Hi Martha!
Well, here goes...
First thing I'll do is tell you the same thing I tell every review. In these reviews, I don't focus too heavily on the technical aspect of a website. I don't review the code for browser compatibility and I don't check for keywords, meta tags, etc. Peter does the technical reviews in the
website reviews area of his forum, so if I did that too, it would be redundant. lol
Instead, I focus on the overall business, how it's presented and what you can do to improve results.
Martha, I think you have great potential. There's a goldmine of information at your site for crafters. The gourd handbags are really neat and the painted gourds are adorable. There's a few things I'd change. Here's a few suggestions to get you started - and I'm betting that other people will chime in with more ideas.
1) Visual appearance.
Most crafters are highly visual people. We like things that look nice, and clever and different. You already know that, of course - but perhaps need to add a little of that to your site. One thing I'd do is put the content on a white background (in a table) with the colored background in the surrounding areas. Kind of like this:
http://www.lindacaroll.com/adland/Martha.gif
Note: For others reading along, you can see the original/current site at;
http://www.marthasgourds.com
Note that the color doesn't fill the screen in mine - that's because it's just a gif image. With html, you can set the color as the background and then use a white table for content.
2) Consistent Layout
I'd also work on a layout that puts the content in the body - some highlights in the right column - and anything not related to what you sell would go under neath the bottom link bar. For example, under the lower navigation, I'd put your ezine articles credit, craft rings, logos for any organizations you belong to, etc.
(Have a peek at the bottom of the page at http://www.koacoffee.com to see how I did their credit links, etc)
3) Don't lose them on the main page.
I would remove all the Amazon links from the main page. Probably the google ones, too. When you work hard to get traffic, why lose them on the main page? They haven't had time yet to decide that they love your site and bookmark it. I'd use the Amazon and Google links only on second or third level pages. For example, on the information (resources for crafters) page, you have links to craft tips, articles, etc. Put the ads on those pages.
4) Use your articles more
I notice that you're an Ezine Articles author. Good show. (so am I). Put those articles on your site, too. Add links to them on the info page - and then put your Google and other ads there. It will serve 3 purposes. First, it will add to your content and page count, which is good for search engines. Second, it will give you more pages to pop Google ads onto. Third, it will provide more content to keep people coming back.
5) Don't be shy to SELL.
Most people don't promote their own good as much as they could, and should. Put featured gourds in the right column of ALL your pages.
6) Devote a section of the main page to anything seasonal. For example, do you have Christmas gourds? Elves or Santas? Put a couple right on the main page... and link to a page with more. (or to the gourds for sale gallery)
7) Add an about page and contact page. People love to see who's "behind" a site. And do add that photo with award winning gourds. It's priceless - and gives you tons of credibility in a whimsical way that makes people smile.
Summary;
I think there's great potential for your site. The first thing I'd suggest is that you look at the visual layout. Play with left and right columns if it helps. You could put featured gourds on one side and ads on the other. Or use just a right column if you prefer.
The next thing to do is look for ways to reach your target audience. You're writing articles, so that's a good start. I'd do searches for "folk art," "crafts," etc and see if you can find directories that you can list your site at.
Oh... and switch to Arial or Verdana for your font. lol. (almost forgot) Statistics show that a sans serif font is easier on the eyes than a serif font, so people tend to stay longer and read more than when a serif font is used. Ironically, it's the other way around for print materials. So - for a website, you want Arial or Verdana.
So... there's a start. Questions? Thoughts?
: )
Linda
P.S. Anyone else have thoughts? Feel welcome to contribute. Two heads and four eyes are better than one. As long as they're not on one person, of course.