When we opened the site back in September, the quickest way to get up and running was to use PayPal for payments. It wasn't ideal for us because customers are taken away from our site to use a system which is out of our control and that we can't configure to our liking. Never the less, we thought that being a well known payment method it would be trusted. However, we found that quite a few customers who went to the checkout from their shopping cart did not complete their orders. Some days this could be as high as 50%. We weren't sure what the problem was, but think that the login and password prompts in PayPal may have put customers off who didn't realise PayPal can now take credit cards. Alternatively, it may even have been the fact that the customers were being directed to a different site which made them feel uncomfortable.
Another problem we had was with ex-pat customers ringing us from places like Spain saying that PayPal was presenting the information in Spanish which they didn't understand. At the time, we were also considering adding Google checkout as an option, but as we owned a secure site ourselves, we decided to put in the extra effort of performing the payment processing ourselves.
The main advantage to us, is that we can look after customers for the complete duration of their visit and are able to personally provide them with order completion notification and details of their orders at the end of it. Another advantage is that it also enables the customer to remain within the site until they are ready to move on. We were delighted to find that customers appear happier or more confident having the payment processing done within the site, because the completion rate is now consistently up at around 80% which is a big improvement, although there are still occasional days where prospective customers have second thoughts when getting to the checkout. The transmitted information is safe because we use a secure server (https:// with the lock symbol) and we do *not* retain card details. However, if anyone is still worried about entering credit card information via the internet, we do take orders via telephone and have done so on quite a few occasions.
Sunday 23 December 2007
Sunday 16 December 2007
Popular types of Bodystocking
When looking for bodystockings, what other words are predominantly used to narrow the search?
The word 'bodystocking' is frequently entered into Search Engines on its own, sometimes with an 's' on the end, and other times as 2 words as in 'body' and 'stocking'.
The keyword that has been entered most often with 'bodystocking' is 'sheer'. It is therefore no coincidence that sheer bodystockings have been among the best sellers so far.
Definition: Sheer - a semi-transparent material that is usually a very thin knit.
The next most popular word to accompany 'bodystocking' has been 'fishnet'. Our site contains many fishnet bodystockings, but also a variation on fishnet, called 'fencenet'. It has the same basic design as a fishnet, expect the diamonds are much larger. The keyword has never been used in a Search Engine to access our site, but the fencenet bodystockings have proved to be quite popular.
Definition: Fishnet - a material with an open, diamond shaped knit.
Surprisingly, despite being the biggest individual seller, the word 'opaque' has not featured as much in the Search Engines.
Definition: Opaque - a material impenetrable by light, that is neither transparent not translucent.
The only other 2 keywords of note that have been repeatedly used are 'Turtleneck' (a high, tubular collar that fits closely about the neck) and 'Crotchless' (open, underneath).
Finally, although none of our bodystockings are described as 'mesh', the term has been used on a small number of occasions.
Definition: Mesh - a woven knit of open texture with evenly spaced holes.
So there we have it. It is a necessary exercise to evaluate what phrases are being used so that 'ad word' and 'search marketing' campaigns can be instructed to work with the most frequently entered keyword phrases.
The following links take you to a selection of these items on our site:
Sheer - Fishnet - Fencenet - Opaque - TurtleNeck
The word 'bodystocking' is frequently entered into Search Engines on its own, sometimes with an 's' on the end, and other times as 2 words as in 'body' and 'stocking'.
The keyword that has been entered most often with 'bodystocking' is 'sheer'. It is therefore no coincidence that sheer bodystockings have been among the best sellers so far.
Definition: Sheer - a semi-transparent material that is usually a very thin knit.
The next most popular word to accompany 'bodystocking' has been 'fishnet'. Our site contains many fishnet bodystockings, but also a variation on fishnet, called 'fencenet'. It has the same basic design as a fishnet, expect the diamonds are much larger. The keyword has never been used in a Search Engine to access our site, but the fencenet bodystockings have proved to be quite popular.
Definition: Fishnet - a material with an open, diamond shaped knit.
Surprisingly, despite being the biggest individual seller, the word 'opaque' has not featured as much in the Search Engines.
Definition: Opaque - a material impenetrable by light, that is neither transparent not translucent.
The only other 2 keywords of note that have been repeatedly used are 'Turtleneck' (a high, tubular collar that fits closely about the neck) and 'Crotchless' (open, underneath).
Finally, although none of our bodystockings are described as 'mesh', the term has been used on a small number of occasions.
Definition: Mesh - a woven knit of open texture with evenly spaced holes.
So there we have it. It is a necessary exercise to evaluate what phrases are being used so that 'ad word' and 'search marketing' campaigns can be instructed to work with the most frequently entered keyword phrases.
