May
19
Written by Lee | Filed under Web Design | 1 Comment
I’m loving the new look Play.com website. I have to say I think Play.com has stolen the edge on Amazon with this new version.
The navigation, its slick, smooth and very easy to use. The rollover on the top-level categories looks good and offers the visitor a simplistic choice of continuing their journey around the Play.com site.
The nice thing is Play.com have not just copied their biggest rivals, they have done things their own way.
I am not sure if the design boys will agree with me or not, but I had a quick look at the source and thought it could be just a little cleaner, but really that is me just being a perfectionist.
That aside, the team at Play have pulled an improved look out of the bag.
So now there is even more reason to visit Play.com during work time, you can tell the guv’nor you are doing some honest sire design research! - Play.com
May
19
Written by Lee | Filed under Search Engine Optimisation | No Comments
There used to be a time when the SEO community were chasing DMOZ listings harder than a greyhound chases the hare. So is DMOZ as revered as it used to be? Does anyone still bother with the thing?
We all know DMOZ will never give you thousands of visits, it never did and it never will.
FACT: DMOZ is still the daddy of directories, and is it still worth having a DMOZ listing?
When you look at some of the links being chased you have to ask why would you not want a listing in DMOZ? Anyone who slates DMOZ does so for one of two reasons - They never get a site listed or have failed to get a specific site listed.
Many moons ago I did have a big grievance with DMOZ, at the time I was furious because an editor would not let one of my new sites into the directory. This was at the time when DMOZ links were perceived to be worth their weight in gold, the whole trust trust factor with Google was going on at the time.
In fact I nearly got kicked out of Cre8asite for being such a tit about it all. That was the second time Ammon talked the team from kicking me out!
A DMOZ listing back then was going to mean a top 3 position (Yeh right!) But gaining that listing was the juice that fired us all, if you gained a listing in DMOZ , it’s simple you were in Utopia.
So all these years on, one of my first ports of call for any new project is a DMOZ link, and now after learning my lesson, I have a very high conversion rate.
In fact, my submissions for the last year have all been accepted. So I’m very happy with my 100% success rate, so what’s changed?
Well, I can assure you getting a site in DMOZ is as hard as ever, and quite rightly so. There are plenty of help guides been published on how to get a site into DMOZ so I won’t go over old ground.
What I will say is choose very carefully what category you submit your site too, after all if you are being over ambitious you are doing nothing more than wasting your time and the editors time.
Gaining a listing in DMOZ is not difficult, but to do so you have to give the editor the right reason to want to include the site you are submitting. Forget generic listings. Unless the site you are submitting has a real USP there will be other sites like yours already in the directory.
Not only that, if an editor thinks a site is deserving of a generic category listing they will upgrade you anyway.
Simple things such as Title and Description also go a long way to determining whether your time and effort is going to be in vain. The fact is, if you get the basics right, there is no reason for an editor to not want to accept your offering.
Heck, a link in DMOZ is still free and it’s still trusted, of course you should be trying to get a listing.
Does it have a positive effect? I’d say yes. We had a site gain two listings in DMOZ in less than 7 days (one generic, one local) and coincidentally one its major KeyPhrases rocketed into the top 10. Coincidence? I think not. So do you DMOZ, because if you are not, you should be.
May
09
Written by Lee | Filed under General | 2 Comments
I had to talk about this as I was rankled when I heard the news from one of our clients.
Here’s the story………
Zoo Jewellery have now been trading online for a good number of years. The site is trusted, orders are healthy and online the brand is continuing to flourish. As well as supplying their own range of jewellery, Zoo also supply products from the likes of Kit Heath, Hot Diamonds and St Justin.
Everything was fine in the garden, when…….
One of the manufacturers has shut-up shop and is preventing jewellery retailers from selling its jewellery online. This is course is the prerogative of the manufacturer, after all it is there product and they can do what the hell they like with it.
Bone of contention
Here’s my bone of contention - After years of building the brand, pushing forward and investing in their online business one of the suppliers has now decided to stop supplying all online jewellery retailers such as Zoo Jewellery.
If the supplier was that adamant they wanted to cease supplying the retail sector, then why not set-up a series of shops? Why does this jewellery supplier believe they have the right to steal business away from their resellers only in the online environment? Easy, because they feel they can achieve the same sales with their website as do all their resellers do with a hundred websites.
The likes of Zoo Jewellery have been used to build a brand only to be informed they can no longer sell online. So what is the motive behind this business decision? What is the strategy behind the decision? From my outside perspective I can only see it as greed.
Why now and why online only?
The jewellery supplier has seen vast numbers of sales being recoded via online channels and it looks as though it wants the additional margin for themselves. After all why take reduced margin, when you can forcefully prevent your online resellers from selling online by shutting down accounts.
through its online resellers and now because set-up costs are far less than setting up a chain of 150 high street stores they are happy to cut revenue streams from small business that have supported them over the years.
Softening the blow - The Affiliate Scheme
The company in question is offering an affiliate scheme to its resellers, this is at least some comfort for those who are going to be affected by the loss of online sales. Whilst we all know there is good money to had from a quality network of affiliates, you have to think that without a readymade affiliate network, sales would die. If it were me I would not have anything to do with the brand. As a site owner why should I send my traffic and loyal customers to a now competing business?
Do not take the stock offline
Whilst the manufacturer is threatening complete account withdrawal via non-compliance of not withdrawing online ordering facilities for this jewellery range, it should not stop Zoo and other jewellery e-tailers from displaying the stock online should they want too. After all, Zoo Jewellery has three jewellery shops, the site also offers a service to customers who may want to browse jewellery ranges prior to visiting the ‘bricks and mortar’ store.
Backward thinking
Here’s what is going to happen; the online jewellery stores that have the traffic coming to them at this time will continue to get traffic coming to them. The difference is this, they will no longer be selling a specific jewellery range. These are business people, all that is going to happen is they replace with a substitute.
Yes, there is going to a degree of brand loyalty, but I will be frank, the brand in question is no Rolex or Cartier, it is recognizable but not irreplaceable. Ultimately if you enter a site on terms such as silver jewellery or silver earrings you are going to look at what the store has to offer. Zoo take their highest conversion from their brand name. What they showcase to visitors, they sell. No showcase, no sale!
The manufacturer in question has to ultimately compensate for the loss of let’s say one hundred online retailers and replace with a single entity. Yes, they will be fine on their brand name, but there are more tangents required than just brand.
Zoo have worked very hard at brand loyalty, the customer service is second to none, and I am not just saying this as they are a client, my better half shops at Zoo both online and off and is only ever full of praise for the team.
Ill-formed business decision
This is where for me a critical ill-formed business decision has been made by the jewellery manufacturer. My partner shops at Zoo Jewellery because there is a choice. When she is looking for silver jewellery she will go back to Zoo, it is at this time purchase choice is guided by brand loyalty to Zoo Jewellery and not the manufacturer.
If you take away your channel sales you have to work incredibly hard to fill the void. And to stop online sales from 60-100 online resellers overnight is for me a disaster waiting to happen.
The hypocrisy
Here’s my two-pennies worth: If you are going to shut-up shop and not allow your national resellers to sell online then as a company you should be also be prepared to invest in high street outlets to also offer your product ranges.
I would love to see all the affected jewellery retailers to get together as a collective and turn round in one voice and inform the manufacturer they are no longer prepared to sell their product in-store. Then watch for a very big u-turn!
