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How to write great product descriptions

In this article we are going to look at how to write great product descriptions. We will also look at layout preferences and how to attract visitors from the search engines then turn them into (repeat) buyers.

How to write great product description copy

The most important consideration here is the visitor. You should think carefully about the type of person the product is aimed at. Write in a natural manner to answer any questions they might have about your items at a level that they will feel engaged in and informed by. Chances are the typical visitor will have been on several sites before making a decision on purchasing and they have probably read the exact same blurb from the manufacturer on those stores - this is a great opportunity to stand out from the competition.

Gaining the confidence of the visitor is key. Purchasers will need to believe they are engaging with experts so give them as much product information as possible on a level they are going to understand and with any potential queries clearly addressed.

How to lay out the product descriptions

We have stressed the importance of providing full information about the products you are selling but that counts for little if it is not presented in a way that the visitor can view and read it with ease. Here are some suggestions on the presentation of your content

• Legibility
  - use a line-height setting in the css file to separate the spacing between lines of text
  - don't use a small font size that people may have difficulty in reading
  - use a font that is easy on the eye
• Layout
  - keep your paragraphs relatively short to aid legibility
  - use bulleted lists to help scan reading
  - consider using tabbed panels to separate content (example)
  - consider providing any complicated technical data in a separate PDF file or help page
  - show multiple views and zoom of the product images
  - where appropriate add video
• Avoid
  - if for any reason you have to use the manufacturer blurb, make sure you don't also copy their formatting that may come from a feed they provide. This is particularly common when copying from a Word doc.
  - be careful with the product images that accompany your description. Check both the quality and file size before displaying.
  - even if products are very similar, avoid duplicating the text in the description

How do I make my product pages search engine friendly?

If you have written a thorough description of your product the main keywords and key phrases that search engines can pick up on should have already taken care of themselves. Just as important these days, and many will say moreso, is to answer questions your customers might have about the product. Search engines thrive on answering search queries and this is a great opportunity to give them content they love.

Ask and answer the questions in the product description that you think visitors would be interested in

• What is it used for?
• How does it work?
• What is it used with?
• What extras can be bought?
• What size is it?
• What weight is it?
• Are alternatives available and what differences are there?
• etc etc etc...

Search engines are also very intrerested in fresh content. You probably don't want to be rewriting your product descriptions every month but you could leverage your users to contribute regular on-topic content.

• Ask a Question Feature
  If your shopping cart platform offers some type of ask a question feature, add sample questions and answers to your product page as they come in.
• Product Reviews
  Encourage buyers to post a review of a product, send a review request with the order and / or order status email updates. You can also reply to the reviews to add more relevant content.
• Get Feedback
  Follow up with your customers and ask them about the buying experirnce on your store, offer them a short survey with a coupon code as a reward for example.
• Dynamic Content
  If your shopping cart allows it you can also show items that were also purchased with the product displaying, along with related items. Cross selling not only adds great dynamic content, it will hopefully lead to increasing your average cart value.

We have concentrated on search engines here but the same applies really to social media channels too. As we said at the beginning, the key is to satisfy the user and if you can do that with good product page content, visitors wherever they come from can be turned into buyers.

 

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