Generating traffic on a online business?

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Permalink Reply by Charissa Bear on March 4, 2010 at 10:32am

I visted your site and the first thing I noticed is your Title and description tags. I would change these to make them more search engine friendly.

Example:BlowoutBridal.com, The Dress You Always Dreamed of at a Price You

I would recommend: Plus Size Gowns - Discount Bridal, Evening and Prom

Example:meta name="description" content="BlowoutBridal.com Home Page"
I would recommend a description conating the words plus size gowns in the first sentance, and then sprinkle in the additional keywords of bridal, evening and prom in one to two sentences.

This alone can make a be differnce in your search engine positioning,

Next write some articles and leave an anchor text link in your bio to your website, then submit them to top article directories, and web 2.0 sites like squidoo, and hubpages.

Example of an anchor text link: <a href="http://www.blowoutbridal.com">Plus Size Gowns

Suibmit your product to Google Product Search: http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/products/submit.html

There are many things you can do to increase traffic, but these are the ones that I think will help you gat a start.

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Permalink Reply by TheDapperTie.com on March 7, 2010 at 7:01am

I have to agree with Shiny Orb. It's going to take time. I have been online for just over a year and things are just starting to kick in. I am going to get the recommended book as well. Best!

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Permalink Reply by Paula Daley on March 8, 2010 at 3:21am

Thank you for all your suggestions. I am definately submitting it to googlw and will look into putting the correct meta tags! All your suggestions have truly helped greatly

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Permalink Reply by Beyond the Pose Photography on March 10, 2010 at 2:30am

Would love to exchange links with you! Love your site! :)

~ Lolly

www.beyondthepose.com

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Permalink Reply by Karen Vance on March 15, 2010 at 12:07pm

Create a blog - I have a free one at Wordpress and have quite a bit of traffic through to my site from my blog. You need to be able to commit time to updating it regularly but I find it very useful.

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Permalink Reply by Bernadette Manzano on April 26, 2010 at 9:46am

I agree with Karen, start a blog. Though mine is just starting out. As a planner, it's my job to know vendors, so when I meet a new vendor and we do or do not work out a deal, but start a professional relationship, I blog about them. Add links to their site, post photos or video of their work, etc.

Twitter is also a good spot to announce specials, or new lines, post photos or news about your biz.

Good luck!
Bernadette
www.bernadettemanzano.com

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Permalink Reply by Divine Curves Bridal on April 27, 2010 at 8:01am

Paula! Don't give up! I need you! I have purchased a number of gowns from Paula and she is wonderful to work with and buy from! My brides love the gowns - most of my business is from local buyers...not internet sales. Keep up the good work Paula!
Tina Hall
Divine Curves Bridal

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Permalink Reply by Rubi Wiswall on April 27, 2010 at 2:14pm

I appreciate all of the advice given in this post because I have a silimar question! I have been getting some traffic to my webiste, mostly through the links that I've exchanged with larger websites. Any link exchange you can do will give you a better SEO which is the only way to get a higher google listing. Like everyone else said it does take time, but the good news is any effort you put in will continue to work for you even if you do nothing else - so I would suggest dedicating a good amount of time right away, and then just continue to update whenever you have time.

I would also suggest in the meantime to try and connect with any local vendors that may be around you - put your business cards out on community boards, give your brochures to local wedding venues to include in their 'wedding packets' that they give to brides, and you can also contact these types of places online to help promote you. The more knowledgable they are on what's out there the better they look so its a benefit for both of you. These types of steps can bring clients to you quickly, while you wait for the optimization of your website to kick in.

Good Luck!

www.RubiFirstDance.com

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Permalink Reply by Marie D'Costa on April 28, 2010 at 12:21pm

Have you reviewed the keywords in your website? Perhaps you need to go back & try to analyze all the words that might pull your site when a potential customer is looking for your product. These could include "plus size bridal gowns," "bridal gowns," "prom dresses," etc. Create a blog that links to your site, which would allow you to constantly refresh your content & share photos, etc. Web clips also help. That might give you a bit more traction. If you are in a position to invest in paid searches, search engine optimization, etc., you'll surely get a bump. Analyze your page views & visitors too. You can use tools such as google analytics to help you w/that. Good luck with your website & company.
Marie
The National Hotel (www.thenationalhotelnj.com)

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Permalink Reply by Lorie Collins, WPICC, DWC on May 5, 2010 at 12:13am

when i was looking for plus size wedding gown for a trash the dress session, i googled plus size gowns and came up with some...engine search is your best way, I feel,

do you attend any bridal shows?? that may be another way...i have paid for ads in bridal magazines, although it hasn't really paid off but i am hoping one day it will be...

google is a great engine to be on...and of course word of mouth is always good as well....will take time believe me...

good luck...i will check out your online store...If you want I could also do a blog on my website if you want?? I was thinking of doing a piece on plus size brides...

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Permalink Reply by Bella Bleu Bridal on May 7, 2010 at 12:57pm

Hi Paula,

I am a new strictly online luxury bridal accessory boutique. I have been very successful with advertising on the The Knot and The Wedding Channel. You can also utilize your blog to help you to be found in the search engines. Check out articles online about blog writing to help with your seo.

I am very happy with the response I have received and it continues to increase daily. The Knot is the way to go and is very affordable.

Please feel free to contact me if you need any info or if I can help!

Warmly,
Andrea
www.bellableubridal.com

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Permalink Reply by ChrisBoulton on May 8, 2010 at 1:39am

Great concept and there is most definitely a market for it.

Along with others I think you need to change your meta tags and get "plus size bridal" in there.

Adding a blog is a great idea too; but I would take that one step further. I would have your front page replaced with a blog. You can give fashion tips to plus size women on how to carry off and really look elegant in formal gowns, be they bridal, prom or event dressing. You could also showcase accessories that would enhance their look. Work to become an authority blogger for the curvier girl.
By putting your blog on the front page, you engage the visitors firstand then lead them into your store.
You blog is also the place to do some very positive things with keywords, especially long tail keywords.
Another tip, make sure that you have done a good job of labeling the dress images on your site. You really want those images to show up in a Google image search. Be sure to tag each photo and try to get 'plus size' and 'wedding gown' in those description along with a description of the gown. I see that you have descriptions on the page, but adding them to the image themselves will go a long way.

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