hello all you people. we were wondering if you can help us. we have had a website for about 3 years now.
we sell simple thai clothes. the problem is we have never sold any!
first we used our own merchant account to process credit cards - but this attracted no customers.
then we got TRustE validation - still no customers.
then we got paid inclusion in inktomi - and since this april have been dropped by all their search engins.
we then paid worldpay to do our clearing - we just got loads of fraud attempts through them, so we dropped them.
we have tried adwords but this has cost us $60 a month with no customers - may not seem much but we are a tiny company run by myself and my wife.
we have now switched to paypal to try to give more security but things have not improved.
can one of you nice people take a look at you site and give us your kind opinion of what the problem might be? or is it just our location?
http://www.thailand-clothing.com
many thanks
scott/wan jansab

So what does your taffic look like? I'm thinking you may want more of that, sinc ei only see three backlinks in Google. I personally think the outfits look nice, but you still did not convince me I should buy one. Maybe more content as to why someone should buy your clothes. Of course there are much more knowledgable people on this board than I who could probably provide you with some more feedback.

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DotNetNuke Tutorials and Information
Cobb County Community

Hi scott/wan jansab,

This is what I saw on my visit to your site.

The homepage could use a rework (not redesign). IMO your mainpage should have some clothing or craft image above the fold. My immediate impression, when I went to your site, was that all the text was explaining that the site was still under construction and coming soon. You're in the Thai clothing and crafts business. Make it easy for me to see the product. BTW your gifts and crafts products look great. I would be interested in placing an order, but I could not find any information about shipping costs. The merchandise is coming from Thailand and I'm in th USofA so there is a concern. Your prices seem reasonable.

As far as PayPal goes, some don't like it because of the previously required paypal membership. It's easier now and paypal can be a very useful tool in reaching your objective. I'd maybe change the wording on the Terms of Use page from [We are able to accept PayPal payments plus Visa and Mastercard Credit Cards using PayPal's SSL secure server.] to [We accept Visa and Mastercard credit or debit card payments through PayPal's secure payment gateway.]. When using paypal, I try to play down the fact that you don't need a paypal account, and just list the CC logos with the paypal logo. People who frequently shop online and those who use paypal know about the requirement being lifted, and new online purchasers don't know and don't care. If you have a premier business account, your daily transaction limit can be all you need at first.

Expand and move your links to their own page, and a few other rewrites I'd do.

You might research heavy Thai populations in certain geographical areas and try localized promotions. Setup a marketing plan to follow. You might also consider a marketing plan that combines web and print projects.

Best of luck

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Beaudoin LeBlanc

Hi,

I looked at your site and I like it. Three years is a long time to not sell any thing. I think the post on shipping was right you need to add shipping rate charges to your site. My first thought was I like the clothes, the prices are good, but will it cost me more to ship than I want to pay.

But because your prices are good, the shipping cost may just be worth it but customers need all the facts to make a decision.

I have found http://www.BizRate.com a good place for targeted traffic.[/url]

I hope this helps.

savvy
http://www.4savvyshoppers.com

my first comment would be how your text is written... I realize that English is not your native language; therefore, it is imperative that you have someone proof your text... not for spelling errors, but for grammatical syntax... you have phrases that you are typing as sentences... you need to punctuate correctly, so that your content is easily understood.

also, every page in your site should look identical.. and your site name should be on every page, which you do not currently have- and that includes a consistent link structure.

Although a fancier site might not sell your products, I think a header and logo that suggests Thai winds would make the site look more attractive.

I checked your source code and both the title and description tag begin with your company name.... both should focus on your product, as in - "Thai clothing and crafts from Thai Winds".
Your keywords should be keyword phrases - that people would use to look for products such as yours... currently you are using words like - cotton, print, pants,asia, wraps, clothing, wholesale, discounts, etc.... I would never use those words (especially as a stand alone)to search for products such as yours. Your keywords should be thai women's sarongs, thai fisherman pants, original thai crafts, native thai apparel for women and men, etc. Your limit on keywords (actual words used) is 48, so you need to choose them carefully. And you MUST use those keywords in the body of your text...
Apparently, Google does not use keywords but text only, but other search engines still rely on keywords.

