Google Antics

Curious marketers that we are, Lew and I make time to try to review our web statistics. Our website provider gives us loads of numbers to chew up; it is probably the first act of my morning after the coffee gets brewing. We have had the benefit of Google Analytics for years, beginning with marketing our doll patterns. I even gave my web guy a book on the subject, as he wanted to understand bounce rates, landing pages, and the like. Now we are doing true antics to fix the broken ones.

A Bonnie's Bundles doll is a complicated product to market. That is not so true if a visitor walks in the door with our brochure and stays awhile and takes someone home; or as one-third of our customers do, come back for another doll. There is the notion that only granddaughters (or girls in general) should have dolls. Then there is the objection of giving a fine handcrafted doll to a child too young. And finally, will they take care of it? A discerning Ellie or Heather whose children and relatives get a doll of their dreams can answer all these objections. I have several 95-year-old customers, thank you. The web shopper is sometimes a puzzle; we had to make things easier.

So how did we fix what we found broken? Reading, collecting data, reviewing and analyzing. It started with the Ordering Page - making how to select and buy one of our creations. How do I choose?Picking and Choosing tab takes four versions of Beatrice, beginning with how she was designed and ending with how you can have her right now. In between two versions show possibilities. What if you like Beatrice but want Anne's clothes and a real or motif face from another. The newly reconstructed Create Your Doll tab explains switching and re-sizing a custom doll, even as a Portrait or look-alike. Search terms clued us in on this dilemma as the page with the Missys had high bounce rates. Now we see web visitors are staying longer and comparing doll features to dream up their possibilities. And we are getting calls and orders. Real dolls galleries still maintain a high bounce rate - we are not a XXX site! Do visitors leave when the doll they want is not in stock? Are they turned off by the price for Anne of Green Gables or Saint Nicholas? Inquiring minds want to know!

Web statistics have a language all its own. We see how some people find us from referrers-- organic searches with Google and Yahoo are high quality coming from search words like Vermont doll maker, Bundles, handmade VT dolls. Then there are those quality Yankee, Vermont Arts Council and Doll Castle News referrers. The average visitor now looks at ten pages per visit. We have nearly 500 visitors a day. I may have to hire more stitchers! I'm keeping my web antics guy for sure!