Product descriptions are a very important part of your product page.
Why?
Because they help your visitors to make a decision on whether to purchase the item they are currently viewing. A good product description will encourage your visitor to hit the “Add to Cart” button.
But here’s the thing…
Even though they hold great power on conversions, good product copy can be quite the challenge to write.
AND…
When your store has multiple products, this challenge can become even more of a pain point.
So in order to write product descriptions that help your conversion rate, we’ve listed a few tips below to help you out.
Make The Description Easy to Scan
The first tip is all about creating a product description that is easy to scan. Most people have short attention spans (especially true on mobile). So in order to engage your audience, make your product descriptions easy to scan through.
This means the buyer is able to find the information he or she wants without wasting time sifting through other pieces of information. Within seconds they’ve found your description, conveying the products value.
You can make your descriptions easy to scan, by including short sentences and paragraphs. Bullet points are also very effective. Incorporate different font sizes too. The product title can be put into a heading and underneath you can use short sentences, bullet points etc
The benefit of including this in your descriptions… is that you’re making it easier to read, thus less likely to lose a potential customer during the process.
Optimize Your Descriptions for Search Engines
We all know how important it is for acquiring traffic to our ecom stores. Getting free traffic via search engines should be one of the traffic sources you optimize your stores pages for. Optimization begins with keywords, which are usually the search terms that buyers use to find the product that they are shopping for.
To fall in line with best SEO practices, I’d recommend including your target keyword in areas of your pages such as –
- Page titles
- Meta descriptions
- Image tags (called ALT tags)
- Product descriptions
That way you’ll have your page optimized for your keyword and stand a better chance of ranking for your term. This is especially true if you’re doing some inbound linking for your keyword term(s). It all depends on the level of competition for your chosen keywords.
Long-tail keywords are easier to rank, but you need to be careful with regards to who you are competing against. There are some heavy hitters in those serps.
Nonetheless, optimizing your descriptions for keyword terms you want to rank for can help get you in front of your buyers.
Mention Product Benefits
Your buyers are only interested in what your product can do for them. What pain point is your product removing from your target audiences life? What pleasure point is the product going to deliver on?
You need to convey these benefits in your product description. You have to paint a picture of what life is going to be like once they begin to experience that product.
Take for example the Yankee candle. You know what I am talking about right?
What makes these candles so special?
The main benefits that customers can expect from this candle are things like:
- They offer nice fragrance throughout a person’s home
- They last long and have a good burn time
- The candle is a great addition to a bigger focal point, such as a centerpiece at dinner parties.
- It is safe and easy to use. You can essentially light the candle and walk away.
Be sure that for every feature you list, figure out how this will directly benefit the buyer. Using the candle as an example. If the feature is 100% Himalayan salt, then the benefit is reduced allergies.
Make sense?
Turning features into benefits will help your offers become more persuasive and increase conversion rates.
Use Emotion & Storytelling in Your Copy
Using emotion & storytelling in your product description helps to persuade people to buy. Emotions influence people’s behaviours and buying decisions.
So how do you go about incorporating emotion into your description?
By including a story format.
Involving emotion in your copy and focusing on the ways in which it can be used, you’ll make it easier for the customer to imagine having your product in his or her life.
Why I personally like using storytelling in sales copy?
Using a mini-story about your offer, gives you a greater way to connect with your potential buyers on an emotional level rather than a transactional one.
Here’s a few tips when including storytelling in your product descriptions:
- What inspired you/supplier to make this product?
- How can this product positively influence your buyer’s day-to-day life?
- Describe the journey of making this product?
Answering these questions will give you a great foundation with your story telling and help to set the scene.
Effective storytelling helps the buyer imagine the product in a way that features and specs could never do. If you can get the buyer to imagine the product as an emotional conquest or companion… they’ll likely forget that they are actually being sold to.
Don’t Forget to Include Words That Sell
Include words that actually help to sell your products. I know that’s obvious, but sometimes we forget to think about the importance of words that actually make an impact and help to excite and persuade our web visitors.
I wouldn’t go over kill on this as you don’t want to come across as spammy and “a little too keen on the sale” if you get me 😉
You’re looking for power words to sprinkle into your copy and make your product descriptions more appealing to the end user.
For those of you that don’t know what power words are, below are ten examples –
1. Spectacular, 2. Amazing, 3. Stunning, 4. Fearless, 5. Wonderful, 6. Breathtaking, 7. Jaw dropping, 8. Hero, 9. Excited, 10. Sensational
You can see that by subtly using these words, you’re engaging your audience and drawing them into reading more of your description.
To Conclude…
These are just some elements you can include when writing your product descriptions. Including the above will help you engage your traffic, help to persuade them positively in a purchasing decision and even potentially increase your stores traffic via SEO.
We pay good money to attract traffic to our stores, so be sure you are making the most of that traffic, by helping them make a purchasing decision online.
