Compelling product descriptions are equally important in e-commerce as high-quality images or great service. Well-written descriptions can increase your store’s conversion rate and make your products more valuable.
The expertise of platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart proves that great descriptions can make products stand out even in such competitive marketplaces. Engaging captions encourage customers to focus on your product, provide an emotional context, and persuade them to click “buy.”
Writing a good product overview for your online shop depends on several factors. We have collected the main points to help your products get into the top marketplaces and be noticed by customers due to attractive descriptions.
Why is a Product Description Essential
A product description should clearly state the product’s name and spotlight its primary features. It educates potential buyers about the product’s benefits and characteristics. A compelling description delineates how the product fulfills the needs of the target audience and underscores its unique selling points.
Product descriptions can vary in length, style, and format, reflecting a brand’s distinctive voice. In the digital landscape, a product description transcends mere attributes and is pivotal in enhancing your listings’ visibility. Employing precise keywords and crafting clear, succinct descriptions are integral for optimizing search engine visibility and ensuring your products reach the intended audience.
As reported by Jungle Scout, as of the second quarter of 2023, 57% of US shoppers had started searching for products online on Amazon.
Thus, in a fiercely competitive market, businesses must ensure their products are highly visible in search results. Below are some strategies to ensure your product descriptions on platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart remain competitive.
Guidelines for Writing Effective Product Descriptions
Creating product descriptions that convert is crucial for e-commerce success. By following these guidelines, you can create compelling, informative, and engaging product descriptions that will not only attract but also convert your target audience into loyal customers.
- Understand Your Target Audience
First of all, determine who the buyer of your product is. That’s why creating a product description should start with research. Develop a buyer persona, exploring as much as you can about your customer:
- Customer demographics.
- Their interests.
- Their needs.
- Customer problems the product can solve.
- How customers use the product.
- The content style they prefer.
Your product description should align with your target audience’s needs, interests, and language. Monitoring product preferences, behavioral patterns, and purchase patterns can give you valuable insights. Thorough market research helps you create messages that resonate with customers personally.
- Highlight Benefits and Features
The primary aim of a product description is to emphasise how it meets customer needs. In this case, you should underline the benefits of your product that make your customers’ lives better, easier, or more enjoyable. A good product description perfectly combines functionality and benefits, ensuring that the customer can quickly understand what the product offers and why it’s valuable to them.
Firstly, provide a comprehensive list of product features. For example, if you sell shoes or clothing, add information about size, material, color, weight, etc. Then, focus on the benefits of product features. Explain to customers what your product solves and in what situation. To avoid overwhelming customers, focus on 1-2 special benefits. If you sell ski clothing, for example, underline benefits such as comfort, waterproofness, and freedom of movement. It’s your special offer.
- Use Clear Language and a Catchy Brand Voice
Here are some essential tips to help you write good product descriptions:
- Use simple and straightforward language.
- Give preference to short sentences with simple words.
- Create a text that is comprehensible at the first reading.
- Avoid trivialities, clichés, and generic phrases such as “high quality,” “convenient,” “innovative,” “unique,” etc. Try to be specific.
- Support your words with facts and give your products unique characteristics.
- Provide a detailed description of the product, which helps to build trust.
- Describe your product by touch, smell, sound, or taste so the customer can imagine it.
- Add your brand’s unique voice to make your overview attractive and memorable.
- Consider the Description Structure
Create a structure for your product description. It can significantly impact its effectiveness. You need to make descriptions scannable with bullet points, headings, short paragraphs, or other tricks:
- Use bullet points to break down features and benefits for easier reading.
- Use catchy headlines to attract visitors.
- Use a readable font size.
- Add intervals between text blocks to make your content more readable.
- Place the most compelling information at the beginning to quickly grab attention.
- Underline or bold important points if necessary.
- Employ High-Quality Visuals Content
Choose high-quality images that provide a lot of information quickly. The image is the first thing customers notice, determining whether they will be interested in your product and whether they will make a purchase. Create visuals and text product descriptions that complement each other to make it easier to find your product.
Use all available tools to demonstrate your product: images, video, animation, 3D visualization, etc. Show different sizes, models, colors, and more. By adding high-quality photos and videos, you can make the customer feel like the owner of your product.
- Integrate SEO
Search engine optimization of product descriptions is the basis for such text types. Use relevant keywords in the text to make your products appear in search results. However, the language should be natural and exciting for the buyer, not just for search engines.
Analyze what keywords Google uses for your products. You can enter the title of your product into Google and see what searches it generates, or use professional services such as Ahrefs, Serpstat, etc. to find relevant keywords. You can use Google’s Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords if you have an ad account. Take advantage of this stage if you want your product to stand out among thousands of similar ones.
- Include Social Proofs
According to the survey, 75% of users regularly read online reviews, and just 3% of consumers say they ”never” read. That is why social proof is a valuable element of a product description.
Include reviews, feedback, and user-generated content in your product description to build customer trust and credibility. Social proof can significantly impact purchasing decisions by showing potential buyers the positive experiences other people have had with your product. It helps overcome customer doubts and gain their trust. You can add written reviews, photos, and videos of your product being used.
- Give answers to commonly asked questions
Analyze and predict what questions the customer may have. You can do this with the help of keyword research as well (as we mentioned above). Or use our life hack: if you enter an item’s title in the search field on the eBay website, you can see the relay queries that interest the customer.
It works the same way on the Amazon marketplace.
Consider whether all product features, specifications, usage, materials, etc., are available. Some of the answers can be provided in the FAQ. You can use the FAQ for any product. It can help reduce hesitation to buy as customers will feel more confident.
Product Description Template
You can create a product description template that covers all the essential elements you want to include for each product. Such a template helps optimize the process and ensures that your listings are consistent no matter where they are placed — on eBay, Amazon, Walmart, or other platforms. Here are some examples to guide you:
- Walmart product description: Emphasize value proposition and affordability. Walmart customers are often looking for great deals and direct product benefits.
- Product description on Amazon: Focus on benefits and integrate keywords for Amazon’s search algorithm. Since the platform regulates the use of HTML codes, sellers can use Amazon product description HTML editor. It converts your product descriptions into HTML codes according to Amazon’s policies.
- Product description template for eBay: Focus on specifications, quality, condition, and unique features. eBay shoppers expect detailed descriptions to make well-informed buying decisions.
You can find a sample eBay description here. It provides a great online shop description example and allows you to implement it effortlessly.
To simplify creating product descriptions, make them on eBay via M2E Multichannel Connect. The solution helps you import descriptions from your store, select a description from your store attribute, or set up a customizable description template, configuring any product information.
You can also create a product description manually using an HTML template and include code snippets such as title, description, price, and image or connect your attributes.
Want more details on creating an eBay description using M2E Multichannel Connect templates? Watch our helpful guide.
Summary
Creating a compelling product description has a direct impact on sales success. It’s important to understand your ideal customer, emphasise the benefits and special offers, and optimise the description for search engines. Following these guidelines, you can transform your online listings from simple publications to compelling storytelling that attracts customers and increases revenue. Dive into the world of e-commerce with confidence, knowing that your product descriptions are working for your success.
