Some advice on my website please

21 replies
Hi, I have been running my Health, exercise and fitness equipment for kids Fun fitness activities to keep kids healthy and Fit! website for some time now. At one time I was doing really well with sales and making good money, something has happened since a couple of years ago, one being the economy but also the competition.
I am ranked high on google and a few other search engines for quite a few keywords I target, problem is that the manufacturer of the equipment has moved right up there with me and it seems like they might be going directly to the manufacturer to order.
I have written some articles, have a newsletter, etc and just wondering what else I could do to get more of my traffic into buying customers. I am currently getting about 300 visits to my site each day and way over that within the site. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Denise
#advice #website
  • Profile picture of the author Tricerra
    The first thing I would have to really concern myself with is how is my traffic coming to this site and are they ready to buy when they get there. Being pushed directly to a catalog style page for high end equipment, like what you are selling, makes me wonder if I can get if somewhere else cheaper. So I begin to look around.

    For me and for the clients I write for I tend to want them to warm up to their large purchases through my suggestions. I clicked on the Skywalker picture and was taken aback by the price tag. I was not ready for that kind of expense for a piece of equipment for the kids in my home gym. Now it your clients are kids gyms or some form then giving them a catalog might do well.

    I know I should have some more thoughts but that is where I started.

    David
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  • Profile picture of the author networkmom
    I guess the visitors might not be ready to buy the higher ticket items, these are mainly for fitness centers, ymca's, schools and hospitals, so i guess I would need to focus on getting those people to my site but not quite sure how to do that.
    I do not have a catalog but I guess I could send out emails to them telling them about fitness and kids? What are your thoughts on this?

    Thanks
    Denise
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  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    It's hard to explain what I mean, but I think the home page needs a more professional appearance. To me it looks kind of like a site I might put up if I'd just decided to try selling some equipment to make a few pennies as an affiliate.

    If you are competing directly with the manufacturer's sites, take a look at how they present their products, what they have on their home pages in the way of text.

    The home page needs to tell me who you are, who the site is aimed at, etc. Maybe have separate sections for visitors to click on for home users and commercial users. Just a thought.

    Also, there's a full stop missing between the two sentences of your main tag line (Health, exercise ..........), which doesn't inspire me with confidence, as a random visitor, that you are a professional business.

    Maybe get a professional copywriter to help you with the home page text?
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  • Profile picture of the author networkmom
    Hi, I am not seeing the main tag line? what is this you are talking about?
    Thanks for the tips, I will need to start looking into changing this page and probably alot of other pages on my site too! Anyone else have any advice, Please.

    Thank you
    Denise
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    • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
      Originally Posted by networkmom View Post

      Hi, I am not seeing the main tag line? what is this you are talking about?
      This line:
      "Health, exercise and fitness equipment for kids Fun fitness activities to keep kids healthy and Fit!"

      It's two sentences and there's no full stop in the middle.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tanner0010
    If you aren't building a list yet, you should start. That way you can keep providing them value and other offers. They will see you as their go to expert...
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  • Profile picture of the author joyfulwraps
    Hi Denise,

    My first impression....was wow lots of white!

    Because you are selling higher priced items it may help to put more detailed benefits of using fitness equipment at the top of your home page. Why do your site visitors NEED to make a purchase from you and not your competitor manufacturer's page? Is there something you can reward your visitor after they purchase with such as a free ebook about motivating kids to exercise with every purchase?

    Good luck to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author xerecarlos
    wou interesting
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  • Profile picture of the author networkmom
    I do have a list but have not been keeping up with writing my newsletter.
    There is to much white? I need to add color to the page?
    Besides adding detailed benefits of kids using fitness equipment is there anything else I should add? Do I need to change the way the products are layed out on the page?

    Thanks
    Denise
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  • Profile picture of the author ebusinesstutor
    The site is looking very dated and it doesn't connect people with you.

    Update the look and add a lead capture page as the first page with an attractive free guide on how to get kids to be more active.

    This will give you a list of people interested in the topic that you can market to again and again for free.

    Create an "About" page with a picture of you and some unusual and unique things about you. This will help people identify with you, not just the equipment.

