Product Descriptions That Sell for Online Stores

Product descriptions serves a dual purpose that cannot be understated. First, it acts as your sales pitch, conveying to potential customers why your product is the solution they need. The item they’ve been dreaming about, or the perfect gift for a loved one.

It’s about painting a picture so vivid that the reader can imagine the product as part of their lives, solving a problem or bringing them joy.

Introduction to the Power of Product Descriptions

Majority of shopping journeys begin with a search engine query, your product descriptions also need to speak the language of search engines.

This means optimising your content with strategic SEO practices to ensure your products don’t just resonate with human readers but also rank well in search engine results.

Achieving this balance is the key to not just surviving but thriving in the competitive e-commerce landscape.

SEO Strategies : E-commerce Product Descriptions That Sell and Rank for Women-Led Online Stores

Product Descriptions are words detailing dimensions or materials, and the essential bridge connecting your products to your customers and the wider world through search engines. 

Women-led e-commerce stores are making significant strides, bringing unique products and visionary brands to the forefront. At the heart of this success lies the power of compelling product descriptions. 

Let’s delve into why mastering the art of product descriptions is crucial for the thriving e-commerce entrepreneur. 

The Importance of Effective Product Descriptions for E-commerce Success

Effective product descriptions are your frontline warriors in the battle for customer attention and search engine recognition.

They’re what stand between a browser and a buyer. When crafted with care, these descriptions can dramatically elevate your product’s perceived value, differentiate your brand in a crowded market, and significantly improve your website’s SEO performance.

Engaging potential customers requires more than just listing features; it demands an emotional connection.

Your product descriptions should evoke feelings, stir excitement, and build trust. They should reassure readers that what you’re offering meets their standards for quality, sustainability, or whatever values align with your brand and its audience.

Simultaneously, optimising for search engines (SEO) ensures that your products are visible to those who are looking for them. It involves the strategic use of keywords, meta descriptions, and even the structure of your content to make sure search engines can easily understand and rank your product pages.

However, the ultimate goal is to create descriptions that effortlessly marry customer engagement with SEO best practices. This means using keywords naturally, focusing on readability, and always prioritising the user experience.

In the following sections, we’ll explore specific strategies to achieve these goals, from understanding your audience and conducting keyword research to leveraging storytelling and ensuring your content is as SEO-friendly as it is customer-centric.

Join us as we unlock the secrets to writing product descriptions that not only sell but also rank, empowering women entrepreneurs to shine in the digital marketplace.

1. Getting to Know Your Customers

For any online shop, especially those run by women, really getting to know your customers is like having a secret recipe. It’s what makes sure you’re not just throwing darts in the dark but hitting the bullseye every time you describe a product.

Let’s explore how you can get up close and personal with your audience, ensuring your product blurbs not only catch their eye but also speak directly to their needs.

Spotting Who’s Who

• Breaking Down the Basics: Start simple. Who’s likely to buy your stuff? Look at their age, where they live, how much they might earn, and their education level. For example, if you’re selling handmade, eco-friendly handbags, you might be looking at women aged 25-45 who love the planet as much as they love a good accessory.
• Digging Deeper with Psychographics: Now, let’s get a bit nosy. What makes your customers tick? This is about their values, hobbies, lifestyle, and what they stand for. If you’re in the business of selling organic beauty products, figure out why your customers might prefer them. Is it because they’re all about natural living, or maybe they have sensitive skin? Understanding this can help you chat about your products in a way that really hits home.

