Adwords - Not converting

[Mr.T]

Hi all

I’ve been using adwords for a few days now, but the visits do not seem to converting. How has everyone else on this forum found adwords?

I’m spending about £50 a day at the moment and that’s getting me on the first or second page for my keywords, is it worth leaving the campaign going for a few weeks or shall I starting looking at another way to promote the site?

The link to my site is in my sig

Thanks

[kayemdesign]

Personally I think you will be lucky to sell many via the site. After all this is such a personal product that people will want to try it out first before they make a purchase. Google is not where your market is. Spending £50 per day (£1500 per month!?!?!) is going to achieve very little in terms of converted sales, and you will be lucky to even break even on your advertising investment.

Instead look at other ways in which you can promote your business. Maybe look at a small retail outlet somewhere so your customers can try them out first?

I think you need to cut the Google campaign quickly before you waste more money on a product that simply won't shift through Google AdWord searches. Its too much of a high value product for people to make an impulse buy.

Just my 2c worth. Best of luck!

Steve

[Mr.T]

Hi Steve

Thanks for your reply

I still think there is a market on Google as I know other businesses who are doing well from it, i've also had over 13k impressions over the past few days so i think people are searching for the product using Google

Some of the competitors are offering free 60 day trials, I wanted to avoid this as the cost of shipping them back is quite high and I wouldn't be able to resell them 2nd hand, but would this sort of offer make you more willing to buy these sort of products online?

[iccomms]

I think you need to add more information to your site..sell the product as if people come to a landing page that doesn't persuade them then they will just wander off.

Its an expensive product but I think it could still sell online, anything and everything does nowadays.

I would seriously consider investing in some outside help with the adwords as with that sort of budget you could probably get someone to manage it for you.

You may be eager to get more sales but spending آ£50 a day might not be the best way to start. Drop it to آ£20 to work out what is getting the clicks and at what prices. Or get some smaller campaigns with more specific keywords and see if its cheaper to do it that way.

Also turn off content ads as they will eat your budget and in my opinion don't convert well.

[James Smith]

Basically I cant see why I should buy from you.

What is you are you are offering me vs your competitors?

Price? Quick delivery? Service? Range?

None of these are mentioned.

The site itself looks rather home made. Few things:

1. You dont give delivery information clearly. This is normally the FIRST thing people look for. Put a delivery tab in and make it clear.
2. Prices don't seem very exciting. How much off RRP are they? What do your competitors sell at?
3. Site seemed generally rather unexciting to me. I know its a dull product but it is very bland and I am an accountant!
4. Site doesn't work in a traditional monitor very well - ie its too wide. Which is odd given the amount of white space down the left hand side.

hope that helps.

I wouldn't keep throwing £50 a day at it until you have got the site more appealing. Out of the 13,000 clicks, how many people are buying?

[96061642]

I agree with James that you need to give the customer some kind of indication as to why they should buy from you - price, quality, delivery etc.

I would also create a seperate tab for information on delivery, returns policy and general terms and conditions as opposed to lumping them in with your contact details.

Your returns policy states the following:

"We will also reserve the right to refuse a refund or deduct up to 30% of the original selling price if you are returning a mattress that is simply unwanted. To that end it is worth ensuring you have tried a memory foam mattress before you purchase one, and are sure it is the type of mattress you want."

It does not make it clear under what circumstances the customer would be eligible for a refund in the event that they did not want the product - it simply suggests that they might be eligible for a refund at your discression. Also, if they are going to go to the effort of travelling to one of your competitors to try it out first - what is to stop them from just buying it from your competitor in the first place?

I would suggest that your online competitors offer a 60 day trial in order to inspire confidence in the product. It suggests that they have sufficient confidence in their products to offer such a deal. I appreciate why you may not wish to do so, however, I would consider at least trying it out. You may well find that very few choose to return the mattress to you and therefore the extra number of sales you would make would offset any risk.

Just my thoughts, however, hope this helps

James

[RichardJohn]

You should also tell people it was used by NASA in the space program... I won't buy a mattress unless it's material was used in the space program

[eco2you]

Originally posted by RichardJohn
You should also tell people it was used by NASA in the space program... I won't buy a mattress unless it's material was used in the space program

But it wasn't used, it was Developed..... :P

I think with the matresses, you ned to make sure people know they are QUALITY.

I can't really see being able to compete on price really works with small enterprises, maybe thats just me thou?

There have been a number of health scares with some sub standard memory foams.

[JustOneUK]

I can't say if I would buy or not from your site, I am erring on saying NO I wouldn't , however if I was particularly looking for that type of matress...............

I think your site needs a bit more oooomph!

For example I would have this written in huge letters across the top of the matress page, in bold.........

