udonkey Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I know that some of you guys are pretty net saavy, are business owners, and frankly, shoot straight when giving opinions, so I wanted to get your input on a business venture that I'm working on. I already work in the promotional products industry, so I figured that since my foot is already in the door and I have some great connections, I might as well make some extra money. Check it out at: http://www.axispromos.com In case you're wondering before you click, its a decorated apparel (screen print, embroidery, etc.) distributor - we are basically the "middle man" between the end user and the company that I currently work for, which is a large scale decorator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 lots of comments, don't take offense - i do this a lot, and overall I think this is a good start, not a bad design, good colors etc. - I need to know what you do within the first second of coming to your site. This doesn't tell me that. - People don't read. Those 3 paragraphs on the main page won't be read by 95% of the people. Replace with 1 sentence and some images about what you do. - Think of the site from a "What do we want people to do next" perspective, and put most of your efforts towards getting people to do that thing next. The "Custom Designs Available" image isn't much of a call to action. Change that to a graphic of a shirt with "Custom Shirts" or "View Custom Products" or something like that. - It looks like some of your main categories of what you want people to do are on the top right (services, designs etc) - I'd also put those in the main section of the site with images linking to them. - I don't like the word "catalog" - I'd change it to "products" or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 lots of comments, don't take offense - i do this a lot, and overall I think this is a good start, not a bad design, good colors etc. - I need to know what you do within the first second of coming to your site. This doesn't tell me that. - People don't read. Those 3 paragraphs on the main page won't be read by 95% of the people. Replace with 1 sentence and some images about what you do. - Think of the site from a "What do we want people to do next" perspective, and put most of your efforts towards getting people to do that thing next. The "Custom Designs Available" image isn't much of a call to action. Change that to a graphic of a shirt with "Custom Shirts" or "View Custom Products" or something like that. - It looks like some of your main categories of what you want people to do are on the top right (services, designs etc) - I'd also put those in the main section of the site with images linking to them. - I don't like the word "catalog" - I'd change it to "products" or something like that. all good suggestions, and i will add my two cents. 1)The about us section to me needs to be changed. I never want to do any business with any one who is only doing soemthing part time. 2) Put a phone number where i can reach you or one of your partners. Lot o people leave a site when they can not easily a phone to call right then. They do not want an answer by emeial the next day, they have a question they want answered NOW 3) Do some reserch on SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. Look to me like not enough key words featured prominately in your site, and not enough outside links as well. That stuff really is above my head, but there are lots of folks who really understand how the google search engine works and can help you design the site so you show up higher in the search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I know that some of you guys are pretty net saavy, are business owners, and frankly, shoot straight when giving opinions, so I wanted to get your input on a business venture that I'm working on. I already work in the promotional products industry, so I figured that since my foot is already in the door and I have some great connections, I might as well make some extra money. Check it out at: http://www.axispromos.com In case you're wondering before you click, its a decorated apparel (screen print, embroidery, etc.) distributor - we are basically the "middle man" between the end user and the company that I currently work for, which is a large scale decorator. Aren't you stepping on your employer's turf? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyT Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 3) Do some reserch on SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. Look to me like not enough key words featured prominately in your site, and not enough outside links as well. That stuff really is above my head, but there are lots of folks who really understand how the google search engine works and can help you design the site so you show up higher in the search I just PMed him with some SEO suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I just PMed him with some SEO suggestions. Fascinating stuff. When I was running my own business, spent quite a bit o dollars on SEO, and that was close to 5 years ago now. I imagine much as changed since then, but if you are trying to drive buisiness thru a website, you just cannot live without it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyT Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Fascinating stuff. When I was running my own business, spent quite a bit o dollars on SEO, and that was close to 5 years ago now. I imagine much as changed since then, but if you are trying to drive buisiness thru a website, you just cannot live without it I am floored by the amount of money people give to SEO consultants. These guys get PAID! I'm trying to get into the business myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
udonkey Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 Thanks for the info folks - I'll be working on optimizing the site soon, especially with Matty's advice. Cincy - no worries, not a conflict of interests. My employer sells to distributors, which Axis is. Axis sells directly to the end user. Orders are being filtered through a 3rd person within the company, so there won't be any chance of "cooking the books" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanInTexas Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 SEO is key. You might also want to look at CPC (cost per click) as well. In this line of work, I would guess the click costs would be relatively minimal. The placement on google (Sponsored links) is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and will drive the business. In addition, I agree with the phone/email suggestion. I want to have some way to validate that you are truly in the business as well as a quick way to contact you. What is the blue around your picture in your banner? It carries through to encompass "home". Looks sloppy to me. "Our world revolves around you"? While that's nice, I want to know what you do and the turnaround time I can expect. With your SEO search, be sure that you're optimizing your wording. You also want