I’m happy to be reviewing GreenAndChic.com today which is an online store selling organic bath and body products. Writing up this case study is particularly special to me because it is run by one of my earliest readers, Carla. Carla was a supporter of this blog from the beginning back when I first started in 2008 and when I had very few readers. So when she asked me to have her online store critiqued, I jumped at the opportunity.

Carla’s main problem is that web traffic is not where she would like it to be. In addition, she’s having trouble converting the customers that she is attracting to her store. Let’s take a look.

First Impressions

I’ve been to Carla’s store several times in the past already so this isn’t exactly a first impression for me per se. But having undergone a few major website redesigns these past few years, her site has changed significantly since the last time I was there.

The current iteration of her storefront is extremely clean and pleasing to the eyes. Her product photos look nice and her website comes across as professionally done. So why aren’t customers purchasing her products?

One thing that I’ve noticed just from doing a few web searches is that the bath and body products niche is extremely competitive. Not only is Carla going up against a bunch of smaller players but there are also a few juggernauts like Bath And Body Works, The Body Shop, and Crabtree Evelyn as well. For someone like me who knows very little about skin care products, all of her products seem to blend together with everyone elses.

When I browse her skin care products, they all seem generic to me especially since I don’t recognize any of the brands. Sure, everything is organic but what’s the benefit of using organic skin products? Why should I buy from GreenAndChic.com over some of the more established players like Bath and Body Works? Why are organic products important for my skin?

Right now, her site doesn’t effectively convey the benefits of the products she carries and why they are special. Although Carla has a beautiful website, her products don’t particularly stand out.

Search Engine Optimization

Since Carla’s niche is fairly crowded, her work is cut out for her in the SEO department. Fortunately however, a lot of her smaller competitors aren’t fully optimized for the search engines either so Carla really has a chance to dominate the rankings for some of her more specific organic products. Here are her top ranking keywords at the moment.

8 Lotus Blossom Tote-BCM
9 organic baby powder
10 sage organic
13 organic baby massage oil
13 vegan leather
16 organic clary sage
16 soap for sensitive skin
16 talc free baby powder
20 vegan purses
22 cherry berry

As you can see, very few if any of these keywords even crack the front page so it’s no surprise that GreenAndChic.com is not getting much organic traffic at the moment.

This is a minor issue but I also noticed that Carla has two domains that point to the same place. Currently, www.greenandchic.com and greenandchic.com are being recognized as two different domains which is diluting her link juice by 50%.

Action Items

For GreenAndChic.com, I would definitely focus on conversions right now over everything else and work on giving her products some personality. Here’s a list of action items for Carla.

  • Right now, I would pick a handful of my best selling products, slap them on the front page and promote the heck out of them. What do I mean exactly? Tell me why I should buy these products over every other bath and body store. Let me know that these products are made using a rare oil only found in scarce amounts in Antarctica and that no other chemical has the same skin softening properties (I made that last part up btw).

    Whatever Carla decides to do, she needs to give her products a chance to be sold. Make them stand out by telling me a story. Describe the process by which they are made. Tell me the benefits of organic vs the junk that is sold in other stores. Plaster this information on the front page instead of letting me figure it out through reading product descriptions! Within 10 seconds, it should be obvious to me why I absolutely need to have these skin care products.
  • Don’t just list your products. Categorize them by benefit. For example, if I have a dry flaky skin problem, do me a favor and point me to your products that specifically address my issue. Don’t just categorize your products by type because that doesn’t tell me anything. Focus on the benefits!

    When my wife was pregnant, she was paranoid about getting stretch marks and I know for a fact that many women worry about the same thing. This is just an example, but I would dedicate a full content page addressing this exact need and point customers to your pregnancy oils. Be known as the store that carries the best anti-stretch mark cream. People have skin problems and worries. Solve them! Let them know you have the cure.
  • Focus on no more than 2 or 3 product categories or keywords that you would like to rank on in the search engines and start writing content. I noticed that you have a blog but it is not focused. Instead of doing product promotions, I would talk about interesting topics relating to organic products. Specifically, I would write content about the products categories I want to rank on in the search engines. Write all of your blog posts as if you are an authority in your field.
  • Fix your SEO multiple domains problem by choosing whether you want to be greenandchic.com or www.greenandchic.com and issue a 301 redirect from one to the other. This should provide some immediate benefit once your site is re-indexed.

Conclusion

With some minor changes and an emphasis on the benefits of her products, Carla will be in pretty good shape. After all, her store already looks better than a lot of her competitors. She just needs to focus on why a customer should buy from her and no one else. She needs to stop selling the product and start selling the cure.

Carla, as you change your product copy and shuffle things around, I would use Adwords with very specific keyword phrases to test the conversion rate for your main revenue generators. Once conversion is nailed down, I would then focus on content to improve organic traffic. You can do it Carla! I have faith in you!

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