How to write an effective product description in 5 steps?

Online shopping is becoming the 'default' mode of shopping for Poles. The pandemic and the closure of stationary shops have accelerated the development of the e-commerce market, and the turnover of businesses with developed online sales has grown rapidly. If you also run your own online shops, but are wondering why your competitors are gaining better positions in search results and thus more customers - we have the answer for you. The problem could be the product descriptions on the website. In a stationary shop, customers can not only see the item they are interested in up close, but can also count on a salesperson to help them. In the case of an online shop, there is no such option. This is why the descriptions are so important and take on this role. What should they consist of? Why are they important from the point of view of SEO? How to write a good product description? You will find the answers to these questions in today's article.

What is a product description in an online shop?

As you can easily guess, the product description is content on the page of a specific product in the offer that indicates its characteristics. It provides potential customers with as much information as possible on the basis of which they can make a purchasing decision. No one needs to be convinced any longer that "content is king', and words have enormous power and sell. This is why many specialists point to the product descriptions in the online shop as the element that most influences the conversion rate. 

According to a study conducted by OneSpace over 87% of those who buy online cite a valuable product description as an important factor in deciding to buy from a shop. More significantly, as many as 98% (!) customers did not complete their purchase because the product information was not complete. As you can see for yourself, from the users' point of view, the role of descriptions is crucial when it comes to online shopping. And how does this type of content relate to the positioning of an online shop?

Product descriptions and SEO - relevance

The truth is simple and brutal - if you do not take care to optimise your shop and thus optimise the content (including descriptions), you cannot count on search engine traffic. A properly written description should be optimised to not only meet the expectations of readers, but also of Google's robots. The right structure, as well as the selection and placement of keywords, will allow the search engine to classify the text and thus display the product sub-page on the specific keywords typed in by internet users. 

Some online shop owners completely forget about optimising their descriptions for SEO. However, there are also those who exaggerate in the opposite direction and subordinate descriptions entirely to robots. They forget that they should, above all, contain substantive content and serve their potential customers. It is therefore a mistake to unnaturally stuff keywords into descriptions.

How do I prepare a product description? 5 steps

Speak the language of benefits

Product features are important. However, go one step further. The shoes you sell have a cushioning system? Great, but what will this do for the person who buys them? Simply describe the benefit of this - e.g. no more sore feet after running! The product property should be the starting point for describing the real benefit to the customer. See how Media Markt does it, for example. Therefore, when creating descriptions, think about what problems your offer solves and communicate this clearly. 

Write comprehensive content

You will find different information on the web. Some write that the optimum product description should be 300 words, others quote a figure of 1,500 characters. The truth is that the search engine likes broad content. The longer the description, the better - as long as you don't make it "watery". 

It is worth noting at this point the common practice in online shops of splitting the product description into two parts. The first part is usually right next to the photo, under the product name. Sometimes it takes the form of a bullet point of its most important features. The second part is located below the image or under the "learn more" button. It contains text aimed at persuading undecided customers to buy and positioning the page by including key phrases.

Give the reader the exact product specifications

When buying online, we do not have physical contact with the product - this is obvious. That is why it is so important to include detailed specifications in the description. Take shoes, for example. Pictures do not show everything we want to know about them before we buy. Therefore, the description must include information such as:

• the material of which the footwear is made
• insole size
• purpose (e.g. for runners)

Please note: do not copy entire product descriptions from the manufacturer's website! Specifications/technical data are the exception.

If you have read other articles on the SEOSki blog, you will know that content uniqueness is one of the ranking factors for Google. The same descriptions found on different pages and subpages means duplicate content, which in turn negatively affects search engine ranking. Plagiarism can even result in a site being penalised! 

Engage your senses

Depending on what you are selling, refer to the senses in your descriptions, influencing them. The sense of sight will, of course, be most effectively affected by professional product images. It is best to present it both up close, from different perspectives and in context - everyday use.

When to use the other senses? Describe the sensations of taste and smell, if you are selling sweets or cosmetics. Refer to the sense of touch, for example, to describe all kinds of textures, materials. 

Use the power of key phrases wisely

For an online shop to be successful, the descriptions must be optimised. This means that it is necessary to carry out keyword research and saturate the texts accordingly. To find out what words your potential customers use when searching online, use tools such as Answer the Public, Ahrefs, Senuto or with Google Keyword Planner. It is important that ultimately the phrases are not noticeable to the reader and sound natural in the content. 

How can a shop stand out and get high rankings in Google? The answer is positioning on a more precise long tail phrasesThese tend to have lower search volumes, but are also less competitive. These tend to have fewer searches, but are also less competitive.

Keep this in mind when creating a product description

What else is worth knowing if you set about writing product descriptions? Above all, focus on quality. Focus on providing your customers with reliable information. Well-considered, SEO-optimised and audience-appropriate descriptions will bring you closer to e-commerce success. Wondering whether to prepare the descriptions yourself? Of course, there is no single answer to this question. If you run a small online shop, have copywriting skills and, above all, time - it is worth undertaking the task yourself. Otherwise, it will be more cost-effective to enlist the help of professionals such as SEOSki!