How to write ecommerce product descriptions
“Creating high quality MC (main content) takes a significant amount of at least one of the following: time, effort, expertise, and talent/skill.”—Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (Oct. 14, 2020)
Introduction
Great ecommerce product descriptions bring customers in and close sales. To drive awareness, interest, desire and action, writers must know the products, the customers and the relationship between the two. They must find the words that resonate. This article offers guidelines for writing ecommerce product descriptions. You'll get proven techniques from copywriting experts used within the framework of Google's Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. It's full of examples, as well as comparisons of popular ecommerce competitors.
Product description writing process
Identify technical requirements
Length and detail, asset allocation
How long is the typical ecommerce product detail page description for this product category?
What topics are typically covered? In what order are they presented?
How are each topic and subtopic discussed? What words are seemingly required in order to make a comprehensive description?
Gather product and customer information
“High quality information pages should be factually accurate, clearly written, and comprehensive.”—Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (Oct. 14, 2020)
Accurate and comprehensive information is required to begin the product description writing process. At a minimum this should include complete product specifications, features and benefits, and the reason for product development. Ideally, all available info is provided. When there are info gaps, the six W's help ensure that the most important questions are answered. This is also called the five W's, but the important question of “How?” conveniently also includes a W.
The six W's:
- Who?
- What?
- Where?
- When?
- Why?
- How?
Each of the six W's is a starting point from which several questions can be formed. There are dozens, possibly hundreds of questions that can be asked about a product. Experienced writers who are experts in the product category will find the right questions quicker than non-experts.
Examples of “Who?” questions:
- • Who conceived of the product?
- • Who is the product designed for?
- • Who does the customer idolize?
Prioritize selling propositions
“The key to success is to promise the consumer a benefit”—David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963)
Based on what is known about the customer, the product, and the relationship between the two, identify the product selling propositions. Order them from most important to least important. Selling propositions are the product benefits most likely to drive sales. Ideally, this list is derived from in-depth customer research, including focus groups. Experienced writers who are experts in the product category can often infer this list from the product information provided by the manufacturer.
Write the product description
Here are the guidelines and best practices for ecommerce product description writing. When the majority of the content on a web site is on product detail pages, the product description becomes integral to the site's E-A-T (expertise, authority and trustworthiness). Original, accurate, helpful, expert-level product copy is vital. This is particularly for sites selling luxury items. Some high-end ecommerce sites are regarded as YMYL (your money or your life) sites due to the cost or importance of the products being sold. YMYL sites face even tougher scrutiny for content quality.
Write original text
For Google, copied content is low-quality content. Low-quality content rarely outranks high-quality content. As such, original product copy is a requirement to compete for organic search visibility. Copied content includes text that is changed only slightly from the original. Google identifies this text as "copied with minimal alteration." When a product manufacturer publishes content, they will be credited as the source of that content. All others using this content will be seen as a copy.
“The Lowest rating is appropriate if all or almost all of the MC (main content) on the page is copied with little or no time, effort, expertise, manual curation, or added value for users.”—Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines, Section 7.2.4 (Oct. 14, 2020)
Use inverted pyramid structure
Put the most important and relevant information at the beginning. Save background info for the end.
Craft a strong lede (opening sentence)
“The goal of the first sentence is to get the reader to read the second sentence.”—Joseph Sugarman, The Adweek Copywriting Handbook (2006)
After the headline, the lede is the most important part of inverted pyramid writing structure. Something brought the customer to the product page. Give this warm audience the information it needs. Confirm its benefits. Tell them why they need the product. Close the sale.
Add clear calls to action
Add clear calls to action.
Speak the language
Talk the talk. Use colloquial language.
Optimize for search and readability
“There is nothing more important to you as a speaker and writer than that your audience understand you.”—Rudolf Flesch, The Art of Plain Talk (1946)
In Confessions of an Advertising Man, David Ogilvy said "all copywriters should read The Art of Plain Talk. It will persuade them to use short words, short sentences, short paragraphs, and highly personal copy." The book's author, Rudolf Flesch, conducted extensive research and wrote formulae to measure readability.
While reading ease is not considered part of Google's search algorithm, it's an important part of creating the best possible user experience. While it's possible that some user experience metrics are search signals, there are more direct benefits of increased time on site and return traffic. As such, readability is an important part of long term SEO strategy.
Flesch reading ease readability formula
(reading ease) = 206.835 – [1.015 x (words per sentence)] – [84.6 x (syllables per word)]
The Flesch reading ease formula focuses on sentence length and word length? It was first published in Flesch's article, “A New Readability Yardstick” via the Journal of Applied Psychology in 1946. It remains among the most common readability metrics used today.
Flesch-Kincaid grade level readability formula
(grade level) = [0.39 x (words per sentence)] + [11.8 x (syllables per word)] - 15.59
The Flesch-Kincaid grade level readability formula improved on the Flesch reading ease formula. It focuses on sentence length and word length? It can be traced back to 1976 ... US Navy ... John P. Kincaid was assisted by Fishburne, Rogers, and Chissom, in his research.
The following table offers a short description for Flesch reading ease and Flesch-Kincaid grade level scores. It is ordered from easiest to most difficult readability score.
| Reading ease | Grade level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 100–90 | 5th grade | Easiest to read |
| 90–80 | 6th grade | Very easy to read |
| 80–70 | 7th grade | Easy to read |
| 70–60 | 8th to 9th grade | Slightly easy to read |
| 60–50 | 10th to 12th grade | Slightly difficult to read |
| 50–30 | Undergraduate | Difficult to read |
| 30–10 | Graduate | Very difficult to read |
| 10–0 | Professional | Most difficult to read |
Check spelling and grammar
Error-free product copy shows a minimum level of care that is important for users and search engines. Schedule time for proofreading and editing at the end of the product copywriting process.