Chatting in Their Language

• Echoing Their Wishes: Armed with your who’s who, your product descriptions should mirror what your customers are all about. If they’re into saving the planet, make sure you shout about how your products are green and clean.
• Solving Their Problems: Every product you sell is a hero waiting to solve a problem. Make sure your descriptions spell out how they’re going to do just that. If you’re selling yoga mats, talk about how they won’t slip during a downward dog, making that yoga session even more zen.
• Talking Like They Do: The words you use should sound like they came straight from your customers’ mouths. If your buyers are young and trendy, a laid-back, friendly tone might work best. You can pick up on the lingo your customers use from the comments they leave or the way they talk about products they love on social media.
• Sneaking in Keywords: While you’re getting your tone just right, don’t forget to sprinkle in those all-important keywords. Use the terms your customers type into Google when they’re hunting for products like yours. A bit of detective work using keyword research tools (or even a good old chat with your customers) can uncover these golden words.

Understanding your customers isn’t something you do once and tick off your list. It’s about keeping the conversation going, tuning in to their changing needs and desires, and making sure your product descriptions evolve too.

Knowing your audience inside out and talking their talk, you’ll not only make your products irresistible but also build a brand that they’ll return to time and time again.

2. Keyword Research for Product Descriptions

Mastering the art of keyword research is like finding the secret ingredients that make your product descriptions not just tasty to read, but also deliciously visible to search engines.

Let’s break down how you can spice up your product pages with the right keywords, ensuring they’re easy to find and hard to resist.

Finding the Right Keywords

• Using the Right Tools: Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush are like your digital treasure maps, guiding you to the keywords your potential customers are typing into search engines. These tools can show you exactly which terms and phrases people use when they are looking for products like yours.
• High-Value Keywords: You’re looking for keywords that are relevant to your products but also have a decent amount of searches. For example, if you’re selling women’s running shoes, you might discover that “women’s running shoes for flat feet” is a popular search term. That’s a nugget of gold right there.
• Understanding Intent: It’s not just about volume; it’s about intent. Some keywords are used by people looking to buy, while others might be used by those just browsing. Pay attention to keywords with commercial intent to attract customers ready to open their wallets.

Integrating Keywords Naturally

• Sprinkle, Don’t Stuff: Imagine you’re seasoning a dish – a little sprinkle can enhance the flavour, but overdo it, and you’ll spoil the meal. Apply keywords throughout your product descriptions in a way that feels natural and adds value. Your sentences should flow smoothly, making it easy and enjoyable for your customers to read.
• Where to Place Them: The title of your product is a prime spot for a key keyword. Then, weave them into the body of your description, the bullet points (if you have them), and even the alt text of your images. For instance, a sentence like “Our women’s running shoes for flat feet offer unparalleled support and style” uses the keyword while describing the product’s benefits.
• Keeping It Engaging: Your primary goal is to engage the reader and sell the product. Use keywords in a way that enhances your storytelling. If “sustainable materials” is a keyword, tell a story about how and why you use these materials, making the reader feel good about their purchase.

Best Practices for Product Descriptions as the Keyword

• Research with Your Product in Mind: When doing keyword research, think about the unique features and benefits of your product. Use these as starting points for finding related keywords.
• Monitor and Adjust: Keyword trends can change, just like market trends. Keep an eye on how your chosen keywords perform and be ready to tweak your product descriptions as needed.
• Use Long-Tail Keywords: These are longer, more specific phrases that customers use when they’re closer to a purchase decision. They may have lower search volumes, but the traffic they bring is more targeted and likely to convert.

Putting the time into finding the right keywords and integrating them thoughtfully into your product descriptions, you’re not just making your products easier to find; you are also creating a connection with your customers.

You’re showing them that you have exactly what they’re looking for, making your product pages not just a stop along their shopping journey but a final destination.

3. Creating Product Narratives

The secret to making your items stand out is crafting compelling product narratives. Telling a story that resonates with your audience, turning each product page into a captivating chapter that readers can’t help but get drawn into.

Let’s see how to weave storytelling into your product descriptions, highlight the benefits over features, and use persuasive language to turn browsers into buyers.

