Password Protected Site

Posted on: 03-31-2006 Posted in: Internet Marketing Strategies

Hi Cricket!

I have a wholesale soap company on-line with a shopping cart. To protect my customers and also so I don’t sell to just anybody I have a password protected site. I’m sure this is a problem with the search engines plus for those seeking out products like mine. I’ve been giving this some thought and my only solution that I can think of is to have a mirrored site, one with pricing and shopping cart the other without.

What’s your opinion on this or do you have another idea?

Linda Nigro, Tarpon Springs, FL
First In Line Soap

Hi Linda!

When we try to use one website to speak with two entirely different target audiences, each with very different needs, our content no longer speaks directly with our visitors. A huge part of the success of our sites is being able to create an atmosphere where our visitors feel as if we are conversing with them personally.

Your password protected site should be designed to meet the needs of your current customer base. That site should speak directly with your wholesale clients. However, you also need an avenue of attracting new wholesale customers.

I would create a new website, designed to attract new wholesale customers and optimize it to that specific target audience. The major search engines will not include password protected pages in the search results, so you will not need to be concerned if some information is duplicated between the two sites.

In terms of domain names, you could either use an entirely new domain for the website created to attract new visitors, or you could move all the password protected pages into a subdomain of First In Line Soap, making it possible for you to use that domain, and then simply include a link in your navigation to the wholesale client area.

I WILL DEFINITELY SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

J. Cricket Walker