I need advice / comments on my website!

[Beaker]

"Btw count me as a vote in the "I want your pedals based on the art" camp. That raccoon one is so sweet, if I didn't build all my own pedals I would definitely be a potential customer. The princess bubblegum one is really cool too."

Me too. As someone working in engineering, stuff like acid etched graphics can look very cool, but it's just a process. I could do that. Shit, I'm still using a label maker for my enclosures. Hand painting is art, and I have NO artistic talent whatsoever. Therefore I am drawn to what I am unable to do myself. Remember that Geiri started off with all his enclosures being hand painted by his girlfriend, so it's good to see the tradition continuing.

I fully understand that others like Chris may not like that, but ultimately no matter how you do your enclosures, it's just personal taste, and you can't please everyone. Certainly amateurish hand painted enclosures have never harmed the sales figures of ZVex and BJFE pedals for examples.

I completely understand Paul's point of peppering descriptions with phrases "the best sounding overdrive". So many people don't know how  to use Google properly.
My students in college are a good example - every Google search gets phrased as a question,
so I can see someone, who has never heard of Pedal Projects, sitting at their computer, searching for a new overdrive pedal by typing in " What's the best sounding overdrive pedal".

If the phrase "best sounding overdrive" is on the website, there is far more chance of the site making it to the top of page one, and therefore attracting their interest.

HOWEVER, and this is the big one, I'm no different to Travis and Zach here - if I were to see "The best overdrive .... (add superlatives here) ", I too would think the maker was a prize bell end and look elsewhere.

As I said in my earlier post, I know Iceland and Icelanders - I have friends there, and I know hyping yourself up is not part of their nature.

[Travis]

You've totally missed the point both times already. I could go on, but why?

I guess I just have to say Geiri for the love of God don't have Paul write your descriptions



Anyways now that I've had the time to read through Geiri's descriptions, I think that they mostly don't need to be rewritten. The descriptions for your own designs are excellent, they just need mild editing to make them read a little more easily.

The Klone is the only description I would rewrite. It kindof sounds like the author speaks English as a second language (where the other descriptions seem like perfect English). I realize this is probably true for you Geiri and I hope I don't offend. You're doing a great job and I can only speak English fluently so hey you know more than me.

Anyway the Klone description is really long, when all you really need to do is describe your cool features like the relay bypass switching and say how it sounds basically identical to the original. The readers will already know what the Klon does, and your excellent demos already say everything except for the relay bypass part

Like I said though, your own descriptions of your own circuits are nearly perfect, just needs some slight editing.

For example instead of describing how an input cap blend works, just describe it's effect. This control alters the bass frequencies entering the front end of the pedal, giving a "tighter" or "looser" sound.

A DIYer will instantly recognize that as an input cap blend, and the person that doesn't know about electronics will be able to easily understand the function of the control

[Silver Blues]

I agree with Travis' assessment, most of them just need a little editing. I could do that for you if you like, Geiri.

[motterpaul]

Fine - I withdraw my offer because I am not going to argue. I think the response here was rude and rash, but I will not write for Geiri because of the emphatic way that opinion was just expressed. Oh, and I do get it.

The fact is that I had not even gotten started. I was busy with another paid writing assignment yesterday so I only had time for a quick look. I didn't even see the all important product demos, which in itself shows this web site needs help.

So, let me say this...

If Geiri did not want me after assessing a serious effort, that would be okay. But I don't think it was fair to judge my abilities based on one sentence I dashed off merely as an example of search engine optimization - (not something I said I definitely planned to write). A wise person would want to see what I can do when I really try, especially since I said there is no cost to him.

Plus - it was to be a collaborative effort where he didn't have to use anything he didn't like, which is how I always work (because I am a pro).

And by the way, here are a few: examples:

http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2014/04/04/behind-the-curtain-owning-a-rock-music-club/#sthash.fXC6Z58t.dpbs

http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2014/06/09/rock-and-roll-on-the-high-seas/#sthash.QkRUU4DT.dpbs

https://reverb.com/blog/a-history-of-marshall-amps-part-i

Not to mention that I designed my own web site & sold ads (based solely on our successful readership) for 7 years before it was acquired, and that the company has kept me on as a consultant to this day (8 years), so I do know how to make web sites successful.

