Starting to feel a bit desperate

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Thomas BC
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Starting to feel a bit desperate

Post by Thomas BC »

I recently posted news on my new website, in particular about the SEO GG2 helped me with. I am getting much better traffic to my website than ever before, and better than I ever hoped for. So I guess that I am doing that bit right (or on the right path, although I am not complacent at all!!)

But I have recently had nothing but a string of what CottageGuru calls 'Cherry Pickers'.

In terms of bookings in the bag, I started out the year better than last year (as a result of more bookings at the end of last year than the previous year). But it seems that I am not managing to get people visiting my site to make an enquiry - and am starting to feel a bit desperate.

I was hoping a few LMHers have some time to take a glance at my pages and let me know if you can think of any reason why I am not even attracting enquiries. Please be brutal - after all if you arent, my bank manager will be :oops:

As always, many thanks
Luxury B&B and Gite with swimming pool, Normandy

Thomas
Margaret
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Post by Margaret »

OK, I'll tell you my quick impressions:

- I don't like the background
- no internal pictures on the home page and the top 2 pictures are not relevant to what you are offering
- first lot of text 'tells' people how great the place without giving them the information to decide for themselves. Needs to start off with what you are offering.
- too many options in the right hand side bar
- and this may be the most unfair comment - the main photo of the building gave the message of traditional, typical, French but definitely not luxury


That's why I was not tempted to go further.

Edited: in a rush as about to go away for a couple of days so many apologies in advance if any of the above are unjustified!
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Thomas BC
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Post by Thomas BC »

Thanks Margaret!! Those are just the 'first impressions' I want to read and think about.
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Vera
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Post by Vera »

I agree with Margaret, very confusing as to what you have to offer. The 1st picture "A luxury Normandy style gite" I assume it's yours but doesn't say so, it could be anywhere.

Also use of the words Gite, Cottage, Farmhouse is confusing.

The pricing is also confusing, how long is a seasonal break?

All in all too confusing!

But the places look lovely and some of the pictures are very good.
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

For me, the photos are lovely, but the sidebar is very intimidating and you don't say the basic information that I'd want to know on the homepage - how many the gite(s) sleep, how many bedrooms there are and how far from well known places of interest you are. I don't like the 'I, I, I' bit in the last paragraph either. And you mention family holidays, but except for the pool there doesn't seem much evident for families. Also it is difficult to know if it is B&B or self catering or both in the gites?
If it is any comfort, enquiries very quiet here now except for July and August which have been booked for ages.
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pete
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Post by pete »

I am confused, when I google bed and breakfast normandy, which is what I would do if thats where I wanted to stop for a night or so, I dont see your site in the first 3 pages - and after that I would have chosen one anyway.

adding 'luxury' does not help either,

pete
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Blue Shutters
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Post by Blue Shutters »

As I am in the same boat myself, I will try and express my opinions. Photos are great, love the "atmosphere" ones especially (the table for 2 with the cininea and view, bliss), quality of gites and B&B first rate, would definitely go on holiday if I could work it all out!! I would want to know straight away how all the cottages and B&B "interact", as potentially it could be a noisy shared holiday with strangers and not what I was after. All the information is there, just too much.

The picture of the pool does not show overall siting so I can picture myself there, I would be suspect that there was something "wrong" and how many pople could potentially be sharing it. Do I have to walk miles to get to it,am i allowed to use it?

Perhaps a simple site plan at the outset may help. The TA column is good, but not on the first page, and all the links look like you offer 391 differing holidays too, I can see why you have all the info there as it's all what I would read in further depth once I had been hooked in by the property.

But as I said, who am I to know having only just put our website online today with millions of faults, it's so darned hard yet looks so easy!!

Perhaps we should all swap websites and work on a different one for a change.

How about a simple page on what good value a stay in France is even in "credit crunch" times, give an example table d'hote menu from a loacal restaurant, and price of ferry even in July and August. I think I may do that, bedded further into the website than front page though. I think people still think you have to spend £600 on a BF crossing to get to Normandy.......
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Richard D
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Post by Richard D »

OK, heres brutal !

