Can't get any sales

Can someone tell me what they think?

My web address is ChurchAndWeddingdecorations (dot) com

My website is on google page 1 for my most common keywords. I get moderate traffic but for 4 weeks now have failed to land a sale.

I am lost as to the reason why. I am selling wedding decorations and the searches (keyword wise) which visitors are using fall directly into my category.

No one is even attempting to order and the average stay on the site is like 33 seconds which I think is bad, but I cannot find the reason why people are leaving so quickly.

Also, for my inner pages, If I use very competitive keywords (like keywords which everyone already uses), but I get lots of back links to those pages, would this increase my ranking?? Or should I stick to keywords which are less competitive and more niched???

Thanks in advance and awaiting a response to both my questions.

Sharon.

I have a successful e-commerce site, so let me take a look...

Overall your site looks professional and you have a wide offering, so I'm puzzled you have no sales. I don't know your market, but I assume your products are competitively priced?

My first impression though is I'm hit with a bunch of text above the fold. I would expect the home page to be more visual (folks won't scroll down if they don't like what they see above the fold.) So, right below your header I would place a large photo of a wedding table setting with several of your products arranged just as you would see them used in a wedding reception. Then, place your text below. Really, the text is for the search engines - your visitors won't read it anyway. Web shoppers are very visual - they look at photos and they click. No photos above the fold - no clicks!

Next, I would change your product text from "Buy Now" to "Add to Cart” It is less intimidating.

Folks shopping for your products are influenced by what they read in wedding forums. I would try very hard to get some testimonials in those key forums - even if you approach some people you know and give them a big discount in return for some buzz about your company.

Do you have Google Analytics? If not, get it. You need to find out where folks are leaving your site. If they are going no further than the home page then redesign it immediately. If they are leaving after placing items in their cart them maybe your cart has some issues turning off the buyer. These tools will help you drill down to the cause. There can be many reasons for lack of sales.

Ed

Hi!

Thanks for your input. My prices are about market price, as I cannot afford to go any lower. I have google analytics installed, but see no real trend. I made those changes suggested. Please tell me what you think.

Sharon.

Hi Sreid,

I took a look at your site, it looks great...
But there are items ranging from $4, but your cart says that the minimum amount required for checkout is $25. This may also be a problem for your down sales.

I think your home page looks 100% better with the new photo and the text pushed down. People click on anything and everything - make the large table setting photo a link to a category.

I dug a bit deeper into your site. Overall it looks very good and professional. But I see a red flag on the cart. People don't like to register just to make a purchase. You say it's optional in the small print. The big box that says "Create New Account" draws my attention way before I see the small print saying it's optional. If your cart allows the option, I would do away with the whole registration scheme for a couple of months and see what happens. You get the customer info anyway.

Also, you are in Texas, but the Cart defaults to Canada?

Eliminate ALL forms of friction and confusion for your customers. Read the books "Web Design for ROI" and "Don't Make Me Think".

What is your home page bounce rate? What is your sales conversion rate?

Finally, I would ask some folks in your business, such as wedding planners, to review your site. They know the trends and the budgets.

Ed

Let's assume for the moment that there is a logical reason...

I doubt these products are your own

I only look for one:

Yours:

http://www.churchandweddingdecorations.com/Argento-Lari--Lustrous-Silver-Favor-Boxes-20ct_p_0-13701.html

Theirs:

http://www.truebluebridal.com/store/ARGENTO-LARI-LUSTROUS-SILVER-FAVOR-BOXES-10ct-pr-1440.html

Your pricepoint is nearly 100% more than the other company but your descriptive value, your "added-value" isn't any different...

The lowest price isn't always the winner... but unless you differentiate yourself from everyone there is not reason what-so-ever for anyone to buy from you.

It';s worth noting that since you seem to rely on search to bring visitors in... surely they will search and review more than one store... thus it buys to not have any products identical to anyone else... thus visitors can "ONLY BUY IT FROM YOU" and that's what generates sales.

with a general search for this one product using Argento Lari - Lustrous Silver Favor Boxes - everyone has the same thing and you're 100% to 300% more expensive but offering no added-value other than the privilege of buying from you...

does that sound "profitable"?

Hi!

Thanks for your response. My bounce rate is like 55.3% and I have 0 conversions. I realize though after the fact that lots of people are selling the same exact items I am from the same supplier. So I'm wondering if people are just browsing and then finding someone else who has more what they are looking for.

I also realize using google analytics, that most people are looking in the wedding decorations section, but these are mostly favors in this section, but by my site says "church" in it, they seem to be looking more for stuff to decorate a church as they are looking for church pew decorations. A lot of them are finding me under terms which have in the words church and pew so that should be my main focus.

My problem however, is finding suppliers who have these items to the level which I need. People aren't looking at the favors at all....very few. Even if I choose to change favor suppliers, this area is so saturated already and over 7 million pages with this term and inner terms for favors are also saturated. I don't know what to do now. People are not even going to the checkout page. I don't think there's anyway I can get in front of 7 million people to get on the first page of google. I know it's a lot to grasp all in one go, but what is your advice on this matter?

Thanks and eagerly awaiting your response.
Sharon.

Actually edit the description, call your product names something different than the supplier, make modifications to the pictures... and that we make your products "yours" rather than "just like everyone else".

I would also do a sale and drop the price below what you make so you can determine if price is an issue... with wedding favors - people want as cheap as they can get what they want... not more expensive.

Have you tried buying something with your own credit card? Maybe cart is not working.

Also, how many visitors have you received?
50? not worried yet
500? maybe you have a problem but not pushing panic yet (some people want to make their own favors or are just getting ideas - I think that there would be a lower conversion rate on this type of product than for others because lots of looking and dreaming in this area)

You are making so much sense. Thanks a million for your help. I am now looking at a new venture, but I would not get as much traffic, but it is very targeted traffic I will be getting. When the site is up, I'll let you know, so that you can give me your insites.

Thanks a million.
Sharon.

Aw yep. It's very easy to compare prices on the web.

The problem with being a reseller on the web is that there is a low barrier to entering the business, and thus lots of competition. Basically, anyone can duplicate your business with little cost. Unless you have an exclusive sales channel agreement with your suppliers, they will sell to anyone - ebay sellers included.

The other posters are spot on - any business needs a competitive advantage and cookie-cutter sites don't make it.

Not to be harsh - but the business planning and marketing strategy must take place before making the decision to put up a site.

In my case, I design and manufacture my own products. The barrier to entry is higher, and I've cut out the middleman. However, the Chinese have entered the market with products that wholesale for less than I pay for the raw materials! My counter-measure was to offer personalized, custom-designed products and this has proved successful.

I really don't know how anyone can enter a mature market selling the same stuff as everyone else. You need to offer unique goods and unique service.

Ed

I think that some markets are more prone to price comparison than others. If you have a product that sells to busy people and hold #1 in google you can sell it above MSRP and still get a lot of sales. You can actually make more money selling fewer units.