Help please.

I am truly at my wits end, all the analytic stats are telling me we are on the right track but conversion rate are telling us that we are not even on the right planet yet alone on the right path.

Some background:

Visits:+- 500 p/d (all ppc advertising)
Bounce Rate 34%
Time on site 3min
Add to cart 5%
Cart abandonment 99%

In terms of pricing we are on par with the market leader bluenile

Thanks in advance to who respond.

Regards

And, the URI of your site is???

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Dave Barnes
+1.303.744.9024
http://www.marketingtactics.com
sitting in my basement with my iMac

We definitely need to know the URL of the website. Bluenile happens to be jewelry, specifically diamonds and engagement rings. You indicated that this traffic was all PPC?

The first thing that you should check is to make sure that your shopping cart is working. Go to a different computer or have a relative physically place an order on the system.

My feeling is that your ads are probably getting hit by your competition.

The cart abandonment could be spiders too. I note quite a few googlebot shopping carts that get abandoned by googlebot.....perhaps that is the case for you as well.

I found this comment on a blog elsewhere:

"Okay, I’m with a very reputable SAS jewelry merchant who IMO has very nice products at good prices. I built a nice dedicated website for their products and have had okay success with traffic. My problem, the conversion rate for the targeted traffic I send them is dismal. On top of that there are more returns than I care to see.

I know the jewelry business is very competitive but is a conversion rate of around a 1/4 percent normal? What say you gurus?

Thanks much!"

ABestWeb Affiliate Marketing Forum - Dismal Jewelry Conversion Rate

So, it looks like you have two issues. A competitive field and a trust factor that is difficult to overcome. On my particular websites, I happen to 'enjoy' a dismal conversion rate on any merchandise that is sized. My conversion rates also decrease as the price tags increase.

I would suggest that crankydave chime in on this one, he has a lot more experience in this particular industry.....

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Because im new im not allowed to post links so here goes w3 diamondseverlasting com

Website functions well but:

Diamonds Everlasting :: Diamond Engagement Rings :: Build your Ring

(very complicated from a novice's point of view)

4 different sliding scales pulling up different inventory.

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Consider getting a toll free number....

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you do have live chat, that is a plus

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I find bluenile's website to be equally intimidating.

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Gemstones/precious metals is such a trust industry. At the end of the day, people like myself know very little about diamonds, gold, etc {the fact that you're selling GIA certified does help you by the way} because really we really can't tell a good diamond from a bad one or fools gold from real gold. On top of that, you have the ring size issue; plus a very large per item ticket price. In my mind this all adds up to an extremely low conversion rate.

I'm currently married, but I recall the things that went through my mind when I bought a ring:

1. If, by chance, the answer were 'no' - can I get my money back?
2. If, by chance, she doesn't like the ring - can she get a different one?
3. If, by chance, the ring doesn't fit can she get it resized?
4. If, by chance, the ring 'breaks' can she get it fixed?

You've probably been in the business so long you're already fully familiar with the traditional stumbling blocks for the sale, but I would suggest that you analyze your website and see how your website addresses these fears.

You also make reference in your website to 'high street quality'

street? If its an industry term, I pardon my ignorance of industry jargon, but when I am reading it, 'street' does not seem to be a word I would be expecting to read.

Perhaps a different tact: solicit quote requests from customers?

And also, I never had any success running PPC ad campaigns. The cost to acquire a customer typically exceeded the profit in every case.

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I found the pull-down menus to be very difficult to use from a dexterity aspect. My cursor kept slipping off the menu. Very frustrating.

You absolutely need a toll-free number. I know that most people don't pay for long-distance calls anymore, but you still need that 800#.

Your phone number needs to be more visible on the homepage.

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Dave Barnes
+1.303.744.9024
http://www.marketingtactics.com
sitting in my basement with my iMac

The checkout/choosing a ring process is really complicated and the choice is overwhelming in my opinion. People don't want to have to take a degree in something just to buy it, and that's what I felt like on your site. Maybe its indutry standard, I don't know, I'm certainly no epxert, but the whole experince was painful and really offputting for me.

I went to choose a diamond. The tab was called basic setting - so when i went to the next page and then wanted to go back to the first page to chnge my choice, i clicked the back button on my browser as I couldnt see how else to get back - and ended up on the home page, and had to start again. Basic setting isn't what I would have expected to be looking for to get back to the first page of choices.

I'm forced to make 4 choices with 8 options for each choice without any idea of what the price will be. Having that many descions to make without having a clue what the price will be other than which option is the most expensive option (and not which option is cheapest, or that they're in order cheapest to most expensive left to right etc) - is way too much for me. This is where I want to browse and I can't - I have to choose straight away - not how people shop really.

The tab headings don't match the checkout process time line across the top, which adds to my confusion.

