e-commerce Magazin: Creation of product descriptions that yield conversion

November 20, 2015

What characterizes an ideal online description of a product? What content belong in the text and how long should the text be? E-commerce managers must ask themselves these questions to optimize their online shop and achieve a high conversion rate; good product descriptions are an essential feature for the success of online shops.
If important, purchase decision-making information is not included in the descriptions, customers will leave the shop without making a purchase. Customers usually click on the “Buy” button when they have obtained all the information needed to ensure that the selected product meets their needs and expectations. At the end of the transaction, customers must be convinced that they have made the right decision.

However, good product descriptions not only increase conversion they also reduce the purchase return rate by previously ensuring that the goods exactly meet the wishes and measurements of the customer. In addition to exact facts about the article, the tone and emotionality of the product texts is also purchase relevant. (Neuro-)Marketing studies repeatedly confirm that people enjoy buying when they are in a positive mood. These positive feelings can be triggered with product texts.

The articles offered in the online shop should be regarded and described as more than just objects; they are lifestyle products. Products that improve the quality of life, solve problems, convey a positive image, have a positive effect on life, pleasure, enjoyment and joy of life, or provide additional certitude. The product presentation must arouse strong, positive feelings and as a result, its price, i.e., spending money, becomes secondary.

Therefore, when you write product descriptions, arousing positive emotions is just as important as providing detailed information about the item!

For example, ladies shoes:

  • Emotional content:
    A top fashionable pair of ladies shoes will make your feet look dainty and narrow, lengthen the leg line, can be combined with trousers, skirts and dresses, stylish for office and leisure, easy to care for and in a trendy style, worn by top stars such as XY.
  • Important facts about the product:
    Materials, colors, patterns and structure, form, brand / manufacturer, type of heel and height of heel, length of shoe, shoe width, height of the shaft, type of closure and material, care instructions.
Good text writers use the who, what, where, when, why and how scheme to capture all the important content needed to write a convincing product description and create a text that is appealing both in sound and style:

  • Who is the target group?
    (gender, age group, interests, lifestyle, etc.)
  • What are the basic product features?
    (material, size, functions, color, etc.)
  • Where can the product be used?
    (in the car, at home, in the fitness studio, in the garden, etc.)
  • When can the product be used?
    (in the summer, in the evening, in the morning, every day, etc.)
  • Why is the product useful and why is it better then other competing products?
  • How does the product work?
    (this question is obviously not valid for every product.)
Ideally the product description will include the most important facts as bullet points as well as an emotionally appealing and concise text.

The bullet points are not very attractive and do not contribute to the emotionalism. However, they are useful because some website visitors only briefly glance at the page and information, and the bullet points are easy to grasp.

However, the emotionalism of the entire product description will be preserved if the bullet points are placed in front of a brief, emotional text that highlights the item. The text must convey why the item is an absolute “must have” and that it is perfect for the customer.

Last but not least, the creation of product descriptions must also allow for the search engine optimization of the text, so that the product pages appear at the top of the search engine results, for example with Google & Co., and increase the number of visitors. As a result, a well-written text that is relevant for the customer must also include the 1-2 most important keywords – if possible also in the headline – and most important of all, the content must be unique.

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Ines Maione