Tips and tricks to optimize your online product descriptions
When COVID-19 took the world by storm in early 2020, businesses of all fields turned to digital platforms to continue offering their services and selling their products online. While some businesses were already well-versed in online sales, others didn't know where to start. Since customers could no longer touch, try, or handle products, providing on-point copywriting became crucial for consumers. Now, more than ever, it is important to capture their attention with detailed and dynamic descriptions that will make them want to click *add to cart* instantly!
As a digital marketing agency that specializes in content creation, we wanted to share best practices for writing product descriptions that will boost your conversion rates.
Who is your ideal customer?
First, it is essential to define the buyer profile (or persona) that best represents your brand. Who buys your product; who is your ideal customer? Answering this question in-depth (age, gender, geographic location, marital status, interests, average salary, values, etc.) will allow you to speak directly to this consumer and direct your marketing efforts toward this type of buyer. You can gather all the necessary data by interviewing existing customers through surveys, face-to-face interactions, talking to the sales team, consulting digital data sources such as Google Analytics, and finally, by referring to previously conducted market research.
Keywords are key!
Once you have identified your persona, the next step is to find several keywords to make your business stand out online! Optimizing your content with keywords will allow your website to rank higher on search engines, thus capturing your target customers faster as they scour the internet. To find the most effective keywords, think about the first things that a consumer would do when they are looking for your product on the internet. What do they type in the Google search bar? Take the most relevant segments of four or five words and enter them into Google Suggest. The long-tail keywords are the ones that are the least competitive and, therefore, optimal for SEO. Once you’ve found your keywords, insert them everywhere in your online content. Our advice: for perfect density, use no more than one keyword per 100 words!
Use a proven structure
To write marketable content, it is preferable to follow the same structure for all products within your catalogue. This structure should include a page title (or meta title), a product name, a short description (or meta description), a long description, and features (bullets). All these elements should ideally contain your previously chosen keywords.
The page title should always refer to the product and the brand (e.g., Adidas winter coat). For the product names, you can include characteristics to make them easier to find online (e.g., red Adidas winter coat with hood). Next comes the short description or meta description; this is a preview of the long description that should contain no more than 160 characters. The long description characterizes the product in detail (design, quality, composition, benefits, function, etc.), and should not exceed 250 characters. Use the long description to demonstrate to the consumer how the product could improve or be integrated into their daily life. Remember, both types of descriptions should contain your keywords!
As for product features, often presented in bullets, they include dimensions, materials, country of origin or manufacturer, product specifics (e.g., runs on batteries, includes a charging cable, comes with a light bulb, etc.), and washing or cleaning instructions. For each product feature, we recommend attaching a benefit (e.g., the mug is dishwasher safe for easy cleaning, or the bag is crafted in plastic and therefore reusable).
Unique content, boosted by images
Regarding content, we have only one piece of advice: be daring! Be original, be different, and don't hesitate to bring a good dose of humour. Use a rich, creative vocabulary that reflects the personality of your brand, and that appeals to your consumers, and above all, watch out for spelling mistakes!
Don't forget to include images to feature products. Images should be high-resolution and include alt text (alt tag). Adding alt text provides better context to search engine crawlers, helping them to index an image properly. The alt text describes the appearance and function of the image on the page. Atl text is mandatory for web accessibility and will help consumers with visual impairment know what the product is about by simply hovering their mouse over the image. You can add the alt text from a content management tool like WordPress.
Assistance is just a click away
A good web copywriter can create fresh, relevant, dynamic content with clear calls to action. They optimize their texts with targeted keywords, follow a proven structure and always keep in mind their buyer's profile. These elements are essential to writing product descriptions that will stand out on the web while increasing the flow of visitors to your website and your conversion rates. If this process sounds overwhelming, don't worry – you're not alone! The copywriting professionals at Branddit are ready to help. Reach out to us now and discover how our creative, SEO-optimized content can elevate your sales.
