Online shoppers rely on product descriptions to make the right purchases. Without proper product descriptions, your shoppers may feel uninformed and hesitant to purchase from your store. This makes product descriptions a crucial part of your brand.
Product descriptions are simple, but you must write them properly to make sales. The wrong product description can mean the difference between a happy customer, a chargeback, or a missed sale. Fortunately, there are certain tips and tricks you can use to improve your product descriptions:
Avoid Vague Words
Your product descriptions must paint a vivid picture of your product, and vague descriptions should be avoided at all costs. Avoid words like:
- “Nice”
- “Very”
- “Just”
- “Actually”
- “Literally”
- “Kind of”
- Anything with a negative connotation.
Vague words and phrases don’t describe your product accurately and will sound generic to shoppers. Instead, use descriptive words that paint an accurate picture of what you are offering.
Eliminate Buyer’s Guilt
The vast majority of online shoppers experience “buyer’s guilt” before finalizing a purchase online. Many times, they’ll convince themselves that they don’t need the product – other times, they’ll use the cost of shipping as a reason to back out of a purchase. Use your product descriptions to eliminate buyer’s guilt:
- Give shoppers a sense of urgency. Let them know that your offer is only valid for a short period of time, so they’ll feel justified in making a purchase.
- Tell shoppers that the product is multi-purpose. Something as simple as a hat can become multi-purpose if you describe it properly (i.e. “This hat will keep your eyes out of the sun while giving you a fun, summer look.”
- Let them know they are getting a great deal.
- Make your products sound essential. You can even use the word “essential” in your product description (i.e. “These screwdrivers are essential to your toolbox.”
When you eliminate the buyer’s guilt, you not only make a sale, but your customer walks away satisfied. Customer satisfaction is the key to a successful eCommerce business, and it all begins with the right product descriptions.
Be Original
It can be tempting to copy great product descriptions from similar products from other stores, but you must refuse to plagiarize – even if it’s less than 100 words.
Plagiarism is wrong for many reasons, but you’ll destroy your customer’s trust if they realize your content isn’t original. In fact, they may think your store is illegitimate as a result of plagiarized product descriptions.
Use Copyscape to check all of your product descriptions for plagiarism. It’s okay to take ideas from other stores, but under no circumstances should you directly copy their content. Write original product descriptions to avoid any trust issues with your shoppers.
Include Keywords
Keywords are an important part of search engine optimization. Many times, keywords go overlooked in product descriptions because copywriters believe they’re only useful in blogs and other long-form content. This is far from the truth -keywords play a major role in the success of your product description.
Avoid “stuffing” keywords – instead, include them naturally within your product descriptions. They should properly describe your brand and product, for both your customer and your search engine ranking. Do a keyword search, and use your findings to create effective, search engine optimized product descriptions.
Sell a Lifestyle
To succeed in today’s market, you must sell more than a product – you have to sell a lifestyle. Use your product descriptions to define the lifestyle you are selling – if you’re selling shoes, your customer should know that your shoes are an essential part of a luxury wardrobe. If your shoppers think your product will help them achieve the lifestyle of their dreams, they’ll be more likely to make a purchase.
What are your tips for writing excellent product descriptions? We’d love to hear your input – comment your tips and tricks below!
This article was originally published by our friends at Moz.
