What Goes Into Good Product Descriptions?

Ecommerce sites are the engine of today’s digital economy. With tens of billions in annual revenue, carving out your slice of the pie means standing out from the crowd and offering a superior service. One of the best ways to do that is to differentiate yourself through your content and how you communicate with your audience where it counts—for instance, the product descriptions on your store pages.

A good product description can make the difference—and since more people shop online nowadays, that's even more important. While only 7% of Baby Boomers frequently buy online, more than 25% of millennials shop online daily. And Gen Z coming up behind them? Almost a third of them make daily digital purchases. In other words, appealing to these audiences is fast becoming more vital. They'll be the key drivers of your ecommerce success.

Your product pages are a critical point of communication with the public and a pivoting point in your sales funnel. How can you structure them for success? Here's what to know.

Write for Your Audience

Who's visiting the page? Is it someone who knows nothing about your products or a highly-informed buyer that just needs quick facts? The answer will impact how you approach writing your product descriptions. You can usually stick to more succinct descriptions if you're selling products that need no introduction, such as apparel. Be short, sweet, and to the point to deliver key facts informed buyers want.

You can keep your briefer descriptions as a tab or section on the page. However, you can go longer if you sell items that require more customer education. Don't fall into a pattern of producing fluff but deliver high-value content that packs plenty of information into a smaller space.

Emphasize Product Features and Benefits

These aren't blogs where you're trying to pitch a sale to someone. Instead, you're trying to educate and inform as part of the effort to make a sale. Therefore, your product page copy should focus intently on the features or specifications of the product. Touch upon its benefits, unique selling points, and other information that would be relevant to a buyer.

Don't Waste a Reader's Time

How long is the ideal product description? It's easy to define lengths for attributes such as the meta description, where text of fewer than 160 characters will work best. Nailing down a specific answer is harder for the actual descriptions–because there isn't one. Some product pages can run for hundreds of words or more, while some might barely break one or two hundred words. You may want to invest in two versions to A/B test which length produces the best results.

Write Naturally and Use Emotive, Engaging Language

Imagine buying things online and trying to emulate what you want to see in how you craft your product page content. Familiarize yourself with the concept of "power words." Don't overuse these potent tools but pick and choose words that align with the benefits of a product or its value proposition.

Use natural language and a conversational style to relate information about your products. Remember, this is a place for your brand's voice and values to shine through. Reinforce the experience buyers have already had with the rest of your site.

Don't Forget the Importance of SEO

While most of this advice centers around writing for users, we can't forget the search engines. Conduct keyword research related to your products and select a few terms to target in your descriptions. While it is tough to rank individual product pages, especially in high-volume categories, it's still worth investing in SEO on these pages—someone might search for your brand name and a product, for example.

Power Up Your Product Pages

With the opportunity to convert sales quickly right in front of you, it's easy to see why good product descriptions make a difference. Do your research—see what's generally working and how your competitors write their pages. Add in a touch of SEO smarts and knowledge of your audience, and you're primed for success. Don't let this critical opportunity go unrealized—there's no such thing as "good enough" in ecommerce.