Follow On TwitterCase Study: An Online Store Selling Organic Bath And Body Products GreenAndChic.com
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I’m happy to be reviewing GreenAndChic.com today which is an online store selling organic bath and body products. Writing up this case study is particularly special to me because it is run by one of my earliest readers, Carla. Carla was a supporter of this blog from the beginning back when I first started in 2008 and when I had very few readers. So when she asked me to have her online store critiqued, I jumped at the opportunity.
Carla’s main problem is that web traffic is not where she would like it to be. In addition, she’s having trouble converting the customers that she is attracting to her store. Let’s take a look.
First Impressions
I’ve been to Carla’s store several times in the past already so this isn’t exactly a first impression for me per se. But having undergone a few major website redesigns these past few years, her site has changed significantly since the last time I was there.
The current iteration of her storefront is extremely clean and pleasing to the eyes. Her product photos look nice and her website comes across as professionally done. So why aren’t customers purchasing her products?
One thing that I’ve noticed just from doing a few web searches is that the bath and body products niche is extremely competitive. Not only is Carla going up against a bunch of smaller players but there are also a few juggernauts like Bath And Body Works, The Body Shop, and Crabtree Evelyn as well. For someone like me who knows very little about skin care products, all of her products seem to blend together with everyone elses.
When I browse her skin care products, they all seem generic to me especially since I don’t recognize any of the brands. Sure, everything is organic but what’s the benefit of using organic skin products? Why should I buy from GreenAndChic.com over some of the more established players like Bath and Body Works? Why are organic products important for my skin?
Right now, her site doesn’t effectively convey the benefits of the products she carries and why they are special. Although Carla has a beautiful website, her products don’t particularly stand out.
Search Engine Optimization
Since Carla’s niche is fairly crowded, her work is cut out for her in the SEO department. Fortunately however, a lot of her smaller competitors aren’t fully optimized for the search engines either so Carla really has a chance to dominate the rankings for some of her more specific organic products. Here are her top ranking keywords at the moment.
8 Lotus Blossom Tote-BCM
9 organic baby powder
10 sage organic
13 organic baby massage oil
13 vegan leather
16 organic clary sage
16 soap for sensitive skin
16 talc free baby powder
20 vegan purses
22 cherry berry
As you can see, very few if any of these keywords even crack the front page so it’s no surprise that GreenAndChic.com is not getting much organic traffic at the moment.
This is a minor issue but I also noticed that Carla has two domains that point to the same place. Currently, www.greenandchic.com and greenandchic.com are being recognized as two different domains which is diluting her link juice by 50%.
Action Items
For GreenAndChic.com, I would definitely focus on conversions right now over everything else and work on giving her products some personality. Here’s a list of action items for Carla.
- Right now, I would pick a handful of my best selling products, slap them on the front page and promote the heck out of them. What do I mean exactly? Tell me why I should buy these products over every other bath and body store. Let me know that these products are made using a rare oil only found in scarce amounts in Antarctica and that no other chemical has the same skin softening properties (I made that last part up btw).
Whatever Carla decides to do, she needs to give her products a chance to be sold. Make them stand out by telling me a story. Describe the process by which they are made. Tell me the benefits of organic vs the junk that is sold in other stores. Plaster this information on the front page instead of letting me figure it out through reading product descriptions! Within 10 seconds, it should be obvious to me why I absolutely need to have these skin care products. - Don’t just list your products. Categorize them by benefit. For example, if I have a dry flaky skin problem, do me a favor and point me to your products that specifically address my issue. Don’t just categorize your products by type because that doesn’t tell me anything. Focus on the benefits!
When my wife was pregnant, she was paranoid about getting stretch marks and I know for a fact that many women worry about the same thing. This is just an example, but I would dedicate a full content page addressing this exact need and point customers to your pregnancy oils. Be known as the store that carries the best anti-stretch mark cream. People have skin problems and worries. Solve them! Let them know you have the cure. - Focus on no more than 2 or 3 product categories or keywords that you would like to rank on in the search engines and start writing content. I noticed that you have a blog but it is not focused. Instead of doing product promotions, I would talk about interesting topics relating to organic products. Specifically, I would write content about the products categories I want to rank on in the search engines. Write all of your blog posts as if you are an authority in your field.
- Fix your SEO multiple domains problem by choosing whether you want to be greenandchic.com or www.greenandchic.com and issue a 301 redirect from one to the other. This should provide some immediate benefit once your site is re-indexed.
Conclusion
With some minor changes and an emphasis on the benefits of her products, Carla will be in pretty good shape. After all, her store already looks better than a lot of her competitors. She just needs to focus on why a customer should buy from her and no one else. She needs to stop selling the product and start selling the cure.
Carla, as you change your product copy and shuffle things around, I would use Adwords with very specific keyword phrases to test the conversion rate for your main revenue generators. Once conversion is nailed down, I would then focus on content to improve organic traffic. You can do it Carla! I have faith in you!
