Growing an online sales platform

[Glasgowrob]

Wife runs a business making wax melts candles and soaps and sells locally via her Facebook page and has 4/5 sales reps. She also has an online shop which atm does absolutely nothing. Shop is built on shopify and has been up now for a couple of years and generates very little traffic or much in the way of sales.


I’m currently in the process of freshening up all her product images to try and clean it up a bit but it generates very few visits and she would very much like to make use of it to drive extra sales


Firstly I’ll be very open and say I know very little about seo or web optimisation other than I understand it’s purpose and why I need it.

Does anyone on here offer or can reccomend a reliable one stop source to just hand it all over to with a monthly budget and say work your magic

What is the sort of ballpark figures for a small business to spend at the early stages of growing an online sales platform in thinking more hundreds a month than tens of thousands (an I being realistic when I think of spending say £3/400 a month)

Or would we be better served throwing stock at the problem like/share competitions on Facebook etc to drive traffic to both the Facebook page and site.

For anyone wanting a look it’s www.waxworx.co.uk

Edited by Glasgowrob on Tuesday 4th August 07:42

[bigweb]

Budgets are a little low for us but I run a Digital agency send me a DM and we can arrange a call.

Even if I just give you a little advice as we deal with this type of stuff all the time.

[48k]

I can't help as this isn't my area of expertise but a couple of questions jump out at me having read your OP and looked at the landing page
1. Do you have more detailed analytics than "not many hits and not many sales" - for example, for traffic you do get, can can you see the funnel, where people drop out, are they putting things in the basket and not completing, etc. etc.
2. Looking at the landing page - is the "Glasgow" reference in the title necessary? It feels a bit "local" and may be affecting your search ranking.
Also I'd rather see something on the page that says "free UK delivery" or something along those lines, rather than have to put things in my basket to see if I'm allowed to order them and what the price will be.

[SDarks]

Hi Op,

It sounds like the FB page is working well currently for sales but this and other socials should be used to drive traffic to the website. Selling through the website should give better customer experience and better conversion rates as there are no other distractions only your products.

A note on the website, spend the first couple of hundred pounds on some better photographs of your products as the current photos on the site doesn't do them justice IMO.

[akirk]

SDarks said:

A note on the website, spend the first couple of hundred pounds on some better photographs of your products as the current photos on the site doesn't do them justice IMO.

Absolutely this - honest first impression of the front page is that I am not entirely sure what I am looking at, the photos appear to be out of focus, with poor post processing and looking a bit amateur - new photos will transform the feel...

The whole website though doesn't 'sell' - the reality is that you are selling wax melts - but also you are selling emotions and feeling to the punter - you are selling a feeling of cosiness, warmth, love, happiness, etc. - and you need that to come across on the website. Having a white background and white backed photos ends up looking very sterile / bland - especially where the photos are not top quality. - If you think about images that sell those words (look on pinterest.com for ideas) then you are likely to find that there may be rich colours / wood / luxurious throws / mood lighting / etc. - are you selling that idea? white on white is a very cold look and you are not selling refrigeration!

For those who don't know wax melts and what they are - there is a lack of communication / learning, you assume a general knowledge - ideal for those re-ordering, but maybe won't encourage those who have not bought before... how can you take your visitor on that journey so that they buy?

when you hit the soap bath bomb pages - there is a clear distinction between children / male (grenade) / female (diamonds are forever) etc. - yet they are all lumped together, can you find ways to pull those out, or have alternative entry points on the front page for those looking for gifts to make it easier?

where you have no photo, either: don't list the product / have a generic image with your logo etc. on it which looks more professional / take a photo! but don't leave it showing the generic no entry graphic from shopify - looks very poor.

if you are going to have a news section - then keep it up to date, it doesn't have to be daily, but either don't date the items, or have at least weekly -> monthly - over 2 years just tells me that you have abandoned the shop / business...

Special Offers menu item gives me a 404 - poor.

make images context relevant - if I go to diffusers, the only option is for a car diffuser, so show it in context not against a random and irrelevant bit of material (though at least not a white background!) - I have no idea of size etc. unless you show it in context...

Consistency on product pages - e.g.:
https://waxworx.co.uk/products/amber-noir-1
https://waxworx.co.uk/products/alien-1
https://waxworx.co.uk/products/alien-2
- large text on one, small on the others
- weight shown on two, not on the third
- what is the difference / similarity in the two alien products - they have different descriptions, are they the same, but in a different format, or different?

Anyway, enough about the detail - though it needs sorting out, you have to polish an online shop - in the same way that if you were opening a retail outlet the detail and ambience would be important - you wouldn't just dump down bowls of product - so it is the same online...

regarding your actual question SEO plays a role, but increasingly a less relevant role in how well a shop does, and fundamentally online we are coming back to learning how to market a business / the products - there are lots of options you can look at, and exciting things you can do - your budget is a starting point, or course the more money you spend the more result you will get, but it is more about spending it wisely and with strategic goals in mind than just throwing out money...

this is work that we do with many of our clients - some of whom have less money, some have more - if you want to make contact then just pm me and we can have a chat (we chatted before about your business!) - but TLDR - plenty of opportunity in your budget once you have sorted out the actual website!

