Background
PT Bali Craft Exports is a Denpasar-based handicraft exporter — wooden furniture, silver accessories, and traditional Balinese textile products. Established in 2013 with export experience to several Asian countries and Australia, all new buyers over 10 years were acquired from international trade fairs such as Ambiente (Frankfurt) and Reed Gift Fairs (Sydney).
The fundamental problem: trade fairs are expensive (booth fees, travel, accommodation can reach AUD 15,000–30,000 per event), scheduled only 1–2 times per year, and provide no visibility between fair schedules. I Made Wirawan, the company's director, wanted to build a channel that works year-round without having to be physically present in various countries.
Key Challenges
- Existing website: Indonesian language only, no English version
- Product pages were photo galleries with no specifications (dimensions, materials, MOQ, lead time)
- No trust pages: no certifications, no references from previous buyers
- No functional RFQ (Request for Quotation) form
- International traffic: zero — not a single page ranking for export keywords
Solutions Implemented
Months 1–2: English-Language Export Website
The website was completely rebuilt in English with an architecture designed for international buyers. Each product category received its own page with full technical specifications: standard and custom dimensions, available materials and finishes, MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity), production lead time, and packaging options. Product photos were reshoot with consistent standards on neutral backgrounds.
Months 2–3: Trust Pages
A "Why Buy from Bali Craft Exports" page was created with: export license explicitly displayed, 10+ years of export experience to 8 countries, quality control process with photos, and team information. An FAQ page answered the 12 most frequently asked questions from new buyers: payment terms, shipping methods, custom orders, sample ordering process. An RFQ form with 6 key fields (name, company, country, product category, quantity, timeline) was integrated with automatic email notifications.
Months 3–5: International SEO
Keyword research identified opportunities in priority markets: the Netherlands and Germany (highest demand for Balinese crafts), Australia (easiest market due to proximity and tariffs), and Japan (premium market for high-quality products). Target keywords: "Bali handicraft wholesale supplier", "Balinese wood furniture exporter", "natural fiber bag manufacturer Bali Indonesia", "silver jewelry wholesale Bali". On-page optimization for 18 product and category pages, plus 4 blog articles targeting informational buyer keywords.
Months 5–8: Trust Building and Conversion
Testimonials from three existing buyers (with permission) were added with company name and country. A "Shipping & Logistics" page explained the export process step-by-step — highly useful for buyers who had never imported from Indonesia. Hreflang was not required (single language: English), but x-default meta hreflang was configured for correct international signals.
Results After 8 Months
| Metric | Before | 8 Months After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| International inquiries/month | 3–4 (from trade fairs) | 11–14 (organic) | 3.4× |
| Organic traffic/month | ~0 | ~890 | From zero |
| Markets actively reaching out | 2 (AU, SG) | 7 (AU, NL, DE, JP, US, SG, UK) | +5 new markets |
| New buyer acquisition cost | AUD 15,000–30,000/fair | AUD 0 (organic) | Drastically reduced |
| Inquiry response time | 1–2 business days | 2 hours (auto form notification) | -94% |
| Sample requests/month | 1–2 | 8–10 | 5× |
Key Insights
The most significant finding: buyers from the Netherlands and Germany contacted directly via the RFQ form with very detailed specifications — quantity, size, finish, timeline — before any prior interaction. This is very different from the trade fair pattern where initial conversations were always very general. This means buyers arriving via organic search were already at a much more advanced evaluation stage.
Technical specification pages turned out to be the biggest differentiating factor — international buyers mentioned them in their first email as the reason they chose to contact PT Bali Craft Exports over other suppliers who also appeared on Google.
"For 10 years we exported from Bali, all new buyers came from trade fairs — which are expensive and have a limited schedule. Now buyers from the Netherlands and Japan contact us through the website without us having to go to any trade fair. This has changed the way we look at business growth."
— I Made Wirawan, Director PT Bali Craft Exports