When looking at the wording of your products online, what is compelling to the shopper and how this can help conversions it’s essential to consider some points which I will go over below.
You may be looking to create an emotional connection in you customers to further them into taking an action, which will in turn increases conversions and revenue. Your customers and search engines are looking for these descriptions, and the better you get at writing these the more likely that online success will follow.
There are many sites out there where the descriptions are lacking and contain either very little information or in some cases none at all. Without a description, attracting converting visitors will be virtually impossible.
Remember, search engines can’t read images and are rigorous when they crawl so we need to ensure we are satisfying both Google and consumers in our product descriptions. If your rankings are low – the words you have used could be part of the reason.
Product descriptions are the only way of ‘selling’ to your customer without the aid of a sales associate. These descriptions therefore take the place of a human and are there to guide the shopper to choose the best product for them and answer any questions they may have. A compelling copy will entice visitors which will in turn hopefully turn into conversions.
So, it’s worth looking at when this is done well, and when there is some room for improvement.
Considering a few key elements when writing any ad will help:
Who is your customer?
Does your tone resonate with your audience? Do you have personas as to the types of customers that interact or are likely to interact with your online store? Knowing as much as you can about who visits is your best tool in both encouraging more of these personas, and findings the gaps when you can attract more. Make it ‘personal’ and your shopper will feel encouraged into the right choice for them.
Descriptions.
Are you guilty of copy and paste the manufacturer’s details? Do you use industry jargon which may not mean anything to the person sat behind their computer screen? As we have discussed, the more helpful, personal, and relevant your description is the more likely the chances of a conversion. It is worth remembering that Google penalises duplicate content and by copying and pasting the description from the manufacturer could you be at risk of this. The more unique your descriptions the more you are likely to benefit from searches and in-turn affect your SEO positively.
Explain, don’t list.
If you find yourself just listing the features of the product in question, then stop! The reason is that a customer who feels they know the benefits of a product are far more likely to convert than one who just sees a list. Engaging content in the descriptions is essential. Provide them with the facts as well as what it can do for them! The salient details are listed below for ease:
- Emphasises key selling points including quality and value for a customer
- Includes all the necessary information such as cost, size, colour, material etc.
- Conveys all the information in an easy-to-understand format
- Is unique, written specifically for the product and tailored to your target audience
SEO Friendly.
Ensure you are doing this by including the keywords within the title tag, heading, meta description, image caption and the copy. Avoid over-optimisation and packing the content with the intended keyword – not only is it bad practice but you can again be penalised by google.
Stick with a single key term and don’t target several keywords and remember that it only needs to be mentioned between 2 and 3 times. A huge chunk of text is off-putting. The page has to be visibly appealing, so consider the length of the paragraph, bold text when appropriate, and the images you use.
If you have a large set of technical details that need to be conveyed, then the easier this is to read the better. Tables are a good way to do this and will also mean that the user can see what
Looking at images 1 & 2 below, is there one you feel looks better and fits the brief above more closely? What is right and wrong with the examples below? Checking where you think improvements can be made can make it all the more clear when you are looking at your own site.
Of course, as time goes on, you can review how well your site is performing and tweak it to provide better results. Knowing the basics and having a strategy when starting a task like this can make a big difference and will mean that your site is uniform allowing everyone to create descriptions to the same standard.
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