AI for SEO: The Hype vs. Reality

Recently, the world has been enamoured by ChatGPT - an AI that depending on your world view, will either replace Google with it's amazing capabilities, or will simply make the world even more confusing than before with it's inaccurate answers that are written in such a convincing manner that people are treating it like gospel.

If this is the first that you are hearing about it, ChatGPT is a large language model AI chatbot. It has been trained using information online, and while it doesn't always give 100% accurate information, it's ability to create human-like sentences are fantastic.

I have seen people use it to do all sort of things, including creating meal plans for weight loss, writing essays on obscure topics. even writing children's books (complete with illustrations generated by an AI image generator called MidJourney).

In wondering how I could experiment with it and have some fun, I decided to see how it could help with my business. Specifically, I set it the task of creating tags for my products to improve SEO.

The results were... mixed.

Sometimes it gave a response that was useful, such as the following response when I asked for Royal Stewart related tags:

"Some potential tags for the "Royal Stewart" design could include:

"Royal Stewart Tartan"
"Scottish Tartan"
"Traditional Tartan"
"Celtic Design"
"Scottish Pattern"
"Tartan Pattern"
"Royal Stewart Clan"
"Plaid Design"
"Celtic Tartan"
"Scottish Heritage"
"Tartan Fabric"
"Highland Tartan"
"Scottish Culture"
"Tartan Fashion"

It's important to note that the tags you choose should be relevant to the product, and should also be used naturally and in context with the content on the page. Additionally, you should also research the competition and see what tags they are using."

Then there were other times where it was interesting, but didn't really fit as tags for SEO, such as its response for jellyfish tags:

"Here are some words that are similar or related to jellyfish:

Medusa (another term for jellyfish)
Cnidarian (the phylum of animals that includes jellyfish)
Tentacles
Bell (the main body of a jellyfish)
Sting (the characteristic defense mechanism of jellyfish)
Plankton (the small organisms that jellyfish often feed on)
Polyp (the immature stage of a jellyfish)
Nettle (another term for a jellyfish sting)
Marine (related to the ocean and sea)
Invertebrate (animals without backbones, like jellyfish)"

Overall, it's definitely an interesting tool, but I think it will be a while before it can be used to generate appropriate SEO tags flawlessly.

(That said, I will admit I used ChatGPT to also create the title for this blog post - so it's definitely not all bad!)

2022 In Review

It’s December, which means now feels like the right time to review everything that happened this year - both inside Sonder Sky and the outside impacts as well.

The Not-So-Great Parts

Thankfully, there weren’t many issues! I mean there are the usual problems that almost all small businesses face such as increasing competition from all the new awesome businesses that started this year, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

It was interesting to note that mask sales dropped off this year. I wonder if that’s due to more and more places ‘opening up’ and it becoming more socially acceptable to go out sans masks, or if people simply still like wearing the ones they bought last year? I still wear the masks I got last year too, so it wouldn’t surprise me.

In terms of designs, I’ve also seen a trend away from galaxy prints. Back when I first created Sonder Sky, the galaxy prints were the most popular sellers, but it seems times have changed. Never fear though, I’ll still keep the ones I already have in the store - even if they aren’t as popular anymore, I still think they look great and they still are some of my favourites.

What Goes Down, Must Go Up

With galaxies on the way out, it looks like classical art is on the way in! My most sold design this year by far was Great Wave: Kanagawa Night. With so much amazing classical art out there, I’m sure I’ll have one or two more classical additions to my store soon.

There was also a whole wave of new products this year, including:

Overall, there was a lot of expansion at Sonder Sky this year. The world continues to change, and with these changes, it’s interesting to see how it impacts every aspect of life. We see online about the larger impacts that have happened due to the pandemic and all the other world events this year, but it’s still fascinating seeing the ripple effects on smaller scales as well. Back in 2019, I would never have imagined that not only would I be selling masks, but that they would become one of the most popular products. This year, it was surprising to see mask sales declining, as socks became the best-selling product this time around.

