Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Dear Jaymz,

When it comes to direction, on first glance it's not at all obvious what your site is offering. It might be obvious to you, but it's not obvious to first time visitors. I'm also curious as to what you mean by the phrase "starting media"?

For the search term "boogy woogy", you're on the first page of Google and in the third position, which is great. Well done.

However, where are you in the search rankings for the search terms "toddler walking" and "toddler walker"?

There are several issues with your site (both visually and grammatically) that I recommend you fix but more importantly, your primary benefits need to be much, much clearer, and I urge you to consider using a video demonstration of the product.

At the bottom of your home page you have numerous pieces of text in quotes, one of which is: "without the walking aids she would just keep falling". If these are testimonials, they need names, and places, so the one above would read:

"Without the walking aids she would just keep falling"
—BillyBob Y., (City, State)

At the moment they don't read as testimonials, which isn't helping your credibility because it's not offering your prospective customer any social proof that other people have bought and like your product.

On your sales page you offer no indication that you don't sell to overseas customers, and in this category you include Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands.

This news is buried in your terms and conditions, which means that a buyer in Alaska can go through your entire ordering process and discover AT THE END of their transaction that they cannot buy the thing they want.

From a selling point of view, that's unforgivable.

If you want to sell your product you MUST make the buying process simple. A shipping option for international or overseas orders that includes the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx with shipping charged as an extra is simple to do and costs very little.

I'm telling you this because every barrier you put in front of your buyer dents your credibility and tells people you don't want their business.

I urge you to consider overhauling your site so that it's more customer friendly and benefit rich, even if that means you working with an e-commerce web designer through www.elance.com or www.guru.com.

This small investment of a few hundred dollars will do a great
deal to increase your overall appeal and boost your credibility.
Once you've done this, THEN you can move on to promoting your site through joint ventures and via advertising with other sites.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Gary's given you a long list of things to improve your website. It's all in the details - you want your website to make a great 1st impression.

Your product might be targeted to grandparents who might not have the flexibility to bend over and walk with their grandkids. Or, targeted to parents with mobility problems. If you have the sales proof, consider QVC - it's a natural product for them to showcase.