When it comes the retail industry and consumer shopping habits, we’ve reached a point where many people only buy online. This comes as no surprise however, especially when you look at the three main reasons why: it’s more convenient, there’s a bigger selection, and discounts are everywhere. As you can see, it’s not difficult to see the benefits. But with these perks comes two major downfalls that online-retailers will never be able to change. The competition online is everywhere, not just the store across the street. And more importantly, buyers cannot touch, try on or test products before they buy online. So how can businesses prove their products are better than the rest when buyers are not physically in stores to compare?
Create Unique Product Descriptions
It’s more common than not that businesses use product descriptions provided by the manufacturer. And if everyone is using the same copy, no one stands out. Use the generic content as a guide to rewrite new product descriptions that have unique selling points. Don’t hesitate to include some extra meat—longer descriptions are fine! Remember, lengthier content means more information for search engine spiders to crawl and index. It also allows you to incorporate keywords in smoothly.
Keep in mind that customers reading product descriptions are far more interested about what’s in it for them, not necessarily all the technicalities the product includes. For example, say your company sells bedding. A bullet point that describes a sheet set to be “600 thread count,” is important, but bland. Add a perk about the thread count such as “soft, comfortable and provides better sleep.” This will get your customers more interested in trying out those sheets!
To really influence potential shoppers into buying a product, get creative with adjectives and avoid meaningless filler. Descriptive words such as “innovative” and “world-class” are used so often online, that they’ve lost their original effect. Give customers the information they need in the clearest way possible so they understand what they’re looking at. Use sensory and emotional words, and make your readers feel something! And if you cannot think of another word to use, Thesaurus.com is the synonym bible. Don’t go overboard on your adjectives though – stick with no more than two describing words per noun.
Include Customer Reviews
Online shopping goes hand-in-hand with sharing reviews about a product. According to Search Engine Land, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Some even read up to a dozen reviews to make sure the product is right for them. Including these on your product pages will prevent potential buyers from leaving your site to find reviews somewhere else. Providing customer reviews for products not only builds trust in your eCommerce website, it also improves user experience and SEO. Search Engine Land also shares that 72% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a business more. Sending a follow-up email about a week or two after the product is delivered is a great way to encourage customers to come back and leave feedback. And because their on your website again, who knows, it might lead to another sale!
Optimize with Metadata Templates
If you want to rank high in search results, SEO optimization is key. More than 60% of searchers choose the first three organic positions on the first page of results. So how do you get your website to rank that high? Metadata is a good place to start. The purpose of providing metadata is to answer one basic question: “What is this page about?” If a page isn’t optimized, search engines will create their own metatags based off that page’s content. And more often than not, they don’t get it right!
Providing quality metatdata can be a tricky depending on the size of a business. It’s a much more feasible to write quality title tags and descriptions for relatively smaller eCommerce sites. But when a company has hundreds (or even thousands) of pages, other priorities take the front seat and SEO goes out the door. To ensure every page is optimized correctly, a fast yet effective option is to create metadata templates that can be used throughout the site. For example, a company that sells skateboard products and accessories might make a title tag that reads [KEYWORD | COMPANY NAME] and meta description says [COMPANY NAME] has the most [KEYWORD] in stock online from all the top skateboard brands. So whether a page lists all skateboard decks or wheels, the metadata is generic enough to make sense and includes the product (keyword) users are looking for. The same type of template can be used for eCommerce sites that have brand pages. Simply substitute in [BRAND NAME | COMPANY NAME] and something like [Shop the largest selection of [BRAND NAME] online at [COMPANY NAME].
Make Customers Choose Your eCommerce Site Every Time
Online shopping is a gigantic world filled with every type of business imaginable. No two companies will use the same tactics because they have a plan that’s unique to their goals. If you want your eCommerce site to be a trusted resource with a growing, loyal customer base, contact Sage Island. We’ll evaluate your website and develop a plan to optimize your website for an unparalleled user experience.