I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen next year, and how you will change things. Everything I have written about today has been driven by you the customers. When sales of a design go up, or down, that’s you telling me what you like. So thank you for all your support, and for making my year that much more interesting. Here’s to 2023!

A small dog wearing a bandana with a hummingbirds design on it. The dog is sat down and looking at the camera.

Hummingbirds Pet Bandana, seen here modelled by a very good dog.

Black Friday Sales 2022

With so many sales and offers for Black Friday happening across the range of sites that I use for Sonder Sky, it makes sense to have a master list - enjoy!

Redbubble

25% off everything right now!

Head to https://www.redbubble.com/people/rapplatt/shop

Society6

11/15-11/30: Cyber Week Sale – Up to 50% Off

  • 50% off art prints, posters, mini art prints, android cases, iPad folio cases, iPhone cases, iPhone skins, laptop skins

  • 40% off framed canvas prints, framed art prints, wood wall art, metal prints, floating acrylic prints, floating acrylic prints, stationery cards, notebooks, stickers, wrapping paper, puzzles, desk mats, all remaining tech accessories not listed above

  • 30% off canvas prints, recessed framed prints, framed mini art prints, wall hangings, wall murals, all apparel, all bags, all home decor, all kids, all outdoor & lifestyle, all tabletop

  • 15% off all furniture

Head to https://society6.com/rapplatt?curator=rapplatt

LiveHeroes

Up to 50% off all items

Head to https://liveheroes.com/en/brand/sondersky

A Severe Lack of Spooky Designs

I just got a new phone, and so I was looking to get myself a new phone case.

Seeing as I happen to know a place that sells cases for the Samsung Galaxy S22+, I started scrolling through to determine which design I wanted this time.

(Side note: I've had several cases with my designs on over the years - and I generally keep the phones themselves for a long time. Is anyone interested in a long-term review of the durability of the phone cases?)

As I was browsing through, I realised something shocking - Halloween is in 10 days (😱), and I have hardly any spooky designs. Being a fan of Halloween, I don't know how I have made so few options.

I will be rectifying this for next year. For now, check out some examples of what Halloween-appropriate designs I currently have below.

iPhone Red Splatter Case

iPhone Red Splatter Case

Red Drip Black Socks

Spider Web Zipper Pouch

Spider Web Zipper Pouch

Monsters Are Real Bucket Hat

If you have any suggestions for spooky designs, feel free to comment below!

Behind The Design: Cheshire Cat

Hi All,

Welcome to the start of a blog post series called "Behind The Design". It's fairly self explanatory - each time I will talk about a different design available in my store, and cover how it was designed and any history associated with it.

The design we are looking into this time is "Cheshire Cat":

A spiral notebook with the cover depicting Tenniel's "Alice and the Cheshire Cat" image. In the image it shows Alice looking up at the Cheshire Cat, who is laying on a tree branch above her.

Cheshire Cat Spiral Notebook

Originally called "Alice and the Cheshire Cat" this image was created by John Tenniel in 1865. Tenniel did all the illustrations in the original version of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.

Fun fact: did you know that in the book, the Mad Hatter is never described? The collective understanding of what the Mad Hatter looks like is entirely due to Tenniel's illustration.

Drawing of the tea party scene in Alice in Wonderland. Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the March Hare are sat at a table with teacups.

The fact that his illustrations can still bring joy over a century later is incredible.

I chose to include the Cheshire Cat piece as he is a particular favourite character of mine. But there are so many excellent illustrations in that book, we may see more of them in this store in future.

You can view all the products with this design available here.

New Product - Bucket Hats!

Hi All,

The title says it all really, we now have bucket hats available for you. With 40 designs already set up for you to choose from, here are a couple of my favourites:

Features

  • This packable, scrunchable, lightweight headwear classic is ready for adventure, from the beach to the street to the trail

  • Breathable 100% cotton with eyelet ventilation

  • Flat top

  • Moderate brim is 2.2"" (5.5 cm) wide to keep the sun off your face

  • Unstructured crown is 3.1"" (8 cm) deep

  • Easy care: just spot clean and dry in shade

See the whole range here.

