a few tips to help optimize your shop for success

Here are a few tips to help optimize your shop for success.

Make the Most of Your Designs and Shop Layout
- Market Your Products Using Descriptions. Name your products and include interesting and accurate descriptions for each item. Not only will it tell a story about your products, but will help optimize your products for search engines.
- Be Selective on Your Product Choices. Don't feel compelled to offer every product for every design. Choose the products that are best-suited to showcase your designs.
- Upgrade to a Premium Shop. The features of the Premium Shop will enable you to create a better customer experience. Such as: The ability to add multiples of each item, categorize products, and set up a more customized shop appearance.
- Organize Shop Layout. With the Premium Shop, you be able to help your customers easily find items by categories, optimizing their experience. Categorize by designs, merchandise, theme, or whatever makes sense for your customers.

Update Your Shop Often
- Offer New Designs Regularly. Create new designs and retire designs that do not sell as well. Drive last minute orders for your retired designs with a message that conveys a sense of urgency (Ex: Last Chance to Get this Design) via your shop, Web site, and/or newsletters.
- Create Newsworthy and Timely Trend Designs. Follow a holiday or current events calendar. Keep up on what's hot in the media. Make your shop the place to go for timely trends and gear related to current newsmakers.
- Offer Limited Edition/Time Designs. Let your customers know your Limited Edition designs are available for a limited time. It creates urgency, encouraging customers to buy now, rather than later.
- Consider New Products. CafePress.com is always adding new items to our Product Center so watch for additions. See if new items work with your images. Take advantage of new offerings including seasonal gear, and spotlight them on your shop.

Help Your Shop Show Up on Search Engines
- Describe Your Products. Be sure to fill out all product names, descriptions and keywords so major search engines categorize your shop. Be patient, it can take a couple of months for search engines to pick up on your keywords.
- Categorize for Search Engines. Creating categories will increase the likelihood that your shop shows up through the CafePress.com search engine, Marketplace, and external search engines.
- Add Meta-Tags and Keywords. Make sure the proper meta-tags/keywords/phrases are added to your shop. Find this on the "Shop Info" link for your shop.
- Make Your Links Descriptive. Be descriptive when naming links; they're more likely show up on search engines. For example, instead of naming a link "Design 1" on the left sidebar of your shop, name it "Westie in the Park".
- Optimize the "Section" and "Teaser" Titles. If you have a Premium Shop, be sure you fill out the "Section" and "Teaser" title with relevant keywords. In the world of search, all text can be optimized for search.

Promote Your Shop on Your Web Site
- Add a Shop Link. On your Web site, add a Shop link to your top or left sidebar. As your visitors navigate throughout your Web site, the link will be accessible.
- Place a Banner. Have banner ads on your Web site? Add a banner promoting your shop. Create a short, strong action phrase to motivate visitors to click through! Don't forget to take advantage of the CafePress.com sponsored sales.
- Create Designs for Relevant Topics. Promote designs relevant to the topics found on your Web site. For example, your latest entry on your Web site blog is regarding Pug puppies – link and/or show your visitors to your Pug designs.

Send Regular Newsletters
- Communicate With Your Visitors. Get your Web site visitors to subscribe to your newsletter and get a relationship going. Your visitors will become customers within time when you communicate through a great newsletter plan. If you don't have your own newsletter, use our Newsletter System.

Promote Your Shop Offline
- Wear Your Designs. If your designs are cool and interesting, chances are people will ask where you got your shirt. Perfect for an event – keep those business cards handy so potential site visitors can link to your shop when they get home.
- Build Your Buzz. Tell the story behind your shop or designs. We have shopkeepers who have generated their own publicity. Once their story hit the media, they saw a big increase in sales.
- Create a Catalog or Flyer. Showcase your products in a catalog or flyer and distribute it. Pass it out at events, send out a direct mail, leave a stack at a public place, etc. Get your products seen outside of the Web.

Happy Selling!