Don’t ever underestimate the power of a well-written product description. In a recent article for Search Engine Watch, Ricky Hayes explains that by combining creativity and optimisation, you can write product descriptions that strengthen your brand voice, boost trustworthiness and move customers through your sales funnel.
He spoke about how simply listing the features of the product is the biggest mistake you can make when writing product descriptions. You want your product pages to also represent your brand values and offer a memorable customer experience.
So, to make sure you’re not selling yourself short, here are some of the essentials that you should keep in mind when writing your product descriptions.
Write for your audience
Always write with your target market in mind, as this will influence the tone and language that you use and give you an idea about what they might want to learn from your description. If you’re in the medical field, for example, your descriptions should sound very different to that of a toy store or fashion label. By getting it right, you can target customers who are truly interested in your product range.
Sell an experience
While your product descriptions need to highlight the features of the product, your copy should do much more than just this. Instead, sell the experience that your product can offer your customer. Highlight the advantages of each feature and how this will solve a problem for them or enhance their life in some way.
Be creative
Avoid generic phrases like "premium-quality" or "top-rated". These terms have been used to death and mean nothing at this stage. In place of these fillers, use sensory words that build the full picture. These are descriptive and relate to our five senses, including how something might sound, feel, taste, look and smell.
Include details
People turn to the product description to learn everything they need to know about the item and its features, so this isn’t a time to be wishy-washy. It’s crucial that you provide your potential customers with all the relevant details, specs, and info they might need to make a purchase, including size charts, material info, allergens, etc.
Structure it clearly
Finally, you want your product descriptions to be clear, organised and scannable so people can find exactly the information they’re after. Use white spaces, headlines, and bullets to highlight each product benefit separately. And, of course, don’t forget to use a good font that will improve readability.
Optimise your copy
To make sure your product pages are seen by the right people, it’s important it’s optimised for SEO. This means including relevant keywords in your headings and copy, adding alt tags to images and writing quality copy that provides readers with the information they need.
Product descriptions aren’t something to whizz through without any thought, they need a considered approach to ensure they will perform in the way you want them to. Hopefully, with this toolkit above, you’re now more than equipped to start writing product descriptions that will convert customers and build your brand. Then you just need to marry the great copy with quality imagery, and it really is as simple as that.
