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How to write compelling product description copy for your e-store - The SEO Factor

Written by Marco Conti Tuesday, 09 March 2010 13:47

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How to write compelling product description copy for your e-store
The SEO Factor
Don't use the manufacturer description
make my copy better
Watch your word count
SEO
Read, Edit, Spell
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The SEO Factor

In the catalog business, the copy has to entice buyers to buy the product. That's entirely true for web copy as well, but web copy has to work harder: It has to make itself found first.  You facilitate that by weaving the necessary keywords or key-phrases (a.k.a search-phrases) that a potential buyer or anyone interested in what the product does may be searching for.

I consider that job number one in Product Description Copywriting (note the key-phrase in the previous sentence). Before even starting to write your copy, collect your store's keywords and key-phrases and then add to the list the key-phrases related to the specific product you are writing about.

In order to weave them in the description, you have to think "how would someone search for this product"? Then make the resulting question into a statement to incorporate in the description.

Imagine you sell doorstops. How would you phrase your search in Google, Yahoo or any of the search engines? Would you search for: "Doorstop"? Very likely. But some, to broaden the search or lacking the right terminology, may search for "The 'thing' used to stop doors from opening all the way".
In that case, somewhere in your product description you want to weave that search phrase in a way that does not look too much out of place in the flow of the copy.

The Stop-o-Matic is the greatest doorstop ever produced. Whenever you all looking for a doorstop the Stop-o-Matic it's the right thing to keep your door from opening all the way."
OK, maybe I am exaggerating a bit and this sample is far from optimal, but you get the drift.

If SEO is a mystery to you, I suggest you beef up on it before you go ahead and start writing too much copy. You really need to understand the basics before you can get crafty enough at it to be able to optimize individual pages or products.