How to Write Great Product Descriptions

There's no doubt that, on the web, a thousand words is worth quite a bit more than a picture! At least, that maxim holds true when one things of search engine optimization. While shoppers love images, search engines love words. The problem is that writing good product copy is time-consuming, and, for some of us, downright difficult.

Many of us sell products that aren't unique to our website. The products you sell - toys, kitchen supplies, home decor, etc. - may also be carried by a number of other retailers. Often, the manufacturers of these products offer canned product descriptions for use on the web. Although the quality of the writing of these descriptions may range from poor to excellent, keep in mind that even the most well-written descriptions, if used by other sites, may have less value to the search engines than copywriting that is both unique and compelling.

Remember that the best product descriptions have the following values:

1. They are unique to your website
2. They are keyword-dense for SEO purposes, but above all, read well for human visitors
3. They are long enough to convey the information needed to make a purchase decision
4. They are simple enough for people to understand without thinking too hard

One of the resources we love is 73 Ways to Describe a Widget. This ebook helps jump-start your brain when you need to figure out how to describe what you're selling. For example:

• What occasion is the item appropriate for?
• How will the buyer feel when using your product?
• How long has this item been selling selling?

Another website that has a lot of useful information about copywriting is Marketing Words. In fact, that's how I found out about the 73 widgets ebook. There's also a nice article at Vitamin.

However, it helps to also keep it simple. Don't forget the basics: color, size, weight, texture, materials, skills required to use the product, advantages, and uses. Remember that it's the words on your site that attract the search engines and also convince users to make a purchase.