Lowering your bounce rate, increasing your sales.

It amazes me how bad some online shops still are. I’m sorry to start out on a negative note, but there are still a large number of resellers out there that don’t see the link between how their website looks and feels, and how many products they sell. Whats the the point in getting 5000 hits if 4998 of them are wasted because users don’t trust you? When I visit a web shop I immediately form an impression of the company based on their website. It helps me decide whether I think it’s safe to order a product from them or not. When I visit a site that looks like it’s been whipped up in FrontPage I lose confidence and immediately move on (this is measured as your site’s ‘bounce’ rate). Maybe it’s unfair but it’s a bit like eating out, if the restaurant looks rough and ready from the outside, I’m going to try the Italian down the road.

To highlight my point I’ve decided to go a bit old skool; I’ve been looking for a ‘real’ chess set (that doesn’t beep or flash) for the coffee table so I thought I’d try and buy one online.

As luck would have it chess resellers are a brilliant example (I’m sorry chaps). You know when you are trying to find something and all you keep getting are sites that look like they’ve been put together by an Eastern European gang just to steal your credit card details? Welcome to the world of online chess shops. That was until I [finally] found a chess shop that seems to have bothered with good web design; Regency Chess based in Bath. A shining example to behold perhaps?…..well yes, pretty much actually. They look like they’ve put a lot of effort into their site, they were quick when it came to delivery and they were really friendly when I spoke to them on the phone. When I’m impulse buying, I want (no need!) whatever it is I’ve ordered…yesterday.

I ordered a chess set from them at 11am on Thursday and….. alleluia…. it arrived at 10:15 the next morning. I’m no chess geek but the set they sent me looks really nice. It’s a 14” folding chess set with weighted pieces, the board is made from a chunky hardwood (I think it is Sheesham Wood) and it actually feels like it’s worth the £90 I paid for it. Yes, I could have bought something cheaper but some chess sets can cost hundreds, even thousands, and this feels like a good balance. It could easily pass for something twice as expensive. I got emails to tell me my order had shipped, communication was great and everything was properly packed.

I don’t often recommend or plug websites, not that many impress me, but I have to say I had such a good experience I felt compelled to use them as an example of a how specialist web stores should be. Take a look at their site, and then perform a search on google and look at some of their competitors sites. You’ll see what I mean. They’ve obviously spent a lot of time developing their site, making it easy to use without spending an absolute fortune.

Anyway that’s my geekout for today, Staunton Chess sets equal Regency Chess. Search Engine Optimisation PLUS good design equals better sales.