Feedback needed on Amazon site

14 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
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Hi guys

I love this forum. The wealth of ideas here is always encouraging and the discussions are always great to read and be a part of.

This past year I have created several Amazon Affiliate sites which have seen a steady stream of pocket money. But in 2012 I want to create a lot more than just pocket money.

I've decided the niche-site model is not for me. Too much maintenance, and when products disappear off of Amazon I need to trawl my sites looking to add replacements. Also, let's face it, the niche-site review model doesn't often create a lot of value for the end user (I know it can, but it often doesn't).

So I created Gift Scoop (aimed at the UK audience). This is designed to work like an e-commerce store. I don't want to try and usher users to Amazon as quickly as possible - I want them to browse my site and enjoy it. I want them to engage with my content and, dare I say, my brand. But I have a few questions that I know will yield great feedback here:
  • Is it clear what the site is/does
  • Should it be more focused (i.e. niche)?
  • Is the content on the product pages valuable?
  • Can you find what you want easily?
  • Is this a site you'd share with friends? If not, what makes you share with friends?
  • Is the user experience fluid and simple?

After the bloodbath of Panda earlier in the year I want to create pages which don't have affiliate links on them; pages which might get shared through genuine interest. For example, the puppy e-card, the stores section and the blog.

Looking for real feedback here. I've done my best to break convention and created a site which I believe can grow into something brilliant. Your thoughts would be very much welcomed.

Thanks, and have a great New Year!
#amazon #feedback #needed #site
  • Profile picture of the author zaco
    Hey Matt,

    That is a really cool idea! never thought abt it, I browsed your site fast and I noticed that the background color is too strong, maybe it is my eyes but it bothered my eyes or maybe the 2 split colors do not match, I will check out the website more when I wake up and give more feedbacks buddy.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph G Spiteri
      Hay Matt,
      Great idea never thought of that had a quick look at the site and there is something that doesn't gel with me it mite be the colour. I think what is was is when i first went to the site i did ant get what it was all about that was in the first few seconds and i was tempted to click away. I would try to make the site more apparent to the customer so he dos not click out hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    I like it. I think you already know you need more gifts on there. There is something that does not jive with me also. I honestly think its the centering of the Give me gift ideas for... and right below it for some reason, just can't pinpoint it is all.
    (yes) Is it clear what the site is/does
    (yes) Should it be more focused (i.e. niche)?
    (no) Is the content on the product pages valuable?
    (yes) Can you find what you want easily?
    (.no) Is this a site you'd share with friends? If not, what makes you share with friends?
    (yes) Is the user experience fluid and simple?
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  • Profile picture of the author komplex
    Banned
    Looks good. A few things I'd change but overall nice work.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cool Hand Luke
    Matt, I had actually come across your site before and was truly impressed. What a great idea!

    The only thing I noticed then and still do notice is that you need to have more options for the different various selections. For example, I selected recipient > Man, price > 75-100, department > Computers and IT. When the search ran, only one option came up for a gift (External Hard Drive).

    If you can scale up the results for all of the different possible matches, then this can be a HUGE success for you.

    Also, Kudos for coming up with your own thing. So many people have such a herd mentality and all do the exact same things, which is why right now there are so many bajillions of threads on the forum about Amazon sites and Facebook fan pages. The true successes are those who don't follow, but rather lead. You've got a brilliant idea with this, and I wish you the best of luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    Forgot to answer why I would not rec. to a friend. I just don't do that unless I know the friend is looking for something like that.
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  • Profile picture of the author rahmat
    Hi Matt,

    That's a great site you have.
    • Is it clear what the site is/does YES
    • Should it be more focused (i.e. niche)? YES
    • Is the content on the product pages valuable? NO
    • Can you find what you want easily? YES
    • Is this a site you'd share with friends? If not, what makes you share with friends? NO. As hustlinsmoke mentioned, the site needs more contents(products)
    • Is the user experience fluid and simple? YES

    I think you need to collect visitor's email more. I see that you have the Amazon gift card contest to get visitor's email. That's good.

    Moreover, you can integrate social network such as facebook to get more leads.
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  • Profile picture of the author matt5409
    Thanks very much guys, you're hitting on just the right points - stuff that has been niggling me but I've been putting off doing since launching it a couple of weeks ago!

    @zaco and spyjoe - I might have a play with the colours, maybe it's the textured background you don't like? it's very subtle.

    @luke the search is still a little ropey, couple this with a lack of product and it doesn't return very many great results. this is something I definitely need to work on, thanks for reinforcing it
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  • Profile picture of the author warriorseo
    Q.Is it clear what the site is/does
    A.The first think that caught my eye is the optin box that offers gift card.Other things not much.I suggest you get a good theme,there are lots of them for a very low price.

    Q. Should it be more focused (i.e. niche)?
    A.Unless you are target a big or semi big market I strongly suggest to target a specific niche.If you concentrate on too many you loose too many.

    Q.Is the content on the product pages valuable?
    A. Pick a theme that shows some of the content on your posts in your home page also.

    Q.Can you find what you want easily?
    A.No problem in navigating the site

    Q.Is this a site you'd share with friends? If not, what makes you share with friends?
    A.If you mean to get a good pat on your back,no problem as friends are biased towards you.But for customers make some changes like showing snippets of your posts on home page so that seo wise you will be in good hands and customers will quickly be in a call to action mode.

    Q.Is the user experience fluid and simple?
    A.In some ways yes.
    The flow is simple and effective.

    Hope this helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dee Syed
    Hi Matt,

    Great site - very nicely designed. I'd agree with spyjoe's comment -it could be the colour scheme. Your site concept seems fun, but the colour scheme (imho) just makes it look quite plain. Maybe just a few cosmetic changes will do the trick.

    Out of interest, what CMS did you use for this site?

    all the best,
    Dee
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    • Profile picture of the author matt5409
      Originally Posted by Dee Syed View Post

      Hi Matt,

      Great site - very nicely designed. I'd agree with spyjoe's comment -it could be the colour scheme. Your site concept seems fun, but the colour scheme (imho) just makes it look quite plain. Maybe just a few cosmetic changes will do the trick.

      Out of interest, what CMS did you use for this site?

      all the best,
      Dee
      Thanks Dee, will definitely look into the colour scheme. I think it's the tinted background people are confused by.

      No CMS, I built it myself from scratch. PHP/MySQL driven backend. I do need to build an admin panel so I'm not adding products directly through PhpMyAdmi n though...
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  • Profile picture of the author raw almond
    website seems to be well built. great design with a great give me ideas function. you can either SEO and advertise the site as a whole, or you can bring it down to small niches. "cheap men shirts". if you concentrate on a vast number of small niches i'm fairly certain the profit will come.

    best of luck!
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  • Great site you have created. My comment is that:

    The site design is ok
    I will rate the color blending 80%, so work on it. You can start by changing the green button to dark orange.
    Also the products are easily accesible.

    This is all i notices, good job, keep it up.
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    • Profile picture of the author Azarna
      It is a great idea!

      One BIG issue though - as a British business, you are legally obliged to include FULL contact details on the site.
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