Let's talk about the unsung hero of your online storefront. It's not the flashy homepage banner or the sleek product photography (though those matter). It's the product description that helps convert casual visitors into convinced buyers.
Around 70% of shoppers leave when the product description is poor or incomplete. Therefore, it’s not something that businesses can overlook when running an e-commerce store.
Keep reading to figure out the best practices for learning how to write product descriptions. We’ll also share insight into how our new tool will help you with the SEO strategy.
The Drawbacks of Getting Product Descriptions Wrong
Imagine walking into a high-end boutique. The clothes look stunning on the racks, but when you ask a sales associate about a jacket, they mumble vague features, seem disinterested, and can't tell you why it’s worth the price. Bad product descriptions create that exact experience online. The consequences are costly:
- Bounce rates: Generic, uninspired, or blatantly copied descriptions scream low effort or even scam. Shoppers encountering phrases like "Great product!" or technical specs lifted straight from a manufacturer sheet lack any reason to engage. They hit the back button fast leading to high bounce rates.
- Lack of confidence: Online shopping inherently lacks touch and feel, so they rely on product descriptions and images. However, vague descriptions leave critical questions unanswered, and that leads to hesitation and a loss of sales.
- SEO: Search engines like Google aim to deliver the most relevant and helpful results. Therefore, thin, duplicate, or keyword stuffed descriptions signal low quality content. Your page becomes virtually invisible for the searches that matter.
- Brand damage: Inconsistent tone, grammatical errors, or overly salesy jargon erode professionalism and trust. It makes your brand seem amateurish or untrustworthy.
Advantages of Improving Your Product Descriptions
You can turn the odds in your favor by focusing on high-quality product descriptions that boost profitability. Here are the top advantages of why investing in products descriptions is a great idea:
Skyrocketing Conversion Rates
A compelling description addresses pain points, highlights unique benefits (not just features), builds desire, and overcomes objections before they fully form. Furthermore, it guides the customer towards the 'Add to Cart' moment. This is pure and measurable revenue growth that you will see in your analytics.
You can start by uncovering the product pages with the lowest 10% conversion rates and inspecting the descriptions. You might spot some common factors that indicate room for improvement.
Build Trust and Credibility
Detailed, honest, and well-written descriptions demonstrate expertise and transparency. Addressing potential concerns like care instructions or sizing nuances upfront helps answer customer questions.
Building trust is important for small businesses that might be interacting with potential customers for the first time. Your product description is another tool to guide users toward that sale.
Dominating Search Results
Improving your SEO can lead to a steady stream of traffic and customers. It’s no secret that high-quality, unique, and keyword-optimized descriptions are what search engines crave. Get this right and your chances of ranking for specific product terms and long-tail searches increase.
Furthermore, search engines increasingly prioritize content demonstrating E-E-A-T. Google's own guidelines emphasize the importance of providing helpful content.
However, getting SEO right for an e-commerce store with many product pages can be tricky. You can use Hike SEO’s Kit to automate many aspects of SEO campaigns and increase your traffic.
Reduced Returns and Customer Service Load
You can set realistic expectations with clear and accurate descriptions. When customers know exactly what they're getting, they're far less likely to be disappointed and initiate a return. This saves significant operational costs and headaches.
Competitive Differentiation
In a sea of similar products, your description is often the key differentiator. It’s your chance to articulate why your offering is better, more thoughtful, or more aligned with the customer's values than those of the competition. Don't just sell a product, sell the unique experience or solution it provides.
How to Write Product Descriptions: Best Practices
Writing product descriptions is easier when you have a proven formula to work from. In this section, we’ll share the best practices that top ecommerce brands use to convert visitors.
Know Your Customer
Your product’s success hinges on speaking directly to the human behind the screen. Hence, invest time in understanding their desires, frustrations, and language. You’ll want to craft descriptions that mirror their inner dialogue.
We recommend using customer interviews, reviews, and analytics to uncover pain points. When you articulate their unspoken needs, you transform browsers into believers.
Focus on the Benefits Over the Features
Features list what a product is, but the benefits reveal what it does for your customer. Shift from "stainless steel blades" to "effortlessly pulverizes ice in seconds for barista-grade smoothies." Furthermore, connect technical specs to real life outcomes. This might be comfort, time savings, or confidence.
You’ll still need to provide the full list of features, but they shouldn’t be the focus of the product description.
Tell a Mini-Story to Provide Context
Humans crave narrative and not bullet points. Therefore, place your product in the customer’s world by setting a scene. This might be through vivid imagery or revealing a scenario where other customers used your product.
You’ll find that stories build mental ownership before purchase. So highlight scenarios where your product solves problems or elevates experiences.
Overcome Objectives Proactively
Silent hesitations kill conversions since clicking the back button becomes so easy. Hence, address doubts before they turn your customers away. Businesses unsure of where customer doubts come from can turn to customer support for insight. Look at the most commonly asked questions. Then make sure to answer them in the product description.