I was once on retainer with Gallagher public relations (in San Francisco) where I wrote a company profile that won one client the "product of the year" award at the next CES. (Redhat), so I know how to make products sound good.

And this is not bragging, it is just a short resume. I have a track record. But if you think it is unwise for Geiri to use the talents of a professional writer, at no cost, then I hope you feel good about your judgement at the end of the day, because it is possible your ideas of how a web site should look are not the ones that lead to the most success.

Now, I know you all have good intentions, but the success of this man's web site is a serious matter, and although this is a fine group of tech-oriented DIYers (who are far more qualified in judging pedals than the average pedal buyer), I would never optimize a pedal web site to sell to you, because you are too smart. The bigger market of pedal buyers, the people with plenty of cash, the ones who put down $450 and wait 6 months for their "Haunting Mids" or "Klon B" pedal, is the target market this man really wants, whether he would admit it here or not. Why, because that market equals success.

Most of the people here expressed what they would personally like to see in a pedal web site. I don't think that way. I think about what the best target market would like to see. It seems you would rather see him sell great pedals at low cost to a small, tech-oriented crowd who by nature wants to backwards engineer everything they buy. I don't see that as a smart marketing move.

But you have decided for him to take my option off the table. I sincerely hope you were right at of the day, and I hope for all the best in success for you, Geiri.

But this "If I saw the word "best" I would leave right then." Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't (I think everyone wants to hear about the best overdrive pedal), but that example was about search engine optimization.

By the way - How do you use Google to tell you what search terms are the most popular? First of all, Google is now smart enough to know you, so you have to log out of google+. Log out and then type in "Overdrive Pedal" and tell me how many titles have the word "Best" in them. Now tell me you really think "Best" is a bad word for Google optimization.

[Chris60601]

Travis -

I dig your builds. You know that, and as I have great respect for you and many others here, (not that I'm sticking up for Paul), but I do have to call you out on this. Geri wanted opinions.
Mine are not the best to use by any means. but they are honest and to the point based on my own desires and thoughts. Beaker exquisitely pointed this out; that what may appeal to one, may not appeal to another.

Agree or not - Paul does have some valid points and in the end, none of us have the authority to expect Geri to use what we put forth. I may not agree with some of the things Paul may have said, and that's Ok because after all, they are his opinions, his feedback on what he feels would help Geri out.

I think what Geri is doing is his way of showing that he respects us enough for valid input and it's up to him to be the judge what to use and what not.

Paul - don't take offense when someone disagrees with you. I don't believe Travis had any malice in his words, again - it's all about opinions that in the end will help Geri out

</SoapBox> 

[motterpaul]

Also - I know I sound "mad" but I am not mad. I just prefer to stick up for myself. But I don't need the extra work, I was just trying to help.

Anyway - I wanted to mention that because I did the research (did any of you before you decided for Geiri what he should do?) I saw that there is one regular member here who has a website in the first two pages of Google results when you type in "Overdrive Pedal."

I won't say who, because he is a nice, helpful person who is always respectful, and you all know him. He comes here somewhat sporadically, as any pedal seller should do, and contributes, often with pictures of his work. I also see him on other sites.

Now, his web site is very different from Geiri's. It is not as deep and it has far more text. Some of the adjectives he uses: "awesome, synthy, nice and aggressive, can go from mild to wild, heavy in your face fuzz, BIG and FAT is how I would describe it."

I'm just saying - marketing isn't always pretty, but something either works, or it doesn't. Success speaks for itself. (But for the record, it didn't even occur to me to use phrases like that, but they must work).

[Travis]

If you put even a small fraction of the effort you waste on these rants into trying to understand what people are telling you, you'd learn a lot faster. I really don't have the patience for your personality, which is why I try to ignore your posts (extremely difficult).

I will go back to not responding to your posts now

[Geiri]

Show respect.

I was asking for opinions, not for people to argue. Why can't people have different opinions on matters? Debating is one thing but no need for arguments.

