You have a great product, and you know it is going to sell. All you have to do is string a couple of sentences next to your product and—bam!—you have made a sale. Right? Wrong. Effectively creating a compelling product description seems like a simple task even to the experienced writer. You sit down to write about how awesome your product is and you draw a blank. This is because quality content on a consistent basis can be a difficult task, and product descriptions are no different. When you get right down to it, writing good copy descriptions can equate to a fate worse than death. This is especially true if you are up against the big players in your niche because your product must sell to a target audience that is already inundated and leery.
The Importance Of Product Description SEO
You hear about the importance of SEO until you are blue in the face. You may even say to yourself that all you are writing is a little blurb about your product, so why pay attention to SEO? Plain and simple: It is because you are writing for the web. Whether it is few words or a full-blown product review it still has to be found first. You still need to research your product’s or site’s keywords and incorporate them into your product description.
Unique Product Prose
The first sentence is crucial not only in the mind-set of a customer but also from the vantage of search engines. Your product title phrase was able to get a person to your site, and now your opening line must make them want to stay. Restate your title using language that packs a punch and gives substance to your product. This is where you put what you wish you could have used in your title but was too long.
All of the consumer’s questions have to be answered effectively in the heart of your description. Seamlessly guide the potential buyer through by providing product specifications, sizes, colors, special instructions (like whether product needs to be assembled or runs on batteries), and stock availability. The last thing you want is the consumer leaving because they could not find the information they were searching for. Consider the lackluster description and product image provided for this Cinderella costume, it is vague and would cause at least this consumer to move onto another site. On the flip side, the costume description for Polly Ester is catchy, has the essential elements with a great product image.
Your description has to tantalize the consumer’s senses and offer a darn good reason and sense of urgency to purchase your product. It will be the best way to influence a potential customer to buy your product over the billion others available on the market. Create a story along with your product. This is your opportunity to outshine your competitors. The copywriters at JPeterman.com do this eloquently which you can see in their description of a retro plaid picnic dress.
Watch Your Word Count Before Your Reader Bails Out
This is definitely not the time to write a dissertation! Think about yourself as a consumer and how you read product descriptions. If your copy is boring, your reader will want to get the heck out of Snoozeville fast.
Product Image Pizazz
The caption under your product image is a great way to add an extra keyword rich nugget that describes your item. Consumers usually look glance at the product image one last time before they leave, so leave them with something captivating instead of just Product #99999. You’ll also get an added boost in search engine rankings.
The bottom-line in writing effective product descriptions is to find your product trigger, create alluring prose, optimize your product image caption and sprinkle in some SEO, and you will have found your audience.
Kelli S. is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments. WriterAccess is powered by ideaLaunch.