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Excellent case study – I hope Carla can take this into considerable consideration so the sales will sky rocket
Now’s the perfect time for organic products with the increase in green movement within our society.
From my perspective there are a few additional items I would personally touch on:
1. Push the organic message. The niche is “green” which means the people searching for the products will be very enviromentally concious and conderned about applying chemicals to their skin.
2. Support a cause. I would start supporting a group or charity that is very active within the green community. Say 5 – 10% of all sales go toward protecting the wild life so no only people will be buying organic products but they know their money will be going further into helping the planet.
3. Explain the benefits of organic vs. chemical. I see the product descriptions tell what the products don’t have but I really don’t know what the difference is. From my perspective, I don’t know what the chemicals are doing to me or why organic will be better overall.
4. Create a gift basket/package. I think the products would be perfect if it came in a full gift basket or package that covered the entire scope. I would offer soap, shampoo, lotion, body wash, bathrobe and the whole likes to complete a full set.
5. Testimonials. Testimonials really give credibility to the products. Try to contact previous customers and ask if they have anything to say about the products and their use.
6. Show the human side. I would place the phone number on each page for phone orders and questions. I would also put more “human” elements in the about us so I would know I’m buying from a group of people that are generally concerned for the environment and that I will love the product.
I hope these suggestions also help, to your success.
@Murlu
Excellent suggestions! Thanks for touching on some of the things that I missed.
@Ross
It’s been a while! What have you been up to? Thanks for stopping by and dropping a line.
@Briana
Focusing on the organic is key, but I think Carla also has to go a step further somehow to differentiate herself from the other organic stores as well. The good news is that there’s plenty of room in her market to make money.
@Tyler
You crack me up. I don’t know what you are talking about. Lubriderm is high end. I remember one time one of my girlfriends gave me this 5 step skin care kit as a gift. Of the 5 bottles, I couldn’t figure out which one was the soap so I never used them. I agree though. Gift baskets are key especially around the holidays.
@Anil
Haven’t heard from you in a while either. Please drop me a line and let me know what you’ve been up to lately.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by mywifequit and Money Matters, Carla Rose. Carla Rose said: RT @mywifequit Case Study: An Online Store Selling Organic Bath And Body Products GreenAndChic.com http://su.pr/2UTVvB #smbiz #smallbusiness [...]
Hi Steve / Carla – some great comments here, it’s great to have a site reviewed by ‘fresh eyes’ so to speak… I think the products look great & Steve, you have picked up on some workable ideas to increase traffic and conversions.
Hope that you are both well!
-Ross
This was a great case study! The niche is definitely crowded but I think she can capitalize on some local searches, depending on where she’s located. Organic will be key and certain ingredients will be a way to get her some traffic. Easy to use interface is already checked off. I think if she follows these tips, she’ll definitely get some more traffic and some conversions. Good look Carla and great post Steve!
It is a very focused niche, which I think is important, and one that I know nothing about but I do like the ideas above. I think a better landing page that establishes an ambiance and tells why you are so excited about the benefits of the products would go a long way; something that gives you a personality. I would leave the sales off the front page since most people don’t go online looking for sales (says the guy whose idea of skincare begins and ends with Lubriderm). Also, I really like Murlu’s idea of the gift baskets since I know my wife gets skin care products as a gift. Fantastic start and best of luck!
A review, which has the courage to call a spade a spade; still maintaining a balanced view. Nice read.
@Steve – Thank you so much for the review! Your suggestions are very helpful. I will go though them one by one and make the necessary changes. In terms of the 301 Redirect, I though I had that done over a year ago. I paid someone to do it, LOL. It was two different websites, but it greenandchic.com and http://www.greenandchic.com goes into one. Since I don’t even know how it works on the back end, I am still confused about that one.
@Murlu – You gave really excellent advice and suggestions: testimonial, contact info, “organic” message, etc are all very useful! I was planning on offering more gift baskets as well – thanks for the reminder.
@Ross – Thank you so much!
@Briana – I thought about local searches, but when it comes to local, people want to buy from a brick and mortar store, not order online to have shipped across town. I still haven’t figured out the local approached yet…
@Tyler – I though people go online deliberately looking for sales and discounts…
Again, thank you for all your suggestions everyone!
[...] to do now to put them on a sound financial footing for the rest of their lives.MyWifeQuitHerJob reviews the online organic bath and beauty products store GreenandChic.com started by one of his readers, Carla. It is a fine review done by someone who has [...]
i face the same problem with them last time. Until i start recognize that i need more information to let customer realize their need of our product rather then keep give discount. Even free also no one do need it. Until one day , we recognize that we put a content to describe our product, and why they need our product, and what the benefit to them. After that we get lot of new sales and higher conversion rate from our traffic. Sometime you may feel that it impossible that they don’t know the benefit and use of product, but yet they are different if you share it again in your website to promote your product. Sometime we may think too complicated. We need some idea as simple as well.