Edited by akirk on Tuesday 4th August 16:49

[wheelerc]

Comments above are good. Once you have the website improved you might want to look at using Google Ads or other paid ads to start driving traffic to it.

However, you are infringing a number of trademarks at the moment with product names like Lush, Dove, Coco and even Dettol!

You might be able to get away with that while you are small, but you won't as you grow so I'd suggest coming up with some original names for the scents/products.

[DSLiverpool]

Have a look at TikTok - do journey videos and put website in video (all allowed), its worth a try and its free.
If you dont get results try putting two AA batteries up your nose it worked fopr me !!

[Dave.]

Forget the batteries.... what you wanna do is get hold of a wasp with a pair of tweezers &......

[super7]

This is an interesting thread for me, as i'm trying to do the same.

We've had a Online Dog Accessories store for the last year and a bit, and just can't get people onto the site.

We have done all the SEO stuff, page optimisation etc and short of paying money to google, we can't get our position in google any higher than around 46th. No matter how fast the pages load, how mobile optimised it is, how high the quality of page descriptions are etc etc etc we can't move up. If we pay for ads via Adwords and google shopping we can get on page one. That seems to be the only way we can actually get in front of customers to sell too.

We might just be in the wrong market, and we might need to become more niche, but when it cost's more in Google fee's than you get back in profit, it's unsustainable.

We use wordpress and use the Yoast plugin for SEO and even that has not made any difference. I would love to know what touch of the magic wand makes Google promote you, because it seems only money via Adwords has any effect. Hard work at optimisation doesn't seem to matter?

[akirk]

super7 said:

This is an interesting thread for me, as i'm trying to do the same.

We've had a Online Dog Accessories store for the last year and a bit, and just can't get people onto the site.

We have done all the SEO stuff, page optimisation etc and short of paying money to google, we can't get our position in google any higher than around 46th. No matter how fast the pages load, how mobile optimised it is, how high the quality of page descriptions are etc etc etc we can't move up. If we pay for ads via Adwords and google shopping we can get on page one. That seems to be the only way we can actually get in front of customers to sell too.

We might just be in the wrong market, and we might need to become more niche, but when it cost's more in Google fee's than you get back in profit, it's unsustainable.

We use wordpress and use the Yoast plugin for SEO and even that has not made any difference. I would love to know what touch of the magic wand makes Google promote you, because it seems only money via Adwords has any effect. Hard work at optimisation doesn't seem to matter?

Because you are not doing what is needed...
There are those who over-complicate Google and SEO etc. and then those like me who take a simplistic view (being bears of little brain!)

Ultimately, Google's goal is to present the punter with results that most match how they would search / find answers as a human - so, increasingly SEO and mobile optimisation has a smaller and smaller influence (quite rightly) - it is still significant, in that you need to do it - but it is not the be all and end all of online success. There are several possible approaches:

- build website and do the core optimisation / SEO - this will establish your business, and Google will know you are there and serve up your website as a possible solution to a search, but probably not very high - you have established who you are and what you do, but you have no credibility - rather like a fresh-faced sparky who can do the job, but is unknown...

- build the website, do the core optimisation / SEO - and then as results are not ideal, you go with a 'SEO' company who have magic formulas, and secret ways of doing things - they will often do various things that get fast responses, but with no staying power - buying links / dodgy links / farmed articles / etc. etc. - this is rather like the sparky from a slightly dodgy company / cowboy who comes and can get your lights on, but they may fuse and burn the house down later

- build the website, do the core optimisation / SEO - and then start the long slog of gaining credibility and being known online - aka traditional marketing and networking - building proper links, writing material, keeping fresh material online, producing videos, building a video channel and linking, and many other options to build a brand and name across the online space - like a sparky who trained and has spent years doing good solid work for people and has become known...

without the hard work / content / credibility / links / very few companies become long term established online - unless they have a viral success which they can capitalise... far too many businesses set up online and assume that people will come to them - and that all they need to do is optimise and spend a bit of money on SEO and they will be successful - nope! There is far more to do and it is hard work and a long slog - though there are strategies to how it can be done - but it means taking the opposite route and taking your business to the people - and just google is not the answer (or very rarely!)

I know of a lot more websites where non-optimised, mobile unfriendly, sites with a lack of SEO are doing really well commercially because they have credibility and currency in their communities, than websites which set up, optimise and then sit back and wait for people and are successful...

Businesses need to stop thinking of the online space as an easy option, it isn't - it is harder than a bricks and mortar site even in today's climate - probably easier to scale once successful, but harder to get fully established as a viable business - unless you are lucky - it is still necessary to consider the costs as similar to setting up a shop and the investment in time and energy required is similar... setting up, sitting back and making lots of money really doesn't happen very often!