The following links take you to a selection of these items on our site:
Sheer - Fishnet - Fencenet - Opaque - TurtleNeck
Web Browsers
Creating a new site and then doing all that's necessary to support it and attract customers is very time consuming. Some things that should be treated with importance can be missed. Such was the case with Web Browsers. Now that the site has been up and running for just over 3 months, it was time to deal with checks and tests that were deemed not as important at the time. Imagine our consternation when we realised that anybody ordering products using Firefox could not complete the purchase because Firefox could not find the secure checkout site! A bit of investigation, and we found that the oblique characters (\\) in the redirect to the secure site were the 'wrong' way round. Why was this missed? Because Microsoft's Internet Explorer compensates for it, whereas Firefox does not. It's strange, because if you enter a URL directly into Firefox with the oblique characters the wrong way round:
http:\\www.bodystockingavenue.com
as opposed to:
http://www.bodystockingavenue.com/
it works.
Anyway, the problem is fixed now and so apologies to anyone who encountered this problem. There are still some display issues in Firefox, but nothing that prevents anybody from navigating the site. These are also in the process of being fixed, as it appears some of the tags that Internet Explorer is happy to accept are not recognised by Firefox. I think Safari will probably have the same problems, but hopefully fixing the site to display properly under Firefox will also satisfy Safari (the new kid on the block!)
Why is it necessary to support these other web browsers? Because they are becoming more and more prevalent. On looking at what has been used to access our site since it was opened, Windows XP is the most used platform with 69% of the share. The rest comprise other versions of Windows along with Linux, Unix and the Mac. On breaking down Windows XP to the browsers that were used, 84% were Internet Explorer and 14% were Firefox. The remaining ones encountered were Opera, Netscape and Mozilla (a variation of). This does show that Firefox, above all, is important, because it was also the prevalent browser used when a platform other than Windows was used.
So, anybody out there thinking of, or in the process of creating a web site, make sure you keep Firefox in mind as well as Internet Explorer.
http:\\www.bodystockingavenue.com
as opposed to:
http://www.bodystockingavenue.com/
it works.
Anyway, the problem is fixed now and so apologies to anyone who encountered this problem. There are still some display issues in Firefox, but nothing that prevents anybody from navigating the site. These are also in the process of being fixed, as it appears some of the tags that Internet Explorer is happy to accept are not recognised by Firefox. I think Safari will probably have the same problems, but hopefully fixing the site to display properly under Firefox will also satisfy Safari (the new kid on the block!)
Why is it necessary to support these other web browsers? Because they are becoming more and more prevalent. On looking at what has been used to access our site since it was opened, Windows XP is the most used platform with 69% of the share. The rest comprise other versions of Windows along with Linux, Unix and the Mac. On breaking down Windows XP to the browsers that were used, 84% were Internet Explorer and 14% were Firefox. The remaining ones encountered were Opera, Netscape and Mozilla (a variation of). This does show that Firefox, above all, is important, because it was also the prevalent browser used when a platform other than Windows was used.
So, anybody out there thinking of, or in the process of creating a web site, make sure you keep Firefox in mind as well as Internet Explorer.
Sunday 9 December 2007
Bodystocking Cousins
It's amazing how many different types of garment are entered into search engines to arrive at our site. I term these, 'cousins of the bodystocking' and thought it would be fun to describe the differences between them.
The most frequently entered keyword is catsuit, usually preceded by another keyword describing the fabric (pvc, latex) or the colour (green, orange). A catsuit is a one piece garment with long sleeves and leggings that is usually made out of a material such as spandex, pvc, leather or rubber/latex. It is therefore very similar to a full, plain bodystocking except for the material, which results in it being worn as an outergarment. People usually associate the catsuit with super heroines, and they are frequently seen in movies and tv series, although they probably became most famous in 'The Avengers' series through Cathy Gale and Emma Peel.
The keyword unitard is also frequently entered. A unitard is sometimes mistakengly interchanged with bodystocking. The difference is that a bodystocking is worn as an undergarment, and is therefore made of a thinner material (usually sheer or fishnet), whereas a unitard is an outergarment, plainer in appearance. A unitard is like a catsuit in construction, but whereas a catsuit is associated with fashion and the movies, a unitard is mainly associated with sports, such as gymnastics. Another difference, is that a unitard would be the term to describe the all in one outfit worn by male performers in the music business. Freddie Mercury was a frequent wearer of a unitard.
Another 'full' garment that gets entered as a keyword, is a zentai. A zentai is a catsuit with the addition of feet, gloves and a hood which totally encloses the wearer. The term is Japanese for 'full body', and it is usually made using a nylon/spandex blend. The zentai was originally developed for modern dance, but is now frequently used to diminish the presence of an actor in a scene. Puppeteers may wear them so that people can focus on the puppets they are handling. Needles to say, these 'full' garments are also often associated with fetishism.