Unrelated, but I was thinking of creating a mailing list - who wants in?

That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

#SonderSky

Brilliant new Galaxy Images via James Webb Space Telescope

Hi All,

Two weeks ago, NASA released images the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe so far.

“Light from these galaxies took billions of years to reach us. We are looking back in time to within a billion years after the big bang when viewing the youngest galaxies in this field. The light was stretched by the expansion of the universe to infrared wavelengths that Webb was designed to observe. Researchers will soon begin to learn more about the galaxies’ masses, ages, histories, and compositions.” - NASA’s Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet

As the rest of us marvel at what will be discovered, I did the only thing I felt appropriate to do. I may not be able to discern everything from the data like a those at NASA can, but I can keep the conversation going. The best way I have to do that is to spread the images far and wide, and that includes putting it on clothing and accessories. Wear these next time your out and about (or catching up with others over Zoom), and they are sure to be a conversation starter on the wonders of the universe.

New This Week:

Three images from the collection stood out to me in particular, so while they are now available on a whole range of items, here is just one example of each:

That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

#SonderSky

10 years of Sonder Sky

This year marks 10 years of Sonder Sky!

Blog writing tips online say that I should talk about how I "set out with a vision" when I set up Sonder Sky. In reality, I didn't have a 'vision' so much as I had stubbornness.

I started this business back in March 2012. I was in my third year of university and the future felt pretty daunting. I was looking for a job that I could do whilst studying, but with no luck. After interviews and trials at various workplaces - all leading to rejection - I had had enough. "If no one will hire me, then I'll make my own job!"

I was fortunate enough to be in a position to be supported while I set up this store, and I'm very grateful for that. I think I only had 2 sales in the first month, but I was so excited. It grew from there to be a much larger business. I was even able to support myself while studying thanks to it, which isn't bad.

Sonder Sky has grown a lot in the last decade. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of all the changes. so I thought I would give you a little update on what has happened over the last 10 years.

I started with phone cases, with the most popular phone cases at the time being for the iPhone 4S. I don't sell many cases for them anymore, but I haven't just kept up with the latest iPhones and androids. Now Sonder Sky has grown into a range of products, including; clothing, wall art, coasters, mugs, duvet covers, and many more. The latest addition were our custom face masks. If you had told me in 2012 that one of our biggest sellers were face masks worn as protection during a pandemic, I don't think I would have believed you.

As much as Sonder Sky has grown, I have many more plans for the future. One of them is to blog more. Another is to re-design the website to make it easier to navigate. Yet another is to work on my backlog of ideas and turn the design ideas into actual designs. I also need to check the site's SEO, finish building my products database, and the list just keeps going. So watch this space, as there is a lot more to come.

Happy 10 years Sonder Sky! Thank you to everyone who supports us, our community, our customers, our suppliers, and everyone involved in the entire process. We are truly fortunate to have made it to this point. Cheers!

Bees?

Hi All,

Do you ever get that feeling where you think you have done something, only to find out later that you only imagined it?

That’s pretty much me, 24/7.

As such, guess who realised that they had not in fact, updated their Bees design so that it could fit on larger products? That’s right, this lady right here.

The good news is this has now been fixed!

So for those bee lovers out there, get your fix here.

Bees Phone Wallet

Most Recent Sale:

Someone in Germany bought a poster of the Great Wave! Ausgezeichnet! 🌊

That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

#SonderSky

Where Have You Been?

Hi All,

It has been a while!

“So where have you been?” asks a hypothetical reader. Great question.

In truth, I was burnt out. So I stepped back from a lot of what I was doing, to try and deal with that.
It turns out “watching every episode of Game of Thrones” is a great way to do that - who knew!

