Business Flaws?

Question

I will be using Yahoo Search Marketing, Google adwords and Microsoft advertising to attract customers to are online store selling Greeting Cards, Handmade Cards and Color Paper

The price per Card is £2.99 for Greeting and £3.99 for Handmade Cards. This includes postage costs and recipient service.

We will be using Google adwords which costs £0.15-20 per click for associated search terms such as "birthday cards". Google estimates that for every 10 clicks the company will receive 1 sale. Our cards cost £1 + to make

Answer 1

The main business flaw I see: you are concentrating your marketing efforts on pay per click alone.

It is good to use Adwords for your main keywords -- that way, you can be seen and hopefully be noted (if not visited) by the audiences.

However, a more cost effective way of using pay per click is to focus on more specific keywords such as "handmade cards for kwanzaa." Specific keywords are cheaper but they may prove to be better in conversion. These people are looking for specific items and if you can provide it for them, your conversion can improve.

One important thing -- pay per click is NOT the only way to get customers to your site. You can do pay per click while engaging in some guerilla marketing strategies that may be as effective as pay per click but cheaper, if not totally free.

Here are some shoestring marketing ideas that can help you get the visitors you need at the least cost possible:

1. Create the best content you can with the best products you can possibly offer. Your content is your best advertisement - if visitors love your content, then they will go back and spread the word to others.

2. Make it easy for users to recommend your site. Viral marketing is very important -- and easy to tap on the Web. But give your users the tools. Get a Recommend this Site script from websites such as cgiscripts.com and similar directories of scripts. Some even go as far as giving incentives to those who recommend the site to their friends. If only 10 people go to your site, but these 10 people invite 10 more - that's additional traffic that you get for FREE!

Recommend Site Scripts (various) http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/Website_Promotion/Recommend_Site/
Big Nose Bird Recommend this Site http://bignosebird.com/carchive/birdcast.shtml
CGI Resource Index http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/Website_Promotion/Recommend_Site/
Hostscripts http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/Site_Recommendation/index.html

3. Rank well in the search engines (organic search results, not the pay per click). SEs can be a big source of traffic. The key is to create the best content in your niche. If you have good content, other websites will gladly link to you and offer your site as a resource to their audience. Check the on-page factors and be sure to get linked from authority sites in your topic area.

If you are going to read only one piece on search engine optimization, I suggest you read Brett Tabke of WebmasterWorld.com's "Successful Site in 12 Months with Google Alone: 26 steps to 15k a day." http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/2010.htm


4. Send out press releases. While outfits charge as much as $650 per release, there are free press release submission places on the Web. Press releases allow you to (a) attract media attention; (b) get more back links to your website without sending each website an email request; and (c) get more visibility especially if your press release gets in Google News or Yahoo News.

http://www.prleap.com/sign_up.html
http://i-newswire.com/
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/links/add.cgi
http://www.pr.com/press-releases
http://www.prfree.com/
http://www.clickpress.com/releases/index.shtml
http://www.theopenpress.com/
http://www.przoom.com/
http://www.prweb.com
http://www.newswiretoday.com/
http://www.free-press-release.com/

5. Submit articles. Write articles and submit them to websites accepting author submissions. You get exposure for your business; establishes you as an authority in your field, and allows you to get backlinks for your website. If 50 websites publish your article and it contains a link back to your website, then you easily get 50 links from a single article. The more links you have, the greater your chances for increasing your search engine rankings.

Here is a comprehensive list of where to submit your articles http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=AhzreGmnCUicOoyedqypscUjzKIX?qid=1006022407481

6. Improve your conversion. Getting visitors is one thing; getting them to buy your products is a whole different story. Read the article " How To Sell More on the Web: 30 Tips To Increase Conversion Rates For An Ecommerce Site " http://www.powerhomebiz.com/092006/ecommerce.htm for tips on how to improve your conversion rates.

7. Post a link to your site for free where it is allowed (always read the Terms of Use). Examples are:

Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com
Classifieds for Free http://www.classifiedsforfree.com/...
Text Link Exchange http://www.txtswap.com/
Recycler.com http://www.recycler.com/
Yahoo Classifieds http://classifieds.yahoo.com/
US Free Ads http://www.usfreeads.com/

Answer 2

The estimate by Google does seem a bit optimistic. For small ticket items like your cards, the cost per click represent a non-trivial cost component. But then, you may want to give it a shot with a limited budget and see how it works for you. The types of cards offered, your keywords, attractivity of your site will also play a role in how many sales you subsequently realise. Being an entrepreneur is all about talking (calculated) risks.
Good Luck.

Answer 3

Google's estimate seems pretty rosey to me. If its accurate, you're making some money, but even at 1 buy per 20, you're spending £2 in marketing per card.

Answer 4

The advertising is too expensive for a small business Use free advertising at first and only consider this about a year in, I really have been there and tried this, adn it will drain your business

Answer 5

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