[lincolnapparel]

I'm wondering if it's worth the time submitting my site to shopping search sites like Google Merchant (or whatever they want to call it), thefind.com, Yahoo! shopping, etc. Does anybody here do this? Does anybody use Google Shopping anyway, or do most people just use a regular Google search? (I realize submitting my site to some of these might help with backlinks, which is another issue entirely.)

The reason I'm wondering is because I'm planning on shutting my Etsy store, since it isn't doing a whole lot for me (my main site gets the bulk of my online sales, traffic, and attention), however, one of the advantages of being there was syndication of your items with Google Merchant Center. I've tried to upload a newly-created feed from my main site to Google Merchant, but it keeps disapproving it, so I don't feel like wasting my time with it anymore I'm thinking of trying other sites like the ones I mentioned above. Does anybody here have experience with them, and do people use them to find T-shirts? Does it lend credibility to a small online T-shirt shop or does it not matter?

 

[Rodney]

I'm wondering if it's worth the time submitting my site to shopping search sites like Google Merchant (or whatever they want to call it)

It's hard to say what would be worth it for you, since it's only time that you're spending.

It's just like other forms of marketing you may have tried (Facebook, Twitter, Local Events, Newsletters). It depends on how you do it and it may not work as well for you as it may for others.

I can tell you that I've received sales from Google Shopping (formally Froogle), but that won't guarantee that it'll work for you

I've tried to upload a newly-created feed from my main site to Google Merchant, but it keeps disapproving it, so I don't feel like wasting my time with it anymore

That leaves you two choices: learn how to do it correctly (or hire someone) or just dump it. I can say it does work for some people, but your niche is very unique, so it'll be hard to say whether it would be worth it for you.

For your site I would be thinking about where your specific customers might be hanging out. To me that seems like educators, scholars, history buffs (and the people who love them).

There's a forum for everything these days. I bet you could find a history forum or a forum about presidential history and maybe sponsor a contest there to help get the word out about your unique products.

That's just one idea. I'm sure there are other ways you could tap into that market with a little creative thinking