But seriously, it’s important to take a break every now and then, and keep track of yourself to know when you’re working too much.

With that in mind, I’ll be updating this on an ad hoc basis, as opposed to my previous weekly schedule. Currently, my focus is getting the facebook page set up more - if you have any advise on this, I would love to hear it. 😊

Most Recent Sale:

Someone in the United States bought an iPhone 8 - Tough case of Great Wave: Kanagawa Night. Nice choice!

That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

#SonderSky

Pattern Clash

Hi All,

I did stuff this week! Not much, but still… progress!

New This Week:

It’s all available here, but the run down of the new products is:

Floral Chevron: metal print, wall mural, wrapping paper, sticker, and yoga mat.

Mermaid: curtains, coffee table, bench, bar stool, counter stool, credenza, side table, beach towel, bath towel, acrylic tray, can cooler, coaster, serving tray, cutting board, wrapping paper, sticker, all over tee, back pack, and yoga mat.

Yellow Tartan: wall hanging, wall mural, wallpaper, coffee, table, and bench.

That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

#SonderSky

A Quiet Week

Hi All,

….honestly, I did not do much this week. Sometimes life finds a way, and sometimes that way does not include working on new designs or products. That’s not to say nothing was done - sales were processed, no one need wait just because I personally was a bit out of it this week. It simply means no new designs or products or changes to the website.

Next week I should be back to adding and improving and making new products available for you lovely people.


New This Week:

Nothing, nada, zip - here’s hoping I have more for you next week.


That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

#SonderSky

A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies

Hi All,

Did you know a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope of butterflies?

I always thought that was a fantastic name, especially with the ever moving, vibrant colours that you could see - if, say, you were stuck inside a butterfly tornado or other such insect-based phenomenon.

New This Week:

This week, I have been expanding my “Kaleidoscope Sanctuary” design to more products.

This design is now also available as:

That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

#SonderSky

Adding Galaxies

Hi All,

This week has been a nice quiet week, which gave me lots of time to add current designs to new products! With such a large selection of both designs and products, it can be hard to make sure that everything has been set up and made available with every design. But I’ll get there!

I do have ideas for new designs this week, including that of a get well card for a robot - I can’t wait to show you when it’s ready!

New This Week:

Lots and lots of galaxy prints!

Lovely Great Wave

Hi All,

I received a lovely comment today, from lalefrommars:

I always loved The Great Wave by Hokusai but I really like how you changed the palette of colors of the sky. I think it really highlights the energy and violence of the wave.

I wanted to share because one of my favourite things about running this store is seeing happy people posting either comments or photos of what they bought. It’s nice to know that something I created has made someone else happy. That’s why I ask everyone to show me what you bought, use #SonderSky or send them in directly!

The piece that Lalefrommars is referring to is Great Wave: Kanagawa Night. Shown below as a scarf, it’s also available as a variety of accessories and clothing items:

New This Week:

More of the Great Wave: Kanagawa Night print!

Specifically, as a bench, wrapping paper, and a t-shirt.
View these and more here.

That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

#SonderSky

New Year, New Blog!

Hi All,

For a while now I have been wondering what would be the best way to keep you all up to date on the latest and greatest things happening at Sonder Sky - and I think a blog is the answer!

Here you will find updates on the latest comings and goings of the brand, answers to any questions you might have, and first looks at new products.

If there is anything you would like to hear more about, let me know in the comments.

So without further adieu, let's dive right in!

New This Week:

Yoga Mats!

Strike your sun salutation in style. Our yoga mats are lightweight, yet durable. Just toss it over your shoulder with the handy carrying strap and you’re on your way.

  • 24" wide x 70" long x 1/4" thick

  • Includes 1.5" woven polyester carrying strap

  • Heavy duty, but lightweight at 3.6lbs

  • Latex-free and free of heavy metals

As this is a new product, it is currently only available in two styles: Galaxy Glitter, and Galaxy Black. More designs to come, which ones are you waiting for?

That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

#SonderSky