https://unsplash.com/photos/FHnnjk1Yj7Y
Properly composed and optimized product descriptions are key to any website because they can directly influence a company’s profit. If your online store has poor product descriptions – for example, if you simply copy descriptions from the manufacturer’s website, you are missing out on the opportunity to attract and retain customers.
We have put together top recommendations on how to make your product description effective in terms of both SEO and customer usability. Read on!
Why High-Quality Product Description Matters
It is easier for a potential buyer to decide on a purchase if they can easily receive full, engaging, and well-structured information about the product, rather than having to look up product details online or contact your manager. If you wish to increase the chances of their making a purchase, you need to anticipate all buyers’ questions and make a detailed and optimized description for each product.
Additionally, correct optimization of item description solves several strategic tasks at once: attracts the targeted traffic to your website, reduces bounce rate, increases conversions, and may even influence average check by marketing related products.
How to Organize the Process of Creating Descriptions
Sometimes one does not know where to begin the process of creating product descriptions for a website. Before you start working on your item descriptions, get these steps out of the way.
- Create a list of products that need descriptions. This will help get a feel for the amount of work at hand and estimate how much time is needed.
- Examine descriptions of your competitors, especially those that come up above you in search results. If they have any interesting findings regarding structure, volume, or presentation of descriptions, do not hesitate to learn from them.
- Research and note general requirements for descriptions. They can differ depending on the marketplace or platform you plan on using.
- Decide who will compose your descriptions. Consider who can take such responsibility within your company, hire additional staff members, or delegate this task to a freelancer or specialized agency. It is always a good idea to enlist professional help with your descriptions. Many agencies provide various writing services and other academic writing help that you can take advantage of if you want your texts to be unique and catchy.
How to Create an Effective Product Description
There are several steps you can take to ensure that the descriptions you put together are unique, interesting, and optimized so that your product card is as effective as it can be. Here are just a few:
- Address your target buyer.
Determine who your target customer is – who your product is for. Once you figure it out, create a description targeted at such a person. Ask yourself questions that they would ask and answer them in the description. Write in a manner in which your ideal customer speaks: use jokes, slang words, or choose a more strict style. Think about what will make your ideal customer click on the “Add to cart” button.
- Make user-friendly description
The description should be easy to read and understand, well-structured, and displayed in a prominent place. It is wise to organize the most important item features like dimensions into a chart, especially if you offer multiple sizes in one listing.
- Do not put an excessive value on text uniqueness
Sometimes your best course of action is relying mostly on the manufacturer’s description. For example, no one can write a better description of the new iPhone than Apple’s marketing department. Rewriting such a description is absolutely pointless because your text is unlikely to contain additional valuable information. Of course, it depends on your product.
- Share your USP
Most of the time users go to the product page directly from their search engine and do not read information about your company. Therefore, you should mention key points of your unique selling proposition (in short – USP) in the product description.
If applicable, it is smart to include information about:
- Promotions, additional discounts, gifts, etc;
- Free, cheap, or convenient delivery of goods;
- Affiliation with the manufacturer, a guarantee of product authenticity, warranty, etc;
- Post-warranty service.
Such information will let a customer know what differs your offer from others, and why they should prioritize it.
- Use unique product images
Even a very good item can be ruined by a bad image. Use high-quality photos with a consistent style. Remember that users judge your reliability largely based on images. The website visitor should be able to examine the product in detail: material, workmanship, and various details should be easily identifiable on the photo.
- Add a video review
Regardless of your product, a video review can help customers see a product in greater detail and “in action”, which can stimulate purchase.
It is All About SEO
Once you create a great product description, it’s time to perfect SEO. Appropriate keywords, concisely embedded in headings, subheadings, and the body of your descriptions will ensure their visibility in search results and allow higher rankings. But don’t overdo it. The text should be perfectly optimized for search engines, but easy to read for customers at the same time.
Here are a few must-haves of optimized item description:
- Product title
Compose such a title for each product that contains both the product name and its most prominent features. Desirably, your titles should all differ from one another, as well as from the titles of your competitors. Avoid abbreviations, except those which are universally understandable. Adhere to correct heading logic: firstly mention the main product identifier (for example “Men’s shoes”) than other elements (brand, model, article, features, color, etc). Use long tail high-frequency keywords in your title.
- Product description and key features
It is wise to add both but avoid repetition. Key features are a list (usually bulleted) of product properties and characteristics, such as weight, dimensions, composition, shelf life, age restrictions, type of packaging, color, etc. Description, however, is a text that contains more detailed information about the product’s features and benefits.
- Use keywords sparingly
Keywords and phrases should be distributed harmoniously in your text and not stand out. Excessive use of keywords is very noticeable, may result in “keyword stuffing”, or even imposition of sanctions.
- Photos
Important rules for posting photos are:
- Upload 3-5 photos per item;
- Follow image requirements of the platform (regarding background color, infographics, dimensions, etc);
- Use only high-quality images;
- Ensure lack of watermarks;
- Name files based on image content;
- Add alternative text (alt attributes) so that images could be displayed if the image does not load.
- Reviews
Honest customer reviews increase customer’s trust in the product and website as a whole.
Also, reviews consist of unique text and photos, which increases the uniqueness of the product card as a whole and has a positive effect on its ranking. Post all reviews, even negative ones.
It is better to address reviews both positive and negative. Write “thank you,” help resolve issues, answer questions, etc. Customer engagement is crucial – you can handle customer communication and support yourself or delegate it to a qualified provider such as MyOperator. You can also motivate users to leave reviews by having contests and promotions.
- Adapt websites for mobile devices
Make sure that your website as a whole and all product cards are responsive – can adapt their size and structure based on the device they are viewed on.
Final Thoughts
Follow the aforementioned advice if you want to take your product descriptions to a whole new level. Creating descriptions that evoke emotional responses from buyers, contribute to better sales, and help with rankings takes work. Browse the Internet, find inspiration from other businesses, social media accounts, or even bloggers like Salmanzafar.Me. Once you master the art of composing effective product descriptions, you will notice results in the form of new customers and increased sales in no time!
Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a copywriter and blogger at GetGoodGrade with a background in marketing and sales. She enjoys sharing her experience with like-minded professionals who aim to provide customers with high-quality services.