    Write or have written a number of guides to attract people to the site such as:

    "Girls And Exercise - Why School Gym Programs Don't Work"
    "Is Your Son A Video Game Addict? How To Make Physical Activities Fun"

    Your title tag on your site is Kids Inflatables, but your site name is Fitness and Kids so they don't match and it isn't obvious what key word you are trying to rank in search engines for.

    I think you are in need of an Internet Marketing coach who can guide you through the changes needed and a good web copywriter.
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  • Profile picture of the author networkmom
    ebusinesstutor, I am trying to target schools, fitness centers, ymcas, etc... Do you think I need an about me page? I try to look more like a business than a person working out of her home selling fitness equipment. I don't know maybe I am wrong?
    I really want to focus on selling the commercial line more than the home line and just can not figure out how to reach out to them.

    Thanks
    Denise
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Anderson
    Banned
    Yes the money is in the list! It's never to late to start building one. Treat them good and they will treat you well.
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    • Profile picture of the author networkmom
      I do have a list, not a very big one but I am working on it. I think it is over 500 subscribers right now. I am just looking for ideas of how to target the schools, ymca's, etc...
      Can I send a letter to them through email letting them know about us?


      Thanks
      Denise
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      • Profile picture of the author networkmom
        Is it considered spam if I send out an email to ymca's, schools, etc.. telling them about fitness and kids? I know I get emails like this everyday so I am thinking it should be ok as long as it is not a sales letter?
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  • Profile picture of the author networkmom
    I was really hoping to get some more and different advice from some experienced marketers out there on how to reach my target market? Can any please offer more advice as to how to do this?
    Thanks
    Denise
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  • Profile picture of the author jaiganeshv
    Its kind unique nice.. Good thing is that PR4 your site home has got now....


    Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author Trivium
    I've had a look at the website, and it looks ok, but there is a fair bit of room for improvement. My suggestions would be:
    1. You seem to have a menu bar, and immediately under that, a set of buttons which effectively emulate a menu as well. You'd be better off integrating these into the menu above, as the buttons themselves don't have an overly professional look, and the fact that the store button is on a seperate line (doesn't fit with the rest) looks a bit messy.
    2. Prices! If you want to sell items to someone, what they want to see is how much it will cost them. Having to click a "Learn More" link to see the price is an added inconvenience which will likely dissuade visitors from your site. Something as simple as including the price just above/below the Buy Now button - maybe even adding a one line description of the item - will offer more information at a glance, and will be more likely to entice people to "Learn More" and consider the purchase
    3. I'd suggest changing the typeface of your site's font to a sans-serif font. It generally looks cleaner and is visually more appealing for browser viewing - in addition to suiting the nature of your site far better. I'd suggest Helvetica, Verdana or Arial.
    4. Perhaps think about a muted or watermark background for your webpage. At the present its just plain white, which looks a bit bland. But be careful not to go overboard. Pick something subtle and unobtrusive.
    Hope that helps, and good luck with your website!
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    • Profile picture of the author networkmom
      Thanks Trivium, I will am not sure I can do with the menu part but I will see if I can get some help with that. Maybe a background color would be ok? I will work on some of the things you suggested.
      I really wonder though how to get a hold of my target market? schools, ymca's, fitness centers?

      Thanks again,
      Denise
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      • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
        Originally Posted by networkmom View Post

        I really wonder though how to get a hold of my target market? schools, ymca's, fitness centers?
        If you want to be specific about your target market you will need to do some research into how and where they buy from.

        Start by asking at your kids' school(s) to see if they use catalogs, the internet or maybe they have an approved list of suppliers. Same with ymca's and fitness centres. Find some purchasing managers and ask them where they buy from, why and how. That will give you some clues about how to target them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Juvv2096
    I see your website is built in oscommerce, I have used that before its pretty tricky when it comes to editing the site and getting to look how you want.

    I think you should bite the bullet and get a wicked Oscommerce designer to make you something really nice.

    Then I would invest some time or money into some backlinking services to help you move up the SERPs a bit more and try target some new keywords and use your sub pages to get them ranking instead of just your main page.

    Just my 2 cents

    Good luck!
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