Use Advanced Psychological Triggers
To truly master conversion, tap into fundamental human psychology:
- Scarcity and urgency: "Only 3 left in stock!" or "Sale ends Sunday." Creates fear of missing out. Crucially, this must be genuine since fake scarcity destroys trust. You can look at how your top competitors are using this strategy to get inspiration.
- Social proof: Weave in reviews, testimonials, or accolades within the description context. This leverages the power of the crowd and contributes to a sense of community among your target audience.
- Authority: Mention certifications, expert endorsements, or precise technical details that demonstrate deep knowledge. Businesses that understand their products inside out will have an easier time converting customers.
- The principle of specificity: Concrete numbers and details feel more believable and authoritative than vague claims. Therefore, avoid references like "Durable construction" and use "Crafted to handle loads of 20 lbs.”
Integrate SEO Best Practices
Start with keyword research by targeting buyer-focused long-tail phrases like "organic cotton yoga pants for sensitive skin." You’ll want to naturally embed these in your title, opening lines, and benefit driven bullet points.
Never force keywords but prioritize readability. You’ll also want to craft 100% unique content so avoid manufacturer copy. Furthermore, use schema markup for rich snippets to show the price and reviews in search results. This can increase SERP conversion rates, thereby generating more organic traffic.
Integrate Your Unique Brand Voice
Crafting a unique brand voice in product descriptions means infusing personality and consistency into every sentence. It allows your products to feel distinctly yours. When your descriptions reflect your brand’s core values, they do more than describe features. It goes a long way toward establishing a connection and trust with potential buyers.
Additionally, a branded voice ensures shoppers recognize you across all touchpoints, lending credibility and memorability that can tip the scales toward purchase.
Good vs. Bad Product Description: A Quick Comparison
Let’s summarize the main points by pointing out the key differences between good and bad descriptions. Use the following list as a cheat sheet when evaluating your e-commerce store:
How to Write Product Descriptions Step-By-Step
Let’s summarize the product description writing process with the following key steps:
- Research your target audience and keywords: Begin by defining your ideal buyer and conducting keyword research using Google Keyword Planner or Hike SEO. Make sure to choose purchase intent keywords and related long-tail terms.
- Craft an engaging headline with your primary keyword: Write a compelling headline or H1 that includes your target keyword naturally. Make it clear and focus on the benefits. This allows search engines to understand relevance, and users are intrigued at first glance.
- Lead with benefits, then follow with features: Start with emotional or practical benefits customers care about, which might be comfort, durability, or convenience. Once you’ve hooked them, list key features like material, capacity, and tech specs.
- Include proof and social validation: Support claims with certificates, stats, or testimonials. This builds trust, aligns with EEAT standards, and improves credibility.
- Add a strong call to action and FAQs: Finish with a clear CTA and address common buyer questions in an FAQ, such as dimensions, shipping, and warranty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What common mistakes should I avoid in product descriptions?
Avoid using generic manufacturer copy, which leads to duplicate content that confuses search engines. Also, don’t overload specs without explaining benefits, or stuff pages with keywords that feel unnatural.
Furthermore, avoid vague buzzwords like “high quality” without backing them up. Lastly, you’ll need to have good formatting, so think short paragraphs, clear headings, and bullet points.
How long should an SEO-focused product description be?
Descriptions should balance depth with readability, so aim for at least 125 words on simple items and around 300 words for more complex products. This allows space to integrate keywords naturally, cover features plus benefits, add proof or certifications, and include a compelling call to action.
Should I write descriptions for users or search engines?
Focus on writing for humans first with engaging, clear, and helpful copy that encourages purchases. That’s because when you serve your audience, then search engines reward you.
Afterward, layer in SEO by using relevant terms in key places like the title, headings, and alt text. You’ll also want to avoid unnatural keyword stuffing, and maintain a conversational tone.
How can I make features more appealing to buyers?
Always translate features into real world benefits. Hence, instead of “IPX8 waterproof rating,” explain that users can go kayaking without worry. This emotional and practical angle helps buyers visualize how the product fits into their lives.
Is it okay to reuse descriptions across similar products?
No, using duplicate copy across variants or from manufacturers harms both SEO and user experience. Instead, craft unique descriptions for each product for best results.
Doing so helps reduce rankings dilution, avoid search penalties, and make each listing feel unique.
Hike SEO
Images are still the most important aspect of a product page, but the descriptions come in close second. Investing resources in your product descriptions will pay for themselves in the form of more sales.
You can simplify the process by using the tools at Hike SEO and taking advantage of Kit. It’s a new AI based toolkit that automates many aspects of the search engine optimization process. Check out Kit if you need help with SEO and don’t have the time to manually complete each task.
So what are you waiting for? Try Hike SEO today to craft optimized product descriptions.
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