Use GoodGuide for Better Sales

It's no secret. It isn't easy being an eco-tailer (our term for green e-tailers.)

You're competing with Goliaths like Amazon and Drugstore.com that have vast sections devoted to eco-friendly products. Sites like these feature complex and comprehensive sales tools, like free shipping deals, affiliate programs, and active customer-rating systems. How can green e-stores, big in heart but small in size, stand out?

Here's one small way: Take a look at GoodGuide, a website which offers independent ratings and information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of a wide range of consumer products.

Who's behind it?

According to GoodGuide's website, "The team powering GoodGuide works with a network of leading academic institutions, government data sources, non-governmental organizations, and private research firms to bring world-class information to consumers."

GoodGuide offers ratings you can embed or link to from your site. And it's free! So let's say you're a small online store which sells eco-friendly Plan Toys. You can back-up that eco-friendly claim by embedding the Plan Toys badge from GoodGuide which shows the toymaker's overall rating for health, environmental, and social impacts, shown here.



You can also link directly to the ratings for an individual product, like the Plan Toys Fun Toy Set.

Many mainstream shoppers are not familiar with green brands. So this kind of third-party verification helps bring much needed credibility both to unknown brands and the unknown eco-tailers selling those brands.

GoodGuide currently rates products in a limited number of categories, including food, personal care, household chemicals, and toys, and they certainly don't cover every green brand out there. But the company has been expanding its feature set and product coverage rapidly, so check it out and see if they rate the brands you carry. Remember, David was able to beat Goliath with brains not brawn. So use every free tool you can get!