I found that the very busy TA sidebar continually took my attention away from the main event. Having literally dozens of links away from your site on your homepage is going to do nothing for you in terms of either SEO or winning bookings.

The homepage text is very long on waffle and very short on basic information. The gîtes are in somewhre in Normandy and about 1.5hrs from Calais were the only useful facts I could pick up from the entire text. The site obviously has a lot of information, but it is all over the place and most people wouldn't have the patience to look for it.

The caption on the main photo on the homepage "A luxury Normandy Style Gîte" would tend to make suspicious minds (like mine) think that this is not a photo of your property. You might as well say "this is my neighbors gîte and I'd like mine to look like this when it's finished". Also the random photo of some anonymous building in the top RH corner of the homepage also makes me wonder which are the photos of the actual property and which are random photos of attractive local buildings !

The prices are well and truly buried - I mean to put your prices in a "general information" sub-menu below the "gîtes" menu seems a little odd. At least change the "general information" subtitle to "prices" and people might actually look there. I mean there is already a ton of general information in the sidebar - a lot of it actually taking people away from your site. Also your site is only in English but you're pricing in Euros. I think really if you're going to price in Euros then you would benefit from having a French version of the site.

The rest of the site actually seems OK and the interior shots are really excellent. Unfortunatly as a customer I would have probably left the site after a quick glance at the homepage.

Recommendations:

1.Replace the TA sidebar with a simple box or even better ditch
it altogether.

2. Assuming the main shot is actually one of your gites, redo the caption to actually describe what is in the photo.

3. Replace the two photos with perhaps four smaller ones, including a couple of interior shots so people get a better impression of what sort of propety they're looking at.

4. Completly redo the text on the homepage so as you can answer the following important questions:

Where is the nearest town ? Where is the nearest airport ? Is the property anywhere near the coast ? What is the layout of the property ? How many people do the gîtes accommodate ? How many bedrooms ? Where does "Thomas" live ? In/adjoining one of the Gites ? In the B&B ? In a nearby village ? How many people share the pool ? Is the pool heated ? How big is it ? What is the price range ?

I'm sure that most if not all of these questions are answered on your site somewhere, but unfortunatly most people are not going to explore further than the homepage. You get literally seconds to grab their attention with the photos. If they like the photos they'll scan the text. If the text indicates that their basic requirements are met then they'll probably head for prices/availability. If the property is in price range and available then they may look at the other pages.

Good luck !
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Post by la vache! »

Richard D wrote:Also your site is only in English but you're pricing in Euros. I think really if you're going to price in Euros then you would benefit from having a French version of the site.
Interesting viewpoint, why??
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Thomas BC
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Post by Thomas BC »

Wow! Thanks everyone for these comments. There is much to consider (much to do more like). I cant say I disagree with any of the comments raised, and some of them I had thought of also (sidebar mainly, homepage issues). But I did do what I did for a reason - but obviously this is not working - so will attend to these. I agree with Blue Shutters - we should hand over our websites at some point (which is in fact what the website review is I suppose).

I am not a fan of the side bar either (I think it is overwhelming), and in the last few days I have been changing the elements to try and 'soften' it. But as it is integral to the website's design I will have to have a chat to GG2 about this. BTW Richard the links are 'no follow' links. I have had some people who have said they like all the information that is available. So I need to find a balance between being able to provide that information, but in such a way that it does not look so intimidating or overwhelming.

The main photo is my gite :wink: But I agree the caption could lead to some wondering 'if'.

The one thing that does worry me, and those with multiple units like La Vache and Richard may have further comment, is the comment raised by Blue Shutters:
I would want to know straight away how all the cottages and B&B "interact", as potentially it could be a noisy shared holiday with strangers and not what I was after.
There are the two cottages, they are not on top of each other, they do share the pool. The two cottages 'interact' well, it has never been a problem before. But I am worried this is in fact what is putting people off.