The Art of Storytelling

• Setting the Scene: Every product has a story. Start by setting the scene for your readers. If you’re selling handmade jewellery, tell the story of the artisan who crafts each piece, the inspiration behind their designs, or the journey of the materials from raw form to beautiful accessories. This narrative approach transforms a simple product listing into a compelling story that customers want to be part of.
• Creating Emotional Connections: Use your product narratives to tap into the emotions of your audience. Whether it’s the joy of gifting a unique piece of jewellery to a loved one or the pride of owning an eco-friendly product, your descriptions should make readers feel something. Emotional connections can be powerful motivators for purchase decisions.

Highlighting Benefits Over Features

• Benefits Speak Louder: While features are important, benefits sell. For instance, rather than just stating that a backpack is made of waterproof material (feature), highlight that it keeps belongings safe and dry in any weather (benefit). Show your customers how the product fits into and enhances their lifestyle.
• Solving Problems: Focus on how your product solves a problem or fulfils a need. If your online store specializes in ergonomic office furniture, don’t just list dimensions and materials. Instead, describe how the furniture can alleviate back pain or increase productivity, directly addressing common issues your customers face.

Using Persuasive Language

• Power Words and Sensory Language: Incorporate power words that evoke an emotional response or create a sense of urgency, such as “transform,” “exclusive,” or “limited-time offer.” Use sensory language to paint a vivid picture of the product experience, allowing readers to “see” the vibrant colours, “feel” the soft texture, or “imagine” the scent of your products.
• Creating a Call to Action: Every compelling product narrative should lead to a clear call to action. Encourage readers to take the next step, whether it’s adding the product to their cart, learning more about your brand’s story, or taking advantage of a special offer. Make it easy and enticing for them to move from interested readers to happy customers.
• Social Proof: Weave in elements of social proof, such as customer testimonials or awards, within your narrative. Knowing that others have had positive experiences with your product can be a powerful persuasive tool.

Compelling product narratives is an art form that combines storytelling, focusing on benefits over features, and using persuasive language.

Mastering these techniques, women entrepreneurs can create product descriptions that rank well in search engines, and connect with customers on a personal level, encouraging them to make a purchase.

It’s about selling a product and offering a solution, an experience, and sometimes, even a new way of seeing the world.

4. Optimising Product Descriptions for SEO

Ensuring your product pages are not just visible but also appealing to both search engines and potential customers is crucial.

Optimising your product descriptions for SEO involves the body text, and encompasses everything from the title tags and meta descriptions to the images and behind-the-scenes structured data.

Let’s break down these components to ensure your product pages are fully optimised for success.

Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

• Crafting SEO-Friendly Title Tags: Your title tag is the headline of your product page in the search engine results. It should be concise, and compelling, and include your main keyword as close to the beginning as possible. For example, if you’re selling eco-friendly yoga mats, a title tag like “Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat for Sustainable Practice” directly tells search engines and users what your page is about. Keep title tags under 60 characters to ensure they display fully in search results.
• Meta Descriptions That Sell: While not a direct ranking factor, meta descriptions significantly influence click-through rates. This brief description should summarise the product’s key benefit and include a call to action, enticing users to click on your listing. Including the primary keyword here ensures consistency with the user’s search query. Aim for about 150-160 characters to avoid being cut off in search results.

Using Alt Text for Images

• The Role of Descriptive Alt Text: Alt text (alternative text) serves two main purposes: it describes images to search engines and assists visually impaired users. For SEO and accessibility, every product image should have descriptive, keyword-rich alt text. For instance, rather than “img01.jpg”, use “eco-friendly cork yoga mat.”
• Balancing Keywords and Descriptions: While it’s important to include keywords, your alt text should also accurately describe the image. This helps search engines understand the context of the image and how it relates to the product and page content.

Structured Data Markup

• Implementing Schema Markup: Schema markup (or structured data) is a code you can add to your product pages to help search engines return more informative results for users. It categorises the page content, making it clear whether it’s a product, a review, or an article.
• Enhancing Search Result Listings: By implementing schema markup for products, you can enable rich snippets in search results, which might include price, availability, and review ratings directly in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). This makes your listing more eye-catching and provides potential customers with valuable information at a glance.
• Tools and Resources: Utilise tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper and the Structured Data Testing Tool to implement and test your schema markup. Major e-commerce platforms often have plugins or built-in support for adding structured data to product pages.