None of you guys are wrong, make note of that.

SEO is important when you have a website. That's how people find you. The information and text needs to be clear and straight to the point (in my opinion). Why don't I talk about my awesome military grade components and wiring? Because that's marketing bullshit and I don't like it.

I do like a description that's lively and where it feels like someone is telling me this in person, but not like it's being read out of a handbook.

Again, I'm a terrible writer and the reason for the Klone description being different is because I hired some guy on Fiverr to do it for me. It's just $5 so why not try it and see the outcome? Well as it's obvious, that text stands out compared to the rest. I think I'll redo it, or get help from someone.

[Geiri]

So back on topic. I appreciate all the comments and pointers and I will be working on a few that I've read so far.

Here's my main issue. I know I've got pretty good products. I see a lot of stuff out there that's less exciting but sells better. Why? Marketing.

I'm getting over 700 page visits daily now and sometimes I don't see a sale in a few days. That's an issue I need to resolve and figure out how to make everything more "buy-able" or whatever hah!

[tabbycat]

Geiri wrote

I'm a terrible writer and the reason for the Klone description being different is because I hired some guy on Fiverr to do it for me. It's just $5 so why not try it and see the outcome? Well as it's obvious, that text stands out compared to the rest. I think I'll redo it, or get help from someone.

had never heard of fiverr and just checked it out. it made me feel a bit sad. it has the air of a million unemployed arts graduates standing outside a public toilet saying 'do you want business?'.

[Travis]

Sorry to be rude. Cut yourself some slack though. Your writing in the description isn't terrible. It just needs a couple very minor edits

If you're getting 700 views a day then it seems like you don't need to fill your page with nonsense for SEO purposes.

I think a really big factor in your sales "blowing up" is word of mouth from consumers. If you pedal gets picked up on TGP and people start raving about it, you will sell tons of them immediately. Have you had much discussion on forums?

[motterpaul]

 - (sorry, don't know whether to laugh or cry).

I have to speak up when I see someone giving just plain wrong information. The suggestion to add links to your site in your signature on TGP, TPDRI, Lespaulforum, PRS forum, Harmony Central (yes, its back), Gearslutz and other sites is a good idea.

But 700 views a day is not a good metric - at all. Sorry. You definitely need SEO (Not a paid service, just a little redesign effort to improve it) and a more retentive web site.  

TGP gets an estimated 1.2 million visitors/month and most visitors probably go back every day. And did you know that "pedals" is the most popular forum on TGP?  However, look at this below: http://www.trafficestimate.com/thegearpage.net

Keywords Targeted by thegearpage.net:

forum
9830 competing websites

discussion
2191 competing websites

guitar
1777 competing websites

bulletin board
1070 competing websites

speaker
618 competing websites

b&bs
586 competing websites

amp
153 competing websites

music gear
35 competing websites

effect pedal
2 competing websites

I smell opportunity - but that's in my blood because this is my field.

[rocket88]

i've got to agree with travis on this one. but something that's come to my mind is are you looking more at selling direct to someone or to use a middleman/dealer? i know for me when i was more focused on buying pedals when i checked out a companies site, i would usually buy from a dealer rather then direct. with that in mind, if you're getting 700 hits a day those that are looking at getting one of your effects could be going to one of your dealers.

i'm in the us, so if i were to get one of your effects having to wait for it to come form overseas and pay the extra shipping would make me look for a us dealer. not only that, but if i have an issue i would want to turn to the dealer for help that's more local, them having to send it back overseas.

if what i'm thinking could be a big part of the issue, then you might want to have a section about making custom effects, or modifications you could do for someone if they buy straight from you, rather then going through a dealer.

i also what to say, without arguing about all this, i do want to comment on what's gone down. people need to accept that we all have opinions, as opinions are like assholes......everyone has one.

here's my take on it. using works like "best" or "ultimate" and the like you run into a major issue, and that's opinions. what i consider the best and what you consider the best can be widely different. when you look at many of the boutique builders, and even some of the big dogs like EHX, they avoid these words for that reason. when you do, it does lose credibility as no self respecting builder would say such a thing.