Pete, you are quite right - my SEO for the B&B is not as good as it is for the gites. I could give you a long explanation - but suffice it to say it is something I am working on. I am on page one for 'luxury B&B pool Normandy', 'B&B pool normandy' and 'B&B near X' (X being the various towns and cities near me).

Otherwise, thank you very much all for taking the time to comment so extensively. I trust you agree, its not to daunting a make-over for the site. As a number of you have commented - the info is there, its just clumsily phrased and confusing.
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Thomas BC
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Post by Thomas BC »

Richard D wrote: Also your site is only in English but you're pricing in Euros. I think really if you're going to price in Euros then you would benefit from having a French version of the site.
I price in Euros because I am in France and my bills are in Euros. Ideally I would like a French and German version, but funds (or lack thereof) do not permit, same reason why pool is not yet heated. Maybe with all these recommendations, I can now change that :)
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Blue Shutters
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Post by Blue Shutters »

Thomas, I didn't explain very well. I meant a "site plan" as in a simple sketch map of the buildings/gardens/pool etc, rather than a website "site plan", and how much privacy each unit has, what is communal and what is private.......it works both ways, some want to have others about so children get together and make friends etc, others want their own castle, draw bridge and all. It just needs to be obvious from the outset..... I didn't mean communal was bad!!
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Post by la vache! »

Thomas BC wrote:same reason why pool is not yet heated.
Blimey, a non heated pool in Normandy? Maybe that is the reason for fewer bookings?
You are brave. I couldn't use a pool anywhere north of Spain it would never be warm enough to use, except perhaps the odd day in August.
BTW, I think on my homepage it is clear that the gites are one property and the pool is shared, so if people don't like it and want somewhere private, they go elsewhere. I don't advertise the fact that I'm an onsite owner, but I think most people assume that for gite complexes there is usually an owner lurking somewhere in the near vicinity.
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

I'm finding this thread very interesting, because I look on Thomas as my closest "competitor" (not so much in distance as we're about 30miles away and there are other gites much closer, but more in the sense of similarity and the fact that we are both on LMH, both bought our properties around the same time, are in a similar price range and sleep the same amount of people in the gite).

Although we are "competitors" we have both been working together - he, along with GG2, in helping me with getting to grips with self-hosting my wordpress site, and I in return by sending him quite a few enquiries when we have been full (in fact I specifially state on my website If we are already booked for the dates you require, please contact us because we can put you in touch with another local owner with an equally special place to stay, who may have availability. - well, this local owner is Thomas!:wink: )

In recent weeks I have been looking at his website and showing his images to my OH and saying to him that we need to raise our game because this is what the competition is doing.

As a result I have started redesigning my website. Luckily it turns out, I had to grind to a bit of a halt a couple of weeks ago so all I've done so far is more or less copy my existing site and made a few tweaks. I was planning to add a lot more info on the home page, a bit like Thomas' site, but now I'm not so sure!

I think we both need to look objectively at our websites. Given the similarities, why is it that I only have 3 weeks left to book between now and September, and yet Thomas is "starting to feel a little desperate"?

This is my new site - at the moment it's only available as a link from Perfect Getaways, yet it is already starting to pull in hits from the search engines. www.normandygite.eu

I've had another look at yours Thomas, and I suppose I can see what some other people here have said. One thing that just hit me, putting my objective hat on, is that it is very difficult to see your availability at a glance, as you have to scroll to the relevant month each time.
WRT the gites "interacting" - what is your google earth satellite photo like? Could you put that up?
Also, I notice the fact that the pool is not heated is one of the first questions in the FAQs. I would "hide" that a little further down the list!
Finally, we price in Euros too...
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Thomas BC
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Post by Thomas BC »

Normandy Cow wrote:iven the similarities, why is it that I only have 3 weeks left to book between now and September, and yet Thomas is "starting to feel a little desperate"?
Now, am going to edit the title from 'little' to 'very' and then am off to the local bar/tabac - not sure when I will be back :cry:
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