Almost every online retailer put a significant amount of time into creating a website. However, many of them put little thought into the most crucial part: Product description. A bad product description on an attractive website is like an unmarked box in the Harrods window display.
Writing SEO or search engine-friendly product descriptions and titles is both art and science. But there is no easy way to get them right.
Even though e-commerce SEO is not easy, keep in mind that the mission of writing a product description is to deliver the customer excellent and valuable information. By following these five best practices, you can easily create product pages that will be more acceptable to search engines, more helpful to customers, and all-around stronger for achieving sale goals.
So, How to Write a Good Product Description?
Often, product descriptions for SEO are put at the bottom of the priority list. Now, the question is: What does it mean to have compelling product descriptions? It will mean that they convince visitors to purchase the product and help clarify the doubts.
Undoubtedly, a product description plays one of the most critical roles on your product pages. Therefore, it should be written with careful consideration. Here are 5 SEO tips and tactics to help create a great product description that will sell.
Keep the Readers in your Mind at all Times
Start writing by understanding who you are writing for—your perfect customer. Also, keep in mind who is buying the product and who will wear or use the product.
Answer the following questions when considering your target reader:
- Who is your end-user?
- Who is buying your product (i.e., end-user vs buyer)?
- What are your user demographics (i.e., age, gender, etc.)?
- What types of information will your buyer be interested in? (i.e., is your buyer interested in longevity, design, or product use?
Benefits are More Important than Features
Yes, features are crucial, but benefits have far more persuasive power. The benefit will answer the question, “What’s in it for the user?” For example, instead of saying this protein bar has “low calories,” you would want to say, “This protein bar will help you look better” or “help you stay fit”.
It is not as easy as it sounds. It is more challenging than it looks in practice. For this, you may dissect product descriptions by listing each feature and then matching them to a benefit like the following:
- Soft cotton t-shirt >> feels comfortable
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- Elastic material >> conforms to your body shape
- High-quality fabric >> does not shrink in the dryer or washer
- Giving preference to benefits does not mean that the features will not be listed.
Tell a Story your Audience will Love to Hear
One of the best ways to describe your products is telling a story about them. Copywriting is mostly about persuasion, and stories can act on emotions more effectively than figures or facts.
You can start by setting up a scene. For example, if you are selling a dress, you can begin by describing where the customer can wear the particular clothing and how it will make them feel or look. Stories have the effect of making abstract ideas concrete.
Create a Tone of Voice
After identifying your target customer, you can consider how they communicate. Whether it is formal or every day, or do they use slang? And what type of slang do they commonly use? Go ahead and have fun with it! You can try using your ideal customer’s communication style and blend it with yours to generate a truly attractive copy.
The final word or tone in the product description is chiefly powerful. It is important to remember that the tone of voice you pick should and must be carried to your social media profiles. In addition to this, it should also be carried to your other customer interactions.
An essential part of online communications and advertising is consistency. Consistency enhances the positive associations, which are an indispensable way to prevent the dissonance related to confused brand identity.
Cover the Basics for Good
The final tip is straightforward to follow. Here, you only need to mention all the critical attributes of your products. However, missing vital information can create customer misunderstandings and a bad user experience. Remember that your customers will only have product photos to rely on. So, it is crucial to highlight product dimensions and size related to other objects they are aware of.
Following are listed key attributes you may want to mention in your product description:
- The actual size of the product: This factor is useful for jewelry and other small items. Since the size of the image can be deceiving, it is helpful to use silhouettes or models to give your viewers an idea of the product measurements.
- Materials used: People will easily abandon product pages due to a lack of information regarding the content or materials of the product. Suppose they are not stated on the page, it may seem like there is something to hide, the quality may be undesirable, etc.
- Care instructions: Your clients need to have an idea regarding the care instruction. People like to be informed beforehand regarding what they are signing up for. So, try to set your customers’ expectations by letting them know they care about your product’s instructions.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, we can argue that a lot will go into each product description. It will need to be enticing and accurate while portraying the right brand voice. Therefore, product descriptions are the most critical feature of a product page. They will genuinely sell the customer on the item since the purchaser will understand what they will be getting, what it will mean to them, and how the product can help them. Truly a great product description does not solely describe the product, but rather it gives a snapshot of the product used in the context of the brand. And most importantly, it provided information regarding the context of everyday life use for the individual customer.
