beat the competition 
posted in Interview: Geoff from canvastown.com
canvastown.com have been running for over 3 years, and in the last 18 months or so, have specialised in selling Banksy canvas art. A physical shop in the financial district of London has sprung up on the success of the website and I've visited it myself - busy day it was too!The Interview
If a website owner had no money and just 5 hours per week to spend on their website, how would you advise them to spend those 5 hours per week to maximise the effectiveness and visibility of their website?Try and learn about SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
How much time do you spend on your website in an average week?
7 hours
How do you get inspired to find new things to write about on your site?
I am lazy and just use the back office to create news stories.
What do you enjoy most about running your online business?
That you do not need to be in a fixed place.
Does the website generate a lot of phone calls?
No.
How often do you update your website?
As soon as we have a new item to sell.
How much do you know about SEO?
Just the basics like keywords and linkbuilding.
What improvements would you like made to your site?
a) Google checkout orders to be seen in the back office
b) A gmail account for all my email from different websites as gmail is the best for spam and sometimes when you try and set up outlook express problems occur.
What annoys you when you visit other sites?
No physical address.
What has surprised you most about the behaviour of your website visitors?
If you offer something cheap then your visitors are normally a pain . They more expensive the item the more pleasant they are.
What single piece of advice would you give to any other website thinking of selling online?
Do not sell phyisical goods.
Sell an intangible product like a download.
What mistakes have you made regarding the running of your online business?
Expecting to make money quickly.
Thank you Geoff! (interview by Andrew Lang)
Share this article:
view my profile on Google+