Signposting your web site on the internet

[UKRay]

I haven't found many folk who would turn down more business so I have a 'no cost' online marketing suggestion that doesn't take much time to do and may make quite a bit of difference to your visitor numbers / sales figures.

Initially we need to establish a little bit of common ground so if you already understand this stuff then forgive me for stating the obvious.

The reason many people get upset with the internet is because they see other folks getting business from it whilst their own website just sits there costing money in hosting fees and maintainance charges and brings in very little work. BTW, I am including eBay shops and Etsy shops in this post as they can be horribly expensive to run if you aren't selling.

Point 1: Visitors equal money - where leatherwork is concerned, IMHO the internet is a numbers game. As I see it, the more visitors you get the more money you make.

Point 2: If you simply build a website and then leave it alone it will not produce many sales. It is not a 'Field of Dreams' and just because you built it does not mean 'they will come'.

Point 3: The very best results come from attracting the 'right sort of visitor' to your web site.

In order to attract the right sort of visitor you may choose to carry out the following tasks:

• Establish what sort of customer buys your products and what they are using them for.
  
• Work out what information they need to do the stuff they like doing - riding horses, buying clothes, restoring antique leathergoods, waterproofing bike leather - whatever they need to do will require some information to do it well.
  
• Create 'signpost web sites' that contain vital information which is useful to your prospective client base as these signpost sites will be picked up by the search engines and used to steer interested people to your main website or online sales area.
  

Let me show you some examples of this:

I make dog collars for lurchers, greyhounds and whippets and I sell quite a lot of them through my eBay shop because I have created a free website called www.greyhoundcollar.blogspot.com that leads people to my selling area.

I import and sell a particular type of Skidmore's leather cream designed to waterproof biker's jackets so I have created a free website called

www.bikeleather.blogspot.com that helps bikers to find my eBay shop.

I do a lot of leather repairs and restoration work for 1940s re-enactors and WWII living history enthusiasts so I have created a free website called www.1940sleather.blogspot.com to point them to my services.

Each signpost site must have genuine value to the specialist reader and encourage them to explore further until they find your sales site. If they don't find real value, visitors will simply click away...

I'm not saying that this is the only way to drive traffic to a website - just that it works for me. Why not check out www.blogger.com and see how easy it is to do the same for your sales area.

Hope this is useful - it works for me.

Ray

[CitizenKate]

That's a great idea, Ray. I know quite a few Etsyans have blogs to promote their shops, but this is a better twist on that idea. It focuses on the potential customers' interests, rather than the usual "look what I'm making that you can buy" kind of thing. Thanks for sharing your idea; I'm going to try it.

Kate

[JohnBarton]

As usual this is EXCELLENT advice. I would also add that one should participate in forum groups where customers of your goods hang out. Even just a few posts a week being helpful keeps your name in front of the customers.

I'd also add that perhaps it's useful to do similar blogs on all the free blogging platforms out there like WordPress and Live Journal

This is not entirely free though. It's free to host but the cost comes in the time you put into it. Ray, your 1940s blog is WELL DONE and looks very professional. It doesn't read like a cheesy doorway page at all.

[UKRay]

Just a quick caveat for anyone who decides to go this route. Make sure you have permission to use all the images on your site and give respect to any makers whose work you showcase. It has been pointed out that I used (albeit inadvertantly) a picture of a very fine motorcycle toolbag created by a highly respected member of this forum without a hint of a credit or even a link back to his website. I want to take this opportunity to apologise publicly to RDB:

Sorry Dave, I won't do it again, honest!

[rdb]

First off , I deny any of that highly respected bull hockey.

Secondly, I alerted Ray to the potential for problems like this when not dealing with friends pix. I never expected any public apology,nor wanted such, because it was between friends. It shows the measure of the man, to go public with this little oops. I admire his efforts on this board, and admire him more as a man too. "Finest kind" as they say in my hometown.

If we don't protect each other on this board, who will?

[Johanna]

You should fill out your profile on LW too. Click "My Controls" at the top of the page. List your site in your profile, list it in your signature- but list it on LW. The search engines are constantly here, and they note site links. If someone comes to LW looking for a custom made whatchamacallit, make it easy for them to get in contact with you!

Johanna

(I have a lot more to say on this subject- excellent topic Ray!- but I'm rushed for time at the moment. I will be back!)

[jbird]

Ray

Thanks a lot your a great help sir.

number one Ray Fan.

Josh

[UKRay]

Thanks for your understanding, Dave. I know you didn't need the apology but I was out of line and felt obliged to give it.

The thing is, if I do something wrong or upset someone then, probably thanks to my old fashioned upbringing, I generally feel obliged to apologise and put it right. It doesn't generally cost me anything to admit I was wrong and if I learn from my mistakes then that seems like a pretty fair return.

Like most folk, I get plenty angry when people do or say bad stuff and then don't have the cohones to apologise so I try to make sure I fess up and grovel fast.

It works well for me in business too - A quick apology and a good grovel can get you out of all kinds of nonsense with grumpy customers!

[rdb]

So, I went looking for some tools that might be useful in proofing your interconnected links...

the ones I used to use are tired jewels compared to some out there now.

Test one was google api. It gives you several tools, but this one shows if all your links to other things work. In your case Ray, some lead back to all the others, and some don't. This would show which links aren't there, or are broken.

http://socialgraph-resources.googlecode.co...blogspot.com%2F

Test two uses a Firefox extension (using google apis) Does the same as a bove with a few twists.

http://lab.madgex.com/identify/

[CitizenKate]

Maybe I can throw in another little tip that has helped steer traffic to my site, that also doesn't cost anything.

Find web sites that publish information related to your product, that have a "Links" section. For example, my specialty is game boards, so I found lots of web sites that provide information for Chess and other board game enthusiasts, emailed their webmasters, and asked if my site could be added to their links section. I've only had one decline the request so far. If what you make is relevant to their content, they're usually all too happy to promote you. My web stats showed that quite a bit of my site traffic (not to mention a few orders) were referred from those sites.

Another benefit is, the more other sites that have links to your site, the higher your site will appear in the search engine rankings.

Kate

[Shorts]

Hey Ray, thanks for the tips. Certainly something every maker should keep in mind (I'm speaking to myself most of all!)

Keep it simple. Keep it fresh.

I gotta get to it! Thanks Ray