Optimising your product descriptions for SEO is a multifaceted process that goes beyond the text itself.

By paying attention to title tags, meta descriptions, alt text for images, and implementing structured data markup, you can significantly improve your product pages’ visibility and attractiveness in search engine results.

These steps help search engines understand and rank your content and enhance the user experience. Making it easier for potential customers to find, understand, and be compelled by your products.

The goal is to ensure that when someone searches for a product you offer, your page is visible and irresistible.

5. Social Proof and User-Generated Content

Social proof and user-generated content (UGC) have emerged as powerful tools in the e-commerce playbook.

They act as virtual word-of-mouth, providing potential customers with real-life testimonials and evidence of your product’s quality and appeal.

Here’s how you can harness these elements to enhance trust, credibility, and ultimately, conversions on your e-commerce site.

Reviews and Ratings

• Building Trust with Transparency: Customer reviews and ratings offer a transparent glimpse into the experiences of previous buyers, building immediate trust with potential customers. Displaying these prominently on your product pages reassures visitors of their purchase decisions and significantly enhances your product’s credibility.
• Integrating Reviews in Product Descriptions: While having a dedicated section for reviews is standard, weaving testimonials directly into product descriptions or highlights can be particularly effective. For instance, a snippet like “Our best-selling eco-friendly yoga mat, rated 5 stars by over 500 happy yogis!” directly integrates social proof into your narrative.
• Handling Negative Reviews: It’s important to address negative feedback openly and constructively. Responding to negative reviews with solutions or offers to resolve issues can mitigate the potential impact on new customers and demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.

User-Generated Content

• Encouraging the Sharing of Experiences: Motivate your customers to share their product experiences, photos, or videos on social media. This can be incentivised through contests, discounts, or simply by featuring their content on your website or social media channels.
• Integrating UGC into Product Pages: User-generated photos and videos can be incredibly persuasive. Seeing real people use and enjoy your product adds a layer of authenticity that professionally shot images can’t match. Consider creating a gallery on your product pages where potential buyers can see your products in action, used by real customers.
• Using UGC for Storytelling: Beyond mere product images, user-generated content can tell the story of your product in the wild. It’s about showing your product being used in real-life situations, which can be far more relatable and compelling than traditional marketing material.

Best Practices for Social Proof and UGC

• Moderation and Curation: While encouraging UGC, it’s crucial to curate what gets displayed on your product pages. Ensure the content is relevant, appropriate, and truly reflective of your brand values.
• SEO Benefits: Reviews and UGC can also contribute to your SEO efforts. They keep your product pages dynamic with fresh content, which search engines love. Encourage the use of relevant keywords naturally in reviews and UGC to boost your product pages’ search visibility.
• Social Media Integration: Make it easy for customers to share their content by integrating social sharing buttons on your product pages and review sections. Highlighting user content on your social media platforms can foster a community around your brand and encourage more customers to share their experiences.

Use of reviews, ratings, and user-generated content into your e-commerce site is a testament to the power of the community and the authenticity of your products.

They act as a bridge between potential customers and your brand, offering a glimpse into the satisfaction and joy your products bring to real people.

Strategically leveraging social proof and UGC, you enhance your product pages, and build a stronger, more trustworthy brand that resonates with consumers on a personal level.

6. A/B Testing and Continuous Optimisation

A/B testing and continuous optimisation stand out as essential strategies. They allow you to make data-driven decisions, refining your product descriptions, and other elements of your online store to better meet your customers’ needs and preferences.

Here’s how you can implement these strategies to enhance both your SEO rankings and conversion rates.

