A picture may be worth a thousand words, but that’s not enough. Even with the advances made in product display such as 3d view and product videos, product descriptions are still important. No matter how good your photos are, it’s not the same as seeing the physical object so shoppers rely on the description to supplement for that gap.

Product descriptions don’t exist in a vacuum, they should be an outgrowth of the site’s architecture. Before you can begin writing, the content areas should be segmented and organized in a site map with a navigational scheme. Once this is in place, the site feel and brand needs to be determined.How the site is structured will impact how the visitor gets to your product. Think of the description as a small space you can fill with a product pitch.

While there is no one right way of writing, there are some rules that apply, no matter what.

Give the facts some context: Often we fall into the trap of assuming people know what we know. It is important to not only list the features of the product, but to give it some context, explain what is the advantage of the feature. You may hear the feature, and know exactly what that means practically, but your site visitors may not. For example here are two ways to list the features of an oven:

Plain VS Story Telling Descriptions

  1. This oven offers features such as true convection cook, one-touch self-clean, Spacewise Half Rack, Real Stainless Steel, Effortless Convection and a Chicken Nugget Button

  2. Save time and get better results, with true convection you can cook your favorite meal to deliciously tender perfection. Our one-touch self-clean allows you to start the self-clean cycle with just the touch of a button. Spacewise Half Rack adjusts to cook multiple dishes at once or can be removed for extra height clearance. Enjoy a “Real Stainless Steel” Oven that reduces fingerprints, saving you money on expensive cleaner purchases. Effortless Convection takes the guesswork out of convection cooking. Our oven does the converting for you. It even has a Chicken Nugget Button - easily bake perfect chicken nuggets with the touch of a button.

Both versions list the same features, what’s the difference? The second one gives context and explains what the advantage of each of those features, which not only clarifies the facts, it also makes it more relatable.

Don’t go generic

Making your description unique separates you from everyone else. Your site should have an overall feel and brand to it, and the product description should be in line with that. If your site is full of humor, go ahead and make your product descriptions funny. If your site is very informative, then that should be the style of your descriptions. Developing your own personal brand descriptions can improve your conversion rate. Product descriptions are the final point in the conversion tunnel, it can make or break the decision to purchase so it’s worth putting in the time and effort to make it unique.

Less is not more

Keep SEO in mind

Using the product description from the manufacturer not only makes your site feel generic, it hurts your SEO as well. A lot of other sites have the same description so the search engines are not going to reward your site. Of course, when writing your own descriptions, keep the SEO in mind and try to include keywords as well as sticking to the general SEO rules.

Value propositions

What makes this product a good buy? The value of the product should be clearly stated in the description. If it’s affordable, make that the focus. If it is more expensive but the quality is superior, then the focus of the description should be about the quality. With all sales (eCommerce or not), keep the value propositions in mind and turn them into your selling points.

Bullet listing

The details is extremely important. When people are shopping around for products, they may not want to read long paragraphs about each one. Bullet listing is a great way to present the details you want the site visitor to know without making them read too much. Including the basic details and features in a clear and relatable way will deliver the information in the short window of time you have with your audience.

The Product Title

The Title is extremely important, it’s the first thing your potential buyer sees when viewing a product page. It is important to distinguish one product from the next in the title. For example, if you offer the same product in different sizes, that should be made clear in the title. While you want to make each product’s title unique, you don’t want to put too much information in there. The title should have just enough information to keep the products unique, but as for all the details, that is best left for the description.

Product Specifications

Specs should be as detailed as possible. While your product description is there to give an overview of the product, the specs should supply more detailed and nuanced information. Shoppers are hesitant to purchase things until they have a clear picture of all the details they need to make sure the product is right for them, providing detailed specs helps give shoppers confidence in their purchasing decisions.

Keeping these rules in mind, while fitting it in with the general site architecture will improve the site experience, help build your site’s brand and hopefully increase the conversion rate.

Want to learn more about best practices for your eCommerce website? Head over to 121ecommerce blog to learn more.

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