Anti-Allergic dust mite resistant with hypoallergenic fillings

it sells the product to me almost straight away.

Are your ads taking people straight to your product pages - or to your homepage?

[moneyman]

I have three companies currently using my fulfilment business to transport these mattresses about. so there is one heck of a competitive market out there.

I would agree with james (as per usual) . Show some nice big £199.99 special....30% off.... delivered to your door tomorrow.... etc etc stuff.

Your home pay goes "ooh look we have lovely memory foam stuff.... it is great to get a good night's sleep and we sell good quality" .Great for someone wanting a memory foam matress in the first place. But do all your potential customers know they want one? I know that sounds dumb but if you think about it like say marks and spencers. how many people leaving the shop with a red spotty tank top went in initially to buy exactly that top? They probably went in to get some clothes but not specifically that product.

you currently have to carry out an action to see what is on sale. Think like a supermarket. the prices are displayed to drag you to the product rather than you having to examine the product to see the price.

give them a "reason to buy rather than reasons to browse" (hey i ought to copywrite that slogan)

What you also need to do is try to approach things from the side. They are good for allergy sufferers, sleep disorders etc so choose relevant key words directed at pages about how your product can help. People want solutions to problems. Their problem might not be lack of a matress but they are in the shop so give them reasons to buy one.

Draw them in. Think of it like a salesman in a shop. "you cant sleep... have you thought about a more comfortable bed?..did you know that sleeping is easier if you are supported better and can breath better blah bla....got a bed already? ok so how about just getting a topper...look here...still not sure...here are some other facts....not sure you want to buy from me...well if you can buy it cheaper elsewhere i will refund the difference (no reason to check other sites) slowly drag them through the store until they are standing at the till with a mattress in hand.

They might have been looking for a ozone machine for allergies initially or something that kills dust mites. The big principle is dont assume they want a memory foam mattress at the outset.

[DeterminedOne]

Mr T,

You've got some great advice above and lots to work on, all I'd say is that as I'm sure you know you're working in a VERY competitive market so you need to find a niche within the niche of memory foam mattresses to do well in my mind.

Success is all in the landing page (as has already been mentioned). 2 tips for you:
a) Have a look at http://www.conversion-rate-experts.com - they have some wacky ideas on what to do with your landing pages but the results are amazing!
b) In my opinion, this guy is a damn good way of selling dust mite repellent mattresses - who wants him and a million of his mates in their bed?....if I had your site I would plaster this little fella all over the home page!

Hope that helps!
Laura

[Mr.T]

Thanks for the advice guys, there's some great tips in there. I was trying to go for a relaxed feel to the site, but by the sounds of it, it may be a bit too relaxed!!

I’ve suspended the adword campaign for now and will try and add some more oooomph into the site, will let you know when its ready for some more feedback!

Thanks

[Words of Magic]

Before you even consider the technicalities of putting a adwords campaign together, you need to understand a basic truth. My guiding philosphy is:

"Become Your Customer"

You've probably heard this a thousand times but so many people fail to follow it, your customer doesnt give a damn about you,
your company or what you sell. All they care about is "whats in it for me?"

Keeping this basic truth etched into your mind, you need step back a bit and review your offerings from your prospects point of view. You have a website, so is the page your prospect is going to land on, aligned with the question that she was asking?

remember she has a question in her mind so answer it?Promise in your adwords ad to provide a solution in the form of abenefit and then lead her to the solution.

Keyword research is critical to your success, so review your keywords in the context of

a) Your Own Business
b)Adwords Profitability

What your looking for when researching keywords is as follows: High number of searches for keywords/keyphrases that are not so
competitive so not only will you get seen on the first page but your cost per click will be minimum. Providing you've written a good adwords ad, and it continues with the same theme when the prospect clicks through to the landing page, your CTR (Click Through Rate) will be high, your bid prices for keywords and keyphrases will be reduced and Google will reward you with a high position, because the "RELEVANCY" of your ad.

Your cost per click and daily budget depends on the keywords and keyphrases you select. Try to spend your time putting together a long keyword list, this is the key difference between companies who spend spend spend, who dont know the value per visitor and the educated marketer who careful selects word and phrases which receive alot of searches which has virtually no competition, all because you took that bit longer finding those golden words.

Any questions please dont hesistate to get in contact. I've outlayed a solid foundation to help you get started, which is more sensible than a information overload message.

[Mr.T]

Ok, I tried to add some more ooomph in the site and added in some offers, delivery details etc .... so if anyone has some more feedback on the changes it would be appreciated!

Thanks

[RichardJohn]

The sale banners are really unprofessional. They're in a garish red, in Times New Roman, and stuck to the top left of the content section.