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Some companies get things right the first time, whether they are marketing online or offline. For instance, SilverSource.com has been offering some of the best lines of jewelry since 1994, while significantly growing its annual sales. And until recent years, they did it without any Web presence at all.

"We have only had our website for four years," said Charles Frieder, owner of the jewelry wholesaler in Santa Monica, CA. "I admit we were kind of late getting into the channel. But we haven't had to change anything in terms of redesigning the site. The design so far has really seemed to work out for our customers, and we are happy with the way it looks and feels."

The subtle but impacting layout of SilverSource.com should stand the test of time. Using a sleek, eye catching baby blue and silver masthead, the site develops toward the bottom with aqua blue headlines and san serif copy that weaves itself around hotlinked merchandise images. Six product categories and a search tool run vertically on the left hand navigation bar.

"The design works, because it is straight up," Frieder explained. "It is very clean, very easy to understand and very intuitive. It does not have things like Flash on it. Personally, I think Flash sites are a pain in the neck to navigate."

Frieder said he has been tweaking a few nondesign functionality features. For instance, he and his team built a custom UPS shipping calculator that allows their cost conscious small and medium sized clients to get a clear ROI on purchases.

Located in the bottom, left hand corner of each product page, viewers click on the calculator and are given a popup window. Then they enter their zip code and check a button for either "$100 to $299" or "Over $300" and rates appear for ground, two day and overnight shipping.

After recently installing Google Analytics software into the website, Frieder is excited to track the clicks being accrued at buttons like the shipping calculator. In short, Internet marketing at SilverSource.com gets more scientific by the day. "We have made a big effort on the back end to make the front end very simple," Frieder added. "A lot goes on behind the scenes that lets it perform well."

His company offers an array of sterling silver and cubic zirconia (CZ) jewelry at www.silversource.com. Earrings run 50 cents to $3.80 per unit. CZ rings cost about $2 per unit, and silver rings are usually near $3. Gemstone rings run between $2 and $6 and pendants/charms can be as little as $1.10 or go up to $2.25.

"Our products have a strong price point for eventual retail sales, allowing for a healthy markup," Frieder said. "They are extremely popular as well. We offer real gemstones that seem too good to be true in terms of the combination of quality and price."

For more information, contact:

SilverSource.com
2118 Wilshire Blvd. #1155
Santa Monica, CA 90403-5784
Tel.: 310-828-8922
Toll Free:888-925-RING
Website: www.silversource.com

Article ID: 289