to have good analytics. I'd suggest using Google's analytic tool. It works for many of my clients. Put it in your footer (which I'd suggest you need as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 lots of comments, don't take offense - i do this a lot, and overall I think this is a good start, not a bad design, good colors etc. - I need to know what you do within the first second of coming to your site. This doesn't tell me that. - People don't read. Those 3 paragraphs on the main page won't be read by 95% of the people. Replace with 1 sentence and some images about what you do. - Think of the site from a "What do we want people to do next" perspective, and put most of your efforts towards getting people to do that thing next. The "Custom Designs Available" image isn't much of a call to action. Change that to a graphic of a shirt with "Custom Shirts" or "View Custom Products" or something like that. - It looks like some of your main categories of what you want people to do are on the top right (services, designs etc) - I'd also put those in the main section of the site with images linking to them. - I don't like the word "catalog" - I'd change it to "products" or something like that. Very good suggestions here. I'm just a bean counter but sit in enough exec & board meetings to have a little of the web marketing rub off on me. "Call to action" is the $64,000 phrase. What do you want people to do once they get to your site and how have you motivated them to do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
udonkey Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 What is the blue around your picture in your banner? It carries through to encompass "home". Looks sloppy to me. Not sure exactly what you mean - what browser are you using? Any way you can do a "print screen" and email me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 It ain't mean enough. Put some blood in there. Show somebody gettin' hurt. A groin injury. Put a !@#$in' map of Florida in the background. Get some breasts in! Put a "For Sale" sign on the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyT Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Not sure exactly what you mean - what browser are you using? Any way you can do a "print screen" and email me? FWIW, I don't see it (Firefox/Win XP). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
udonkey Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 FWIW, I don't see it (Firefox/Win XP). Yeah, FireFox seemed fine - i checked in IE, and there was definitely a color matching problem - for the short term, I just got rid of the buttons at the top... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Free Hat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Free Hat Panties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Where do I click for the naked ladies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 SEO is key. You might also want to look at CPC (cost per click) as well. In this line of work, I would guess the click costs would be relatively minimal. The placement on google (Sponsored links) is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and will drive the business. The promotional industry is incredibly competitive, which means high priced clicks and very, very difficult SEO. You have basically zero chance of ranking for the top keywords / phrases SEOwise for probably a few years ("custom printing", "promotional items" etc) , so I would suggest focusing on longer phrases, or geographically targeted phrases. That said, SEO is a gift that keeps on giving so don't ignore it. I did some good work on some of my sites 5 years ago and it is paying off in spades today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
udonkey Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 First $1,000+ order is in since the website went live...hopefully, word of mouth will continue and I can make this happen. Ideally, would love to work for myself within the next 3-5 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In-A-Gadda-Levitre Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 all good suggestions, and i will add my two cents. 2) Put a phone number where i can reach you or one of your partners. Lot o people leave a site when they can not easily a phone to call right then. They do not want an answer by emeial the next day, they have a question they want answered NOW 3) Do some reserch on SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. Look to me like not enough key words featured prominately in your site, and not enough outside links as well. That stuff really is above my head, but there are lots of folks who really understand how the google search engine works and can help you design the site so you show up higher in the search the phone number is in the Contact Us section and I totally agree that it's critical to have. Most Search Engines look at the Meta Words in the header and if you do a View | Source you can see that they do a pretty good job of identifying a number of keywords that will cause their page to show up in result list for those types of queries (screenprint, embroidery, etc.). How often those keywords appear on the page is also weighted in the results. Having said all that, the biggest impact you can make with search engines (esp Google) is the link flux - the number of sites that link to yours. That is Google's infamous PageRank. So, ideally you work out "link exchanges" with your partners and affiliates. My biggest complaint about this site is the use of decorated apparel. I'm sure it's an industry term that is well understood by those in the trade, and if it was a B2B site, doing wholesale work for others, it would be appropriate. The problem is that is means nothing to the kinds of customers you are trying to reach - non-promotional apparel companies like sports teams, commercial businesses, fraternities, etc. Change it to something that is intuitively obvious to the kinds of visitors you want to turn into customers. A couple other nits: 2nd paragraph on home page. Rather than bolding your specialties in sentences, use a bulleted list or table, linking to examples of your work. Then use a break like a horizontal line or graphic and list the potential customers like you have in bullets now. Designs page - you repeat the same designs in the T shirt icons as below them in boxes. The message here is that we do custom designs, not look at the cool design we did for 'John Eby'. Talk more about using their logos or designing something that meets their needs in a partnership. Offer some examples, but highlight the design service, not necessarily the previous work. Vector artwork is another bit of technical jargon that means little to a fraternity or sports team. Use pull down menus in the top nav bar. When you click Services, a list should pop open that lets the user navigate right to a specific choice. other than that, it's a good start, nice colors and positive messages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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