The Importance of Testing

• Understanding A/B Testing: At its core, A/B testing, also known as split testing, involves comparing two versions of a web page (in this case, product descriptions) to see which one performs better in terms of a predefined metric, such as sales or click-through rate. This method allows you to make incremental changes based on actual user behaviour rather than assumptions.
• Setting Clear Objectives: Before diving into A/B testing, it’s crucial to define what you are trying to achieve. Are you looking to increase the add-to-cart rate? Or perhaps you want to improve the click-through rate from search engine results? Having clear objectives will guide your testing efforts and help you measure success more effectively.

How to Use A/B Testing to Refine Product Descriptions

• Creating Variations: Start by identifying elements of your product descriptions that you believe could impact performance. This might include the headline, the use of bullet points versus paragraphs, the inclusion of keywords, or the tone of voice. Create two versions (A and B) with variations in these elements.
• Implementing the Test: Use A/B testing software tools integrated with your e-commerce platform to serve the different versions to equal, random segments of your visitors. Ensure that other variables remain constant to isolate the impact of the changes you’re testing.
• Analysing Results: After a significant amount of data has been collected, analyse the results to see which version met your objectives more effectively. Look for statistically significant differences to make informed decisions.

Monitoring Performance

• Tracking SEO Impact: Changes to product descriptions can affect your SEO performance. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor how adjustments impact your organic search visibility, rankings, and traffic. Pay close attention to changes in keyword rankings related to the tested elements.
• Measuring Conversion Rates: Conversion rate is a key metric to watch when optimizing product pages. Tools like Google Analytics can help you track how well each version of your product description converts visitors into buyers, providing insights into what resonates best with your audience.
• Continuous Optimisation: A/B testing is not a one-off task but an ongoing process. Consumer behaviours and market trends evolve, and what works today might not work tomorrow. Regularly review and test your product descriptions, always looking for new opportunities to refine and improve.

Best Practices for A/B Testing and Optimisation

• Test One Change at a Time: To clearly understand what impacts performance, only test one element at a time. This approach helps you pinpoint exactly what influences user behaviour.
• Consider the Bigger Picture: While focusing on product descriptions, remember they’re just one part of the user experience. How they integrate with images, user reviews, and the overall page layout also affects performance.
• Stay Informed on SEO Trends: SEO best practices are continually evolving. Stay informed about the latest trends and guidelines to ensure your optimisation efforts are up-to-date and effective.

A/B testing and continuous optimisation are invaluable for women entrepreneurs looking to thrive in the e-commerce space.

Adopting a data-driven approach to refine product descriptions and closely monitoring their impact on SEO and conversion rates, you can significantly enhance your online store’s performance.

The goal is to create an engaging, informative, and optimised shopping experience that attracts customers and encourages them to make a purchase.

7. Addressing Common Challenges in E-commerce Product Descriptions

Crafting product descriptions for an e-commerce store involves a delicate balance between creativity and strategy.

From overcoming writer’s block to ensuring your copy is both search engine and sales-friendly, there are several common challenges that can arise.

Here’s how you can navigate these hurdles, keeping your product pages fresh, engaging, and effective.

Overcoming Writer’s Block

• Start with Bullet Points: If you’re stuck, begin by jotting down bullet points covering the product’s key features, benefits, and any unique selling points. This can help break the task into manageable chunks and form the skeleton of your description.
• Use Templates with Care: While templates can streamline the writing process, relying on them too heavily can lead to generic descriptions. Use them as a starting point but customise generously to inject personality and uniqueness into each product description.
• Seek Inspiration: Look at how industry leaders and competitors craft their product descriptions. Note what captures your attention and why. This exercise can spark ideas and help you find a new angle for describing your own products.
• Take a Break: Sometimes, stepping away from your desk is the best way to refresh your mind and overcome writer’s block. A short break or a change of scenery can re-energise your creativity.