I dont' know that any of this will help your problem with sales....

The white backgrounded Paypal logo is not very attractive.. they have a transparent logo that will look a bit better... it states that you are Paypal verified. Check our their site for it, and if you cannot find it there, you can PM me and I'll send it to you.
your products are lovely and very reasonably priced.

hope this helps and good luck in the future...

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Mary Ann
Affordable Websites Designed - www.m-goret.com

would you like to enlarge on our incorrect grammar usage.
actually i am a ritired communications lecturer so i found your comment rather amusing, it is my wife who is thai! and by the way, a webpage is 'not' a business letter.
having checked our grammar again i can find no fault, yes the sentences are short but that makes the information easy to understand and as most people still don't seem to know how to read, bite size sentences seem about right for a webpage.
however,we will be looking into your other comments.
thanks a lot.
scott/wan jansab

mary anne/all

we have made the changes you suggest, apart from the punctuation, which i stand by, as i said before, most people can't read sentences longer than six words.
we have taken on board most of your comments - thanks.
however, we are very limited by our software as to what we can do. we have made a suggestion to the software company to include the option of a links page. great idea!
also, we are not skillful enough html editors to make a great looking webpage, as we rely on templates from the software. we would love a nice page like the koh sumui link on our page. maybe after we make some money we can hire a web designer :)
thanks again.
scott/wan

Scott,
it is not that people can only read six word sentences - it is that most people do not want to read paragraphs... they prefer to read bulleted lists or short separated paragraphs, because it is visually more asthetic and easier to focus on... your sentence structure (as it is now) will not encourage viewers to read your text because the sentences are created the way they are... you are better off using better sentence structure and creating several paragraphs with either a bullet or a bold header.

I do not have any expertise in communications, but I know that if the text on a site is misspelled or incorrectly punctuated, I feel that my intelligence is being insulted and would rather go elsewhere for my purchases. I have known many people who have degrees in subjects that relate to the English language who cannot speak or write correctly.

This is a personal issue with me and may or may not have any impact on your sales.

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Mary Ann
Affordable Websites Designed - www.m-goret.com

Your prices are good and the shopping cart works. You will need a whole lot of traffic to convert into a reasonable RoI. So what kind of numbers do you have?

My guess is that you are pushing the wrong key words. If I was looking for something you have to sell, I'd be more likely to type in "sarong" rather than Thai clothing.

If it was me, Id spend some time figuring out what search terms people are really using. Then I would move the featured items above the scroll so that the first time visitor sees a product rather than just the text.

With those kind of prices I'd probably push for wholesale sales as well.

From a consumer point of view I would be worried that a dress in Medium only is supposed to fit 32A-38C. As a 38C I can't imagine that a dress that would fit 32A would look good on me and visa versa.

Good luck,

JM

http://www.crucibledesigns.com
http://www.akalt.net

Hello Scott and Wan Jansab,

Viewed your site at 1280x1024 in Firefox and your site looks clean and your wares look fine (and really cheap!). I agree with Mary Ann about a strong logo, the HTTP Shop thing doesn't work well. Your intro paragraph is too long at least in width on big screens, on mine it's a foot long!. How about splitting it into two smaller ones, left and right, or split it up with some thumbnail photos. I would like to have seen a bigger range of products as well, not enough choice.

I reckon your main problem is not enough visitors, you have to really focus on that for a while. According to www.sitereportcard.com your link popularity is healthy but your SE inclusion could be better. It is also vital that you get several listings on DMOZ 'The Open Directory Project' (www.dmoz.com).

If you haven't already, go to www.instantposition.com and tweak your meta tags and text until you start getting a high score. Check your validation at http://validator.w3.org/check?verbos...com/index.html
where you will find 78 errors! Not good. Most of the errors are sloppy things like missing end tags. Fix all of these errors. If you can't and you can't afford a decent logo email me and I might be able to help you out a bit.

Good luck.

