While my previous post about the connection between content and e-commerce focused on the importance of the relationship itself, I’m going to shift gears and discuss ideas that you need to think about when implementing said content on your site.

Writing content for your e-commerce brand seems like a difficult task, as these types of websites are structured differently than traditional sites. It’s not as much a matter of writing blog posts and landing pages as much as it is providing accurate descriptions of your products.

Focus On Your Audience First, Google Second

It’s easy to get caught up in the SEO chaos of keywords, links and other rules in order to drive up your search rankings. However, your potential customer should be your primary focus.

Write clear, yet thorough product descriptions for each item. Your customer needs to know as much pertinent information as possible in order to make an educated purchasing decision. Give visitors a word picture of your merchandise so they don’t jump off your page and move on to your competitor.

Not only does solid content help customers determine the product itself, it also builds trust with your online brand. Online shoppers don’t have the advantage of trying out the product or seeing it in real life, so many want to make sure that they are getting the best product rather than a lemon.

Accurate and thorough descriptions allow you to be an authority on the product, thus establishing trust for the shopper and increasing the potential for sales.

Include Customer Testimonials

One way to bolster your shoppers’ trust is by incorporating reviews into your content. Posting success stories and comments from happy customers adds positivity to your site, while also validating your product to viewers.

Word of mouth is a powerful tool. Online visitors are more likely to consider your brand if other customers are satisfied as well. This quells much of the skepticism associated with online business.

Pay Attention to Word Count

In addition to testimonials, make sure you take word count into consideration. Lengthier product descriptions serve two purposes:

1. To adequately inform readers about the specifics of your product
2. To show Google that you are dedicated to meeting your audience’s needs

Google knows that your audience should be your main priority and wants them to be satisfied with the result. However, one line of text is not enough to sufficiently portray your services to your reader.

It’s easy to get stuck in the trap of providing only the bare minimum when it comes to content. However, Google’s Panda algorithm update demerits thin web material and rewards more substantive web pages.

300 words is a reasonable word count for a product description as it provides enough space to give necessary details and other information that is useful for the reader, such as customer reviews. However, descriptions over 450 words may lose the reader’s attention, causing them to move on from your page.

Avoid Duplicate Content!

In the same way we should avoid low-quality material, we should also avert duplicate content as well. Duplicate content occurs when you copy text from another source for your product description.

While using previously published content is much easier than creating your own, Google places a hefty penalty on these web pages. As a result, Google ends up indexing the original content rather than yours, removing any benefit of the copied work.

Many e-commerce companies tend to use the manufacturer’s official product description. Even though this is an easy way of depicting your item, many other companies in your market will also use it, thus becoming duplicate content and subject to penalty.

Another problem occurs when your company’s motto or biographic snippet appears on several pages on your site. This is a problem with e-commerce sites because of the many pages involved with an online store. Since you have to write product descriptions for each item, it is easy to repeat phrasing due to the page quantity.

Let Your Content Sell

When working with e-commerce, quality content is critical to improving your search rankings and ultimately, generating more sales. Don’t slack when writing product descriptions, as they may be the only way to truly persuade your visitors to your brand.

Your customers need to know why your product is better than your competitor’s version, so swing their research in your favor by providing the right information to make the sale. As a result, you will pull more readers in, improving your rankings and conversion rates.

By: Blair Sanders