaley2004]

Just a thought but for picture size why not try contacting the host of your website. I know you mentioned who it was but I haven't gone back to look. For example, I use Designer 218 and they are very helpful if I have any questions. You may see what you can come up with by asking if there is a way to increase image size.

[pureblisscandles]

ok I think I figured it out.....Pics are now bigger....It looks a little me too big???? Let me know but it def. get attention now...

thanks everyone!

Lysa

[SliverOfWax]

Much better. Definitely not too big.

I would move all those soy facts to a FAQ page. Just put a link to your Soy FAQs on your home page.

[Stella1952]

I didn't go with Zen for the very reason that there didn't seem to be any way to make the images the size I wanted. Maybe there is and I'm just too dumb to figure it out.

It isn't you, Sliver - the out-of-the-box Zen needs tweaking to make it look passable - same with osCommerce and CubeCart. Some themes one can download free or purchase have larger image sizes, etc. Their support forums are pretty good places to find hacks and mods to fix things more to your liking. Just means more butt-in-the-office-chair time... :undecided

[SliverOfWax]

Yah, hahaha, me find a hack and figure out how to install it? I think not! Too bad, too, but I'm too old to learn all those new techy tricks. And I won't fool around with pictures so tiny you can't figure out what they are.

I think of my website as a storefront with a big, bold window display. If people can't see at first glance what I'm selling, I can't very well expect them to come inside and browse around.

I gave serious consideration to going with Designer 218's Zen version, but in the end, just couldn't force myself to do it.

Big pictures, people, show us what you've got! And don't make me squint at the thing to read the description. More and more older people are shopping online these days, and for the most part, we have little patience.

I think by the time they're my age, the next couple of generations are going to be blind from sitting around looking at tiny gray font on a white background. What the hell is wrong with people designing websites these days?

jmho.

[MissMary]

I don't know about the others, but OSCommerce has a section to change image sizes in it's default.

[SliverOfWax]

Heaven help me, I've been talking with Mandi at Designer 218 and she says the images on her Zen can be easily set to be larger...BUT...they all have to be the same size.

Which means I would have to resize all my photos since the current sizes are everything from A to Z. Heaven help me. For every step forward, I take 2 backward. I'm gonna have to sleep on this a few nights.