That just leaves us with the 'legless' garments. A leotard is a unitard without the legs. A leotard is usually associated with acrobats (it was named after a famous French acrobat), dancers, thespians, and gymnasts. It is worn as an outer garment. A bodysuit (or body) is to a leotard what a bodystocking is to a unitard or catsuit, in that it is usually worn as an undergarment. Bodysuits (or bodies) are made up of the same materials as bodystockings, and in addition, they may or may not have snaps at the crotch. They are also called teddies. Click here to see a small selection of bodysuits that we offer.
The most frequently entered keyword is catsuit, usually preceded by another keyword describing the fabric (pvc, latex) or the colour (green, orange). A catsuit is a one piece garment with long sleeves and leggings that is usually made out of a material such as spandex, pvc, leather or rubber/latex. It is therefore very similar to a full, plain bodystocking except for the material, which results in it being worn as an outergarment. People usually associate the catsuit with super heroines, and they are frequently seen in movies and tv series, although they probably became most famous in 'The Avengers' series through Cathy Gale and Emma Peel.
The keyword unitard is also frequently entered. A unitard is sometimes mistakengly interchanged with bodystocking. The difference is that a bodystocking is worn as an undergarment, and is therefore made of a thinner material (usually sheer or fishnet), whereas a unitard is an outergarment, plainer in appearance. A unitard is like a catsuit in construction, but whereas a catsuit is associated with fashion and the movies, a unitard is mainly associated with sports, such as gymnastics. Another difference, is that a unitard would be the term to describe the all in one outfit worn by male performers in the music business. Freddie Mercury was a frequent wearer of a unitard.
Another 'full' garment that gets entered as a keyword, is a zentai. A zentai is a catsuit with the addition of feet, gloves and a hood which totally encloses the wearer. The term is Japanese for 'full body', and it is usually made using a nylon/spandex blend. The zentai was originally developed for modern dance, but is now frequently used to diminish the presence of an actor in a scene. Puppeteers may wear them so that people can focus on the puppets they are handling. Needles to say, these 'full' garments are also often associated with fetishism.
That just leaves us with the 'legless' garments. A leotard is a unitard without the legs. A leotard is usually associated with acrobats (it was named after a famous French acrobat), dancers, thespians, and gymnasts. It is worn as an outer garment. A bodysuit (or body) is to a leotard what a bodystocking is to a unitard or catsuit, in that it is usually worn as an undergarment. Bodysuits (or bodies) are made up of the same materials as bodystockings, and in addition, they may or may not have snaps at the crotch. They are also called teddies. Click here to see a small selection of bodysuits that we offer.
Sunday 2 December 2007
Lycra - explained!
Ever wondered why there is more than one word used for the 'stretchy' material usually described as Lycra? For example, "90% nylon, 10% elastane" is a blend that makes up a garment that people would normally class as being Lycra. You will rarely, if at all, see the word Lycra used in the material mix for a garment.
Elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its elasticity (it can be stretched over 500% without breaking). As a result, it usually forms the smaller percentage of the blend that it is used in, bodystockings for example. However, in North America, the word spandex is preferred, so the difference in the use of the words elastane and spandex is purely geographical. The word spandex originated as an anagram of the word 'expands'.
Lycra is a brand name featuring this material. There are others, but the Lycra name has become so popular it is has become a household word to often mean elastane/spandex, much to the annoyance of the multi-national company, Invista, who owns the trademark.
So, if you are looking for a figure-hugging material with stretchiness, the mention of Lycra, elastane or spandex will indicate you've found what you're looking for. On our site, you'll see bodystockings that have the word Lycra in the description, because that's how the maunfacturers have decided to label them, but a more appropriate word, elastane or spandex, is used in the description of the material that makes up the bodystocking.
Click here to see what we offer.
Elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its elasticity (it can be stretched over 500% without breaking). As a result, it usually forms the smaller percentage of the blend that it is used in, bodystockings for example. However, in North America, the word spandex is preferred, so the difference in the use of the words elastane and spandex is purely geographical. The word spandex originated as an anagram of the word 'expands'.
Lycra is a brand name featuring this material. There are others, but the Lycra name has become so popular it is has become a household word to often mean elastane/spandex, much to the annoyance of the multi-national company, Invista, who owns the trademark.
So, if you are looking for a figure-hugging material with stretchiness, the mention of Lycra, elastane or spandex will indicate you've found what you're looking for. On our site, you'll see bodystockings that have the word Lycra in the description, because that's how the maunfacturers have decided to label them, but a more appropriate word, elastane or spandex, is used in the description of the material that makes up the bodystocking.
Click here to see what we offer.
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