when you type into google "best overdrive", without quotes you get this, to which you will notice you get magazine articles, stores, forums, etc. one notable exception is Greer Amps on page 3, who says they make the best boutique effects.

being in a similar boat, although much smaller, i have been thinking the same thing, "how do i really SELL my effects, without the bs, without exaggerating and overstating the sound, etc?" and the more i think about it there's a fine line, which can be avoided by not saying things like "its the best," and the like. the fact that yours are handmade, and done in house from start to finish, the fact that you have a small dedicated staff, that you can customize some of the effect are all positive things that will draw people to you.

you have to remember when most people search they don't use quotes, especially the younger generation. so google is going to search the combination of words, rather then the two together. so i don't think that's a problem, nor do i think searching and finding the site is an issue. i think the key words used already are good. you also have to think that if there are 1000 pedal companies that use the same or similar description, you're going to end up somewhere buried in the search. key words describing the sound is where it's at, and you do that well. i also agree with travis that stating what certain pots do would be good.

what i think about is, how would andy from pgs describe the effect? when you watch their demos he gives clear, concise description of the effect and is able to describe the action of the pots so you know what it does without getting technical.

[Beaker]

I can see someone, who has never heard of Pedal Projects, sitting at their computer, searching for a new overdrive pedal by typing in " What's the best sounding overdrive pedal".

Sorry Zach, I just noticed I put the search term above in quotation marks. I did not mean to imply the quotation marks were part of the search term, so yes, I agree with you on that point.

I see it all the time at work  - what is a ..., how do you use a ..., what is a ... used for etc. Then the kids wonder why they can't get anything useful.

Best one I came across recently, one of my students typed what is SWA into google, then copied and pasted the first hit he got - a nice piece of info about the Scotch Whisky Association.
Unfortunately this was an Electrical Engineering student, who was supposed to be researching Steel Wire Armoured cable!

Sorry for going off-topic!

[rocket88]

you and me both. i'm constantly teaching my kids how to search things when they don't know something. my favorite is when they search the exact question i ask them, and since they don't but it in quotation marks google is searching each work individually. so think about what google is thinking when it's put into the search.

that is the most amazing thing ever. i had a kid who was researching uses for carbon, and they typed in without quotation marks mind you, "uses of C." and they couldn't figure out why they were getting sites for little kids on spelling and vocabulary. he still hasn't lived that down in my class.

[Beaker]

Good job you did not ask them about uses for Einsteinium.

He would have been fully prepped for a weekend's hard clubbing by the end of the lesson!

[motterpaul]

I read the Klon content two hours ago and I still recall how bad it is. It is so bad I could tell the writer has NO IDEA what a real KLON is. And that is the whole point of selling a Klone.

First off - too many exclamation points - automatic rejection. Second - what is with repeating the "guitar and amplifier experience" phrase? what?

But think about this - I could argue pedalproject.com has the BEST KLONE I have ever seen, because it does things other Klones do not do. 99% of Klones brag of sounding like the original. So what? (we here can all build that now) - but how many have a relay to turn it on every time it gets juice? Great for looping. I get it. That's why I feel it is one of the best Klones you can buy.

(you may laugh now, but I'll bet you this is how the site ends up - and that is Okay).

Here is one more tip - change your <title> tags - they are what Google usually shows readers in their listing when they index your page. Ideally, they should match your actual article title, which should describe what the text on that page is about.

Funny stuff about the kids searching - but even grownups like my wife have no idea how to search. She constantly asks me "how do I know if a web site is telling me the truth?"

That's a very good question if you think about it.

[Beaker]

"how do I know if a web site is telling me the truth?"

According to my kids at college - ALL the time "They wouldn't be allowed to put it on the internet if it was not true."

The poor deluded muppets. Truly terrifying really!

[rocket88]

that's like when i was growing up, except it was if it wasn't true it wouldn't be on tv.

[motterpaul]

Too funny (seriously) - I am LOL.

That's the way I used to think about a lot of publications, on both sides of the fence. I don't trust anyone anymore, except Eric Clapton.