How to Write Persuasive Product Descriptions in 4 Easy Steps

There are a lot of factors that go into making sales online (a great user experience, fair pricing, enticing images, and more), but your product description is a major player in this process and shouldn’t be ignored or rushed through.

Yes, the fine art of seducing your buyers is done not only through the images you use but through your words. So pour yourself a glass of wine (optional), and let’s talk about how to write product descriptions that will score you those sales!

Write SEO-Friendly Product Descriptions

Product descriptions can make or break your sales. They need to be SEO-friendly, descriptive, and filled with all of the crucial details that will help consumers make their decision.

But if you can also make them fun to read and persuasive, you are much more likely to seal the deal. Here’s how to write product descriptions that will help you show up in search engines and persuade consumers to buy.

Step 1: Determine Your Keywords

You may not realize it, but the words you use in your product titles and descriptions can mean the difference between coming up in search results and getting buried. Determining which keywords to use is easy, so don’t be intimidated by this process. You can use an affordable keyword tool like WriterZen or SurferSEO to conduct basic research.

Example Keyword Research

For example, say you want to write a product description for dog treats.

You’d type ‘dog treats’ into your chosen keyword tool to find out how many average monthly searches it gets, but you don’t want to stop there. ‘Dog treats’ gets over 33,000 searches a month but has high competition for coming up in search results, which means you are unlikely to ever rank for this term.

But if you add ‘homemade’ to that and search homemade dog treats, you’ll see it gets over 22,000 searches per month and has a slightly less difficulty score than “dog treats” alone. But with all of that competition, it’s unlikely a small business would break through the search results to come up high on Page 1 of Google.

So, you can still do better by getting even more specific. If you research the long-tail keyword of dog treats with pumpkin, you get 6,600 average monthly searches with a medium difficulty score.

Now, what happens if you type in the long-tail keyword of homemade pumpkin dog treats? You get lower searches, yes, (1,900 average monthly), but that can actually be a good thing because now you’ve also got low competition, making it much more likely that this specific product will be found when people who are looking for that exact item are searching for it.

This is why you’d want to use the long-tail keyword of homemade pumpkin dog treats in your product description and title rather than something broader, like dog treats.

Use Long-Tail Keywords to Target Niche Shoppers

If you go through this process for each product you have (we promise, it’s pretty fast), you’ll see improved traffic flow coming into your online store or e-commerce site from the various search engines.

You’ll want to use the main keyword “Homemade Pumpkin Dog Treats” as your product title and use it again once in the description. You might use another, say, “gluten-free dog treats,” or something like it in the description as well, but remember that the content must sound natural and flow smoothly.

Warning: If you’re tempted to put your keyword into your description 10 times because you think it’ll get you the number 1 spot on page 1 of Google, don’t do it. It’ll never happen because this is called ‘keyword stuffing,’ and Google penalizes for that, but it will also turn off anyone who reads it, practically guaranteeing you lost sales.

Step 2: Write Down the Specifics

When you’re writing content for each product, think carefully about the specifics that should be included. Basically, include every important detail a customer would want to know instead of leaving it to chance that they’d actually contact you for more details.

Leaving out that a shirt is made of wool or that a painting was done on metal rather than a linen canvas are details that can cost you a sale — or frustrate a buyer who did not realize these things prior to making a purchase.

Ask yourself the following questions when learning how to write product descriptions that’ll help you get more sales:

• What exactly is my product? (Refer back to the keywords you researched in step one.)
• What materials is it made of?
• What process was used to make it?
• What colors does it come in?
• How is it used?
• Who is it best for?
• What sizes does it come in?
• What are the dimensions?
• Is it customizable?
• What makes it unique or special?
• How does what I offer stand out from competitors?
• Will I offer a warranty or money-back guarantee?

Step 3: Include Power Words

Now that you’ve got your keyword(s) and you know what specifics must be included, it’s time to put them all together into a brief, yet damn-good, product description. And, no, simply writing “Red T-shirt” or “Toy for dog” does not fall under the category of “damn good.”

Take some time to make your descriptions sound, well, descriptive. After all, you’ve got to first sell that buyer on your product before you’ll actually make the sale. Including a couple power words can help jazz up your content. For example, a “head-turning black dress” sounds better than simply saying, “black dress.”

Here is a small list of power words to help you write product descriptions that will entice web visitors to buy:

Step 4: Proof and Test

Always run your product descriptions through a spell-check program before setting them live. Typos can make your business seem less credible and less professional, which can cost sales. Never give a prospective customer a reason to take their business elsewhere.

Grammarly has a free version that is perfect for checking product descriptions, blog posts, and more to help you catch typos and basic grammar issues before they’re live on your site.

If you have someone who would read your descriptions for you (someone impartial would be best), have them go through them carefully and rate them. Was any information missing? Did they find any typos? How persuasive was the content? Was it too long/too short/too boring?

Having this insight can mean the difference between a customer hitting ‘add to cart’ or navigating away into the vast black hole of the internet, never to be seen again. But, don’t worry too much — if you follow the four steps above, you’ll be on your way to writing damn-good product descriptions in no time at all!

Sell More by Improving Your Product Descriptions

If you want to learn how to write product descriptions that will persuade your target audience to buy, this four-step guide will help. Start with long-tail keywords that will help your product or service show up high in search results, add in all the specifics a prospective buyer would want to know to eliminate doubt, use power words that make your product seem more desirable, and proofread to ensure your work is error-free.

This formula is a surefire way to boost your online sales and gain the trust of your target audience. Once your product descriptions are live, create a strategy to promote your online shop to ensure a steady stream of customers comes your way year-round.

Read More

• 12 Easy Ways to Improve Your Content Marketing Skills
• How to Know if Your Marketing Is Working: A Guide for Business Owners