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Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Hi Scott & Wan,
I think you sell some very nice looking products at reasonable prices.
However, I couldn't help noticing that you sold the <<Famous Chinese Waving Gold Cat for Good Luck! Just place the cat on your desk or table pointing towards the door and your customers will flood in.>>
Perhaps you should put one near or on your computer?

Please look into designing a logo as the white space next to your title is just asking for one.

I can highly recommend writing a press release to promote your site and products. They're oftentimes free, but with http://www.prweb.com the more you donate, the sooner your site will hit the search engines, the more places it goes to, etc.

I wish you the best of luck and hope that your business picks up real soon!

Warm regards,
Lisa
Soap Designer
http://www.everythingshea.com
Home of SoapCakes, Whipped Shea Butter & Shea Butter Soap

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In the beginning nothing comes, in the middle nothing stays, in the end nothing goes. ~ Milarepa

hello ann/all

thanks for your latest advice.

ann, yes, i agree with your points, now they are clearer!
the problem is that we are limited by our software as it controls the way things look. we will try to alter the style and format of our introduction.
yes, we know about the 73 or so html faults but this code is generated by the software smartstore.biz and we have no control over it. :( but the software is very easy to use and it's easy to update and add new products.
as for a logo yes again difficult as the page is generated automaticaly. we will look into that to.
thanks again for all your great advice. i would like more opinions on the keyword issue.. ann suggests using phrases, what do other people think, is lone keywording frowned on now? we think our text is keyword rich but what about the tag?
thanks again
wan/scott

Nice site, and your prices are very good. I would be very interested in buying a few sun dresses, but I wouldn't dream of it until I know what type of fabric they are made from and what exactly a size M/L is.

My boyfriend has purchased two dresses for me in Mexico, and even though they were XL, after I washed them they were, ummm, not something that I could wear in public. Perhaps he is doing this on purpose??? But I digress. . .

I am 5'8" tall and wear a US size 12. I have never been able to wear any clothing made in India or Mexico because it is always way too short and/or the shoulders are too tight. I have the same reservations about buying something made in Thailand. If you want me to buy from you, you need to tell me a lot more about the sizing and fabric so that I will know how likely the dresses are to shrink.

Also, is the fabric machine-washable? Why does the headline read "Medium Sun Flower Dress in Blue" but the size is M/L and I need to write the size in the comment box? I am confused about whether there is just one size, or you have M and L.

My brother lives in Thailand and recently married a Thai woman. I have not had the pleasure of meeting her yet (soon, I hope!) but I am guessing that standing next to her I will look like Godzilla, and she is average size in Thailand. I'm a big, tall American woman, and I doubt that your clothing will fit me. If I am wrong about that, say so on your site.

Good luck with this, and don't give up.

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Sue Bolander
Webworks7
www.webworks7.com

Hi,

I liked your site.

I do belive the others are right.
You just need more traffic.

Have you thought about setting up a link exchange
page to help build up your back links to the site?

Here is something you may be interested in.
I have a good friend of mine that has recently started an auction site.

Free to post and free relistings till December.

http://www.ubidfast.com

He has been doing a lot of advertising to get traffic to the site. So you should get some good exsposure this way.

While I am not a user of auction sites I belive you can set a firm price for your items.

Luck to you...

Keith

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Want to save on your local, national international calls
http://www.free-internet-phone-service.com

I think the site looks good. 10.50 for cotton pants is awesome. Except it says one size fits all. Im 6'2" 200lbs. Will the fit me? Is your target market americans? If so you better put inches on your site. Most americans are not going to bother with the conversion from cm. and you will lose the sale.

The layout is nice, its easy to navigate and the prices are good. Also Registered Airmail in Bold was a good idea. Thats the first thing I noticed and it instills confiidence in the site.

So now you need traffic. SEO and link exchanges is the next step.

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Just some cool free software everybody should have:
http://www.soloenterprises.org/free/free-software.php
And some shameless Orange County Computer Service promotion

please, if people have questions about products on http://www.thailand-clothing.com
can they post them through he site. as that's the whole point of having a contact page.
regards
scott/wan