We introduced you to our latest critique participant — ScoutingBooks.com — last week. ScoutingBooks.com isn't in dire straights. In fact, this niche site for Boy Scouts and outdoorsmen has been relatively successful since launching nearly six years ago.

Unlike our past participants, we weren't sure why site owner Dave Tracewell sought our help.

"No matter how hard one tries, there's always room for improvement. Page design, ease of navigation, checkout procedures, dropped baskets; all of these (and probably a dozen other things) have been, and in some cases continue to be, a problem from time to time. While I've been blessed with decent success, I'm not reaching even one percent of my potential targeted audience," Tracewell tells ECommerce Guide.

Today we begin our panelist critiques of ScoutingBooks.com. Internet shopper and Webopedia Managing Editor Vangie Beal, ECommerce-Guide columnist James Maguire and Daniel Cartin, Director of Interactive Marketing for popular ISP and e-commerce hosting provider Affinity Internet, all offer their thoughts and suggestions on the ScoutingBooks.com.

Vangie Beal, Internet shopper and Webopedia Managing Editor
"As an Internet shopper I have a several expectations that an e-commerce Web site must meet to get my business. The Web site must offer competitive prices or unique items that cannot easily be found at local shops. It has to look professional and trustworthy as soon as the first page loads. I also like to find easy navigation system that will provide one-click access to product images and descriptions."

"The current design layout just does not look professional. Without being too harsh, the design is what I would have expected to see in the early to mid 90's. If I don't feel that a Web site is a professional store offering, I most likely won't shop there."

"The design tends to overuse a mixture of bright text colors with different background images, and font sizes. I could count over twenty bright colors jumping out at me - and that was just on one page. I found it very difficult to focus on the product information when everything else around this information was demanding my attention instead. It is important to provide text that is easy to read online — and when printed as well. I think a cleaner more selective use of color, font and background is needed."

"I am adamant about reading through return policies, shipping information, and guarantees before making any online purchase. I don't see any point in wasting time selecting merchandise only to discover at the checkout that the products cannot be returned, or worse yet, the company has limited shipping services. It took quite some time to locate this type of information on your Web site.

You offer a 100 percent safe shopping guarantee. I would promote that a little more. I still did not manage to find any shipping information, and would not have considered making a purchase without first knowing what your return policy and shipping services are."

"The unique product selection is definitely there and this will encourage customers to your Web site instead of other online bookstores. I also noticed the 'specials' section which is another check mark for you. If I were making a purchase and paying for shipping anyway, I most likely would want to peruse that section looking for a good deal to add to my purchase. I love to see deals or product sales on or linked from the main page."

"Another big issue I had (with ScoutingBooks.com) is that it just took far too long to get to individual product pages. I really tend to prefer Web sites that can take me directly to a product image or category displaying images with one click from the main Web page. At times I had to wade through layers of navigation to view a specific product description page. This simply makes the shopping and checkout process longer than it needs to be. I think ScoutingBooks could benefit from having a cleaner navigation system that makes finding specific merchandise the number one focus."

ScoutingBooks.com is ECommerce-Guide.com's latest site critique participant.

"For me I didn't feel as if this Web site was overly trustworthy. I didn't see e-commerce affiliations that would let me know I was on a verified merchant Web site. The good news is that I don't think it would take very much to convey to a prospective customer that you are a strong business that people can put their trust in. Work on providing some information related to your shipping and return policies.

I also think you would do well to save your visitors time and frustration by eliminating layered navigation and providing a much cleaner and easier to read Web site."

James Maguire, ECommerce-Guide.com columnist
"First, I have to commend you on the idea behind your business. You've staked out a true, marketable niche. While there are a zillion people try to sell in crowded markets like jewelry or electronics, you've found a unique little sliver that's not as crowded, and you've built a foundation. Good for you."

"Also, congratulations on being No. 1 on Google for the search term 'scouting books,' and No. 2 for the term for 'boy scout books.' Between having a good business idea, and having high visibility on Google, you're really in position to succeed."

"But you have problems with inventory and pricing. On your site, you sell The Scoutmaster's Other Handbook for $10.95, and you're sold out. On Amazon, the book goes for $8.21 and they have it in stock. On the other hand, you're pretty close on The Boy Scout Shoulder Patch Guide ($16 on your site, $15.47 on Amazon). And, you've got The Scout Riddle Book, but Amazon is sold out."

"So it looks like you win some, lose some when it comes competing with Amazon."

"To really build your business — and limit other booksellers' ability to compete in your niche — you should make your site a destination for Boy Scouts. Put up tons of information for scouting types, everything from scouting stories to specific techniques. Start a scouting forum. Putting up content will draw far more traffic, and it'll legitimize you to your audience."

"Your biggest problem is the look of your site. It's jumbled and looks very homemade. I see you're using the Miva Merchant platform, so I'm guessing you bought the Miva software and built the site yourself. That's a mistake that will cost you a lot of sales -- far more than what you saved by not hiring a Web designer."

"I recently read this study (I think it was by comScore) that said one of the main reasons people won't buy at a site is that it doesn't look professionally designed. Hire a Web designer and the investment will pay off."

"Some related points:
º I went most of the way through checkout and it seems to work pretty well. However, your check-out includes a page that says "Create a New Account," which makes it look like users have to register before buying — a big no-no in the check-out process. Shoppers who pay attention will notice that you allow them to buy without registering, but I'd make this clearer (by putting it first) for those shoppers who aren't observant.

º Some of your links open a new browser, within your very own site. This is confusing for shoppers.

º Your on-site search tool seems to work well in terms of bringing up relevant results. But the results look pretty drab, just a product title and product number — no short description, and no graphic image. This is worth upgrading. Many customers use on-site search to find products, and if the results are attractive they may add items.

º You could significantly boost your Google presence for not that much money. For the highly trafficked search term "Boy Scout," you don't show up at all on the first couple pages of Google. You could buy an ad over in the sponsored links section for minimal money, so that you'd show up when people search for "Boy Scout."

º I see by using the Alexa tool bar that there are a few directly related sites that are non-commercial. For example, Scouting Games and Cub Scout Games. These would be good sites to trade links with to draw traffic."

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