[DSLiverpool]

I agree with all of the above, I also thought it was never never land when I was charged for SEO. But we have a client been with us 3 years been top of google organic for 2 years and raked in the £. Thing is it’s a thankless task paying out and seeing no return until one day .......

[Glasgowrob]

some really useful feedback to work through next week when i'm off cheers Guys,

[Bloxxcreative]

I'd be looking at Facebook ads to drive people to the website. You can do a hell of a lot with data these days and get it pretty targeted, and track through the sales process to so you can see how many click throughs, how many stop at basket stage etc.

If you need to speak to a professional, drop me a pvt as I know a brilliant person who does this and its fascinating to see the results. He has clients with 4k ad spend, pulling in 40k sales. Just insane r.o.i.

[wheelerc]

super7 said:

This is an interesting thread for me, as i'm trying to do the same.

We've had a Online Dog Accessories store for the last year and a bit, and just can't get people onto the site.

We have done all the SEO stuff, page optimisation etc and short of paying money to google, we can't get our position in google any higher than around 46th. No matter how fast the pages load, how mobile optimised it is, how high the quality of page descriptions are etc etc etc we can't move up. If we pay for ads via Adwords and google shopping we can get on page one. That seems to be the only way we can actually get in front of customers to sell too.

We might just be in the wrong market, and we might need to become more niche, but when it cost's more in Google fee's than you get back in profit, it's unsustainable.

We use wordpress and use the Yoast plugin for SEO and even that has not made any difference. I would love to know what touch of the magic wand makes Google promote you, because it seems only money via Adwords has any effect. Hard work at optimisation doesn't seem to matter?

Interestingly I also have a dog related e-commerce website, but selling tags for their collars (I have another thread on here about it, which I need to update really).

We have only ever done on-site SEO, and only very recently have we started to rank on page 1 for relevant terms, and even now it's not the big terms (e.g "pet tags") and we are generally nearer the bottom of page 1.

The vast majority (75%+) of our traffic comes from Google Ads, the rest is from repeat customers or affiliate referrals (quidco, etc). Google Ads aren't cheap but the site converts well and we are making enough money each month to make it worthwhile continuing as a side project.

In the past month our average cost per click on our ads has been £0.65, average cost per conversion is £2.75 and average order value is £8.41. Lifetime value of a customer will of course be higher as we get a reasonable amount of repeat customers, friend referrals etc.

In April, just after the start of "lock down", we sold £4.5k worth of tags in a month, which has been our best month so far. Google probably make about the same amount of money from the site as we do in profit, but we still make a reasonable amount for the time we put in. Google have an incredibly good business model!

[Sevenon]

Feel free to drop me a PM or take a look at my site for help on SEO, digital marketing, PPC, social media advertising etc. www.leadsocial.io

[Drawweight]

The very first thing I’d do is change the home page.

You sell burners, diffusers, bath bombs etc.

Where are the pictures of those?

You need an image of each to click on to take you to the sections.

All I can see is different colour melts.

[sociopath]

Good lucj5 to the OP but what the heck is a wax melt and why would anyone buy them?

Ate they like the stuff that Lush sell (I don't understand how/why that shop makes a profit either tbh)

[MockingJay]

Bloxxcreative said:

I'd be looking at Facebook ads to drive people to the website. You can do a hell of a lot with data these days and get it pretty targeted, and track through the sales process to so you can see how many click throughs, how many stop at basket stage etc.

If you need to speak to a professional, drop me a pvt as I know a brilliant person who does this and its fascinating to see the results. He has clients with 4k ad spend, pulling in 40k sales. Just insane r.o.i.

Facebook ads is how I generate a good deal (34%) of my traffic and sales (44%). I tend to use an image showcasing my products to an audience (in your case something like women aged 25-50, living in the UK, likes candles, companies similar to Yankee Candle etc) and throw out some traffic ads. Once I have the initial visits I then start with re targeting ads so that I can build brand familiarity and keep my brand in the back of peoples minds. Sometimes it takes 3 visits, sometimes 20 visits but 44% of my sales come from facebook ads, doing as I just explained. I'm by no means an expert but I've picked up a few things over the years and if you have any questions I can certainly try to help.

[Glasgowrob]

sociopath said:

Good lucj5 to the OP but what the heck is a wax melt and why would anyone buy them?

Ate they like the stuff that Lush sell (I don't understand how/why that shop makes a profit either tbh)

The profit margins on these kind of products are pretty good. to give you an example my wifes reps are making nearly a third buying at trade and selling at rrp. and even production cost over wholesale price is a decent profit on each item let alone selling direct at rrp.

sociopath - good point regarding the full range on show on the landing page planning on trying to action a lot of the positive feedback i've gotten from here on my week off next week, really is appreciated and will certainly be looking to reach out to one of the guys offering their services here as well at some point once i've dealt with the basics first.

[pigface1000]

OP

Every woman and her rabbit sells wax melts using the basic Spotify website design.

Best way to draw income is via facebook and Instagram, also get her to join the facebook wax melt groups and push her site.