Balancing SEO and Sales Objectives

• Keyword Integration: Finding the right mix starts with integrating keywords naturally into your product descriptions. Instead of stuffing keywords where they don’t fit, weave them into compelling narratives about the product. Your primary audience is human; write for them first, with search engines as a secondary consideration.
• Focus on Benefits: To engage customers and encourage purchases, highlight the benefits of your product in a way that resonates with their needs and desires. Use SEO to get them to your page, and then switch gears to persuasive, benefit-focused sales copy to convert them.
• Use Engaging, Persuasive Language: Engage readers with vivid, sensory language that helps them imagine using the product. Phrases that evoke emotion or paint a picture can be powerful tools for persuasion. Combine this approach with strategic keyword use to satisfy both SEO and sales objectives.
• Optimise Meta Descriptions and Title Tags: While the product description itself needs to sell, don’t forget to optimise your meta descriptions and title tags. These elements are crucial for SEO but can also be crafted in a way that encourages clicks from search engine results pages.
• Monitor and Adjust: Use analytics to track the performance of your product pages. Look at metrics like time on page, bounce rate, and conversion rate to gauge whether your descriptions are hitting the mark. Be prepared to tweak and test different approaches to find what works best.

Addressing the common challenges of crafting product descriptions for your e-commerce store requires a blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and ongoing experimentation.

Developing strategies to overcome writer’s block and finding the sweet spot between SEO and sales copy, you can create product descriptions that rank well in search engines.

Copy that connects with customers and drives conversions. The most effective product descriptions are those that tell a compelling story, clearly articulate the value of the product and are optimised to reach the widest possible audience.

Conclusion: Improve Your E-commerce Through Creative Product Descriptions

Creating product descriptions that resonate with your customers and sparkle in search engine results is both an art and a science.

These descriptions are far more than just informational content; they are powerful tools that can sway purchasing decisions, enhance your brand’s voice, and significantly impact your online visibility.

For women entrepreneurs navigating the competitive terrain of e-commerce, mastering this aspect of your online store is not just beneficial—it’s essential.

Product descriptions that effectively sell and rank well share a common foundation: they are carefully tailored to the audience’s needs and desires, rich with strategically chosen keywords, and alive with engaging, persuasive language.

They bridge the gap between the tactile, and sensory experience of shopping in person and the convenience of browsing online, bringing products to life through vivid storytelling and detailed benefits.

As dynamic elements of your e-commerce strategy, product descriptions require a blend of creativity, SEO acumen, and the willingness to continually refine and optimise.

The digital marketplace evolves rapidly, with shifting SEO algorithms and changing consumer behaviours.

Staying attuned to these changes, and being ready to adapt your approach, is crucial for maintaining the effectiveness of your product narratives.

Embark on Your Journey to Descriptive Excellence

Now is the time to harness the strategies outlined in this guide and begin the rewarding process of enhancing your product descriptions.

Start by evaluating your current descriptions through the lens of your newfound knowledge. Identify areas for improvement, whether it’s integrating more descriptive, sensory language, optimising for specific keywords, or incorporating more compelling calls to action.

If you are looking to dive deeper into the intricacies of SEO and copywriting, numerous resources are available to expand your expertise.

Our SEO tool kit, Online courses, webinars, and industry blogs offer valuable insights and tips to sharpen your skills further. Tools like Moz, SEMrush, and Google’s suite of marketing tools provide both the data and the guidance needed to refine your SEO strategy. 

Remember, your product descriptions are more than just words on a page—they are the heartbeat of your online store, inviting customers into your world and guiding them towards making a purchase.

View each description as an opportunity to connect, persuade, and convert.

Embracing the principles of effective e-commerce copywriting and SEO, you’ll not only elevate your product pages but also set your brand apart in the bustling online marketplace.

The journey to creating descriptions that dazzle and deliver starts now. Let your creativity flow, keep your audience at the forefront, and step forward with confidence, knowing that your words have the power to propel your business to new heights.

10 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about creating great product descriptions for e-commerce, covering essential aspects from SEO to engaging content: