Your product description can make all the difference when it comes to a sale or not. So, here’s how to write a product description that skyrockets your e-commerce sales. As with all marketing, follow the ethical principles of honesty, transparency and responsibility.
Writing Product Descriptions That Sell
So, you’ve finally got customers to your product pages but they aren’t even putting the item in the basket! Looks like you need to make some improvements to your product pages. Crafting and honing your product descriptions could be the thing you need to boost those basket drops. Here’s how.
Describe
It’s called a description for a reason. You need to describe your product and I mean really describe it. A two-line paragraph would barely cover most household products and it’s certainly not got the room to convince someone of a purchase. Let’s think of a relatively dull item like sponges for washing the pots. What sounds better?
- A set of three washing up sponges
or
- A compact set of three non-scratch, heavy-duty sponge scourers for effective washing up and general cleaning tasks.
Even the most basic of items can be transformed from screen to mind with descriptive language. It allows customers to visualise the products and ensure its the right fit for them. Every single detail of a product should be covered. Product descriptions should explain the physical attributes of the item to define its composition. But, there should also be abstract descriptions of its use, benefits and impact. You’ll be surprised how much you can write about something when you break it into components.
Details
To further drive home the point above, descriptions should be specific and not generic. No matter how commonplace your sale item is, a quality copywriter should be able to convert the mundane into the magical. A description should cover all the physical specifications of an item but also guide the customer to a decision. The two things to include here are the benefits of the products and answers to the most common questions.
Boosting Benefits
By describing the benefits of the products over the features, you are helping customers envision how the item will improve their life. They don’t have to make the connection between the feature and the benefit. Your explanation will bridge the gap and encourage a quicker decision. For example, a water bottle with an alarm to remind you to drink should explain that.
- Feature: The water bottle has an inbuilt alarm with timer options for 15, 30 and 60 minutes
- Benefit: The water bottle’s inbuilt alarm is easy to configure in increments of 15, 30 or 60 minutes. You’ll always be reminded to drink water, avoiding dehydration throughout the day.
Describing in detail avoids confusion and promotes the benefits in a clear way.
Answering Questions
The other side of more detailed descriptions is answering questions to avoid time wasted making a decision. This wording can be put forward in the physical specification or benefits, but it can also be a straight FAQ section directly on the page. This is particularly helpful if you frequently have lots of questions asked by customers before they purchase and even after the sale. Furthermore, you can use this answer method to reassure customers who may have had trouble with other retailers or products. Check out your competitors’ reviews to see what pain points they are not addressing and include this in your copy.
Consistency
Another essential element of product descriptions and product pages as a whole is consistency. If you are in the market for repeat customers, then you want them to be able to find the right information quickly. Keeping a consistent layout for your page along with consistent language and tone of voice will ensure the right information is easily recognisable. This also works effectively if you have many different product options that customers are likely to compare. By having the same design they can examine items side by side easily and find the one that matches their wants and needs.
Optimised for SEO
Of course, all product descriptions should be written with SEO in mind. You want customers to find your products online. So, unless you have an endless budget for PPC adverts, you are going to want to boost your organic search traffic directly to your product pages. Product pages should follow the same rules as general on-page optimisation including writing effective titles, meta-descriptions and optimising images. By utilising the above information you’ll make the copy informative and enticing. While a quality description will convert directly from the page, you first need to get users to your site. Therefore, SEO is an essential part of your product description if you want to make those sales.
Get Help With Product Descriptions
If you would like help researching and producing product descriptions that convert, get in touch. I work with all sorts of eCommerce businesses to rank their products above their competitors with unique product descriptions. I also help B2B businesses convert their leads to sales with SEO optimised service page copy. Whatever your niche or audience I can create bespoke copy that will see your business grow. Check out my portfolio for examples of my work.