So anyway, I click next and get to Diamonds Everlasting :: Diamond Engagement Rings :: Build your Ring the page centers weirdly on my screen so I can't see the top half of the page, I land with 118 choices of a 10,000 odd database results in immediate view, a number of optional search inventory criteria bars...I would normally leave here. You forced me to choose from 8 choices 4 times, and I stll have 118 further options to choose from, and it is baffling to me how. Eventually I scroll up the page and see you have made a recommendd choice for me, and now I can see a price. I would have normally left way before I noticed I could scroll upwards though!

Then I have yet more choices, and no indictaion as to prices again. So I add to cart (was quite slow loading the cart page, not sure maybe just a blip or my rubbish laptop), and finally see a total price. BUT - the total is $3000 odd. The price of the diamond is showing in red as a deal discount of $1900, and then in the next column about $1000 more. The total adds to 2 black columns, so I don't know what the deal discount is, or why you're telling me what it is yet not applying the reduced price to my total?

I think because you can't see the total you're spending until you get to the cart page - or even get a clear idea once there - and that it is so time consuming to go back and change your selection - and you wouldn't know how to make it cheaper or more expensive if you wanted to because nothing has prices on it - so people will add to their cart just to get a price, which I think will increase your drop out percentage.

As I say I don't know the industry, so I'm just talking from a consumer's point of view (hopefully) and there's too little price information and too much product choice which is overwhelming (moreso for men too I would imagine) - why not have a handful of ready made selections people can just feel like they're able to buy 'off the shelf' to entice them further in? There's no photogrpahy of the rings until quite far through the choices section - I wouldn't go near anything for that much money without getting much more of an idea of the sort of stuff you sell in photos not drawings.

Sorry if this sounds really harsh - its not meant to be at all. I can see you've got a really complicated site working to sell a really high value product and it must be infuriating that no-one is actually parting with their cash, so I'm just trying to give you my unbiased and honest perspective on it all to hopefully help you out!

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Christmas Presents, Christmas Corporate Presents, Edible Gifts.

Thank you to everyone that has thus far made comments, the value that I am getting out of this is truly astounding.

When the page first loads your prices listed start at $1,500. This can scare many people away that are looking for cheaper rings.

Next before I spend that much on anything I check out who I'm buying from. In doing this I find

(850 ) 794-1409
This number is a landline based in Del Mar, CA and is unpublished.

I also find

No listings found for "Diamonds Everlasting" within 50 miles of San Diego CA 92130.

Looking at the image on your contact us page it looks like a office building and leads me to believe that this is a retail store or larger business, but the white and yellow page search speak differently.

Lastly BBB membership helps, but "A BBB Accredited business since 6/10/2009" for only 4 months takes it back away.

With these findings I would abandon my cart as well, to be honest.

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The Sensual Touch Lingerie | High Heels | High Heel Blog

Couple personal and marketing experience insights...

I know my wife and I had custom rings made for us in this price range back when we got engaged / married. Had websites existed (and including the fact we spend thousands online regularly) we still never would have purchased them online.
Rings aren't like an appliance or even a car, they are something most of us only ever purchase once, so as consumers the majority are a wee bit lost.
We'd ALL definitely use the web for the education, the examples, etc.
The build a ring is AWESOME! (bit heavy but very cool) .... Charge people $2 to download or print the specs and a photo of the ring... Then they can walk into any jewellers and say this is what I want please.. You'd find quite a few would show up with that piece of paper.
Do you have stats on how many start the build a ring and die or complete it?

Very nice looking site.. hard industry to sell online ... Those that would impulse buy diamonds... won't spend the time to 'build a ring' on a website (IMHO)...

everyone above also had excellent points..

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Ron Boyd
website consulting (design, optimization, marketing) :: Follow Me: @orionsweb

I'm going to agree with several of the stated points
1. Get an 800 #
2. Say BBB Accredited but leave off the date, 4 months is scary
3. It's a really big purcase to trust to a business that you can't contact easily
4. the high street quality sounds like it "fell" off the back of a truck, sorry but it does.
Stay with us. You'll get lots of help. We really do want our fellow forum friends to succeed

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www.chicoparty.com, www.partyconfetti.com
Female and SEO are not mutually exclusive

I would guess that you could naturally expect a very high shopping cart abandonment rate by the nature of your product. Most people do a lot of research and procrastinating before buying engagement rings.

However, I notice that you don't see the total price until you add the ring to your cart. This is certainly going to add to your abandonment rate, as anyone just checking prices will be seen to be abandoning their cart.

Form-filling has been shown to be very good at turning customers away, and when you click through to purchase on your site you are faced with a very large form. It might be better to break this down into three pages (with previously entered information showing on final page for verification).

Overall a hugely informative site though, and the ring-builder section is great. You might want to think about adding guide price bands at an earlier stage in the process though (I know there is also a separate menu for this), and also making the tips clearer to understand.

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Jazz-Trio.com; a jazz band for any occasion
www.bassplayer.co.uk

people are looking for quotes.

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<a href="http://www.thomas-sanderson.co.uk">Thomas Sanderson - Specialists in Conservatory Blinds, Patio Awnings, Window Blinds and Shutters</a>