So you want to write a product description that sells? We hear you. Writing Amazon product descriptions can be a challenge, but with the right approach and structure, it doesn’t have to be.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to take your Amazon product descriptions from “meh” to “magnificent.” We’ll walk you through everything from keyword research and optimizing for SEO, to writing punchy copy that converts browsers into buyers.
Whether you’re writing Amazon product descriptions for the first time or trying to level up your existing content, this guide will give you an arsenal of tips and tricks for crafting captivating text that will draw in customers and make them want to click ‘Add to Cart.’ Let’s get started!
What are Amazon product descriptions?
Amazon product descriptions are concise, informative sections found on Amazon product listings that provide potential customers with important details about the items being sold. These descriptions serve to highlight key features, benefits, and unique selling points of the products, allowing customers to make informed purchasing decisions. A well-crafted product description can be influential in convincing potential buyers to choose one product over another, ultimately contributing to increased sales and positive reviews for the seller.
The importance of Amazon product descriptions
Amazon product descriptions are important for several reasons:
1. Inform customers: They provide potential buyers with essential details about the product, such as its features, benefits, and unique selling points. This helps customers make informed decisions and increases the likelihood of a purchase.
2. Increase conversions: A well-written product description can persuade potential customers to choose your product over competitors' offerings. By addressing customers' needs and desires, a compelling description can boost sales and improve conversion rates.
3. Improve search rankings: An SEO-optimized product description can improve your product's visibility on Amazon's search results by incorporating relevant keywords and phrases. This increases the chances of potential buyers finding your product while browsing or searching on Amazon.
4. Reduce returns: Accurate and detailed product descriptions can reduce the number of returns and negative reviews, as customers will have a clear understanding of the product before purchasing. This can positively impact your seller reputation and lead to better overall performance on the platform.
5. Enhance brand image: A well-crafted product description reflects your brand's professionalism and commitment to quality. It helps establish trust with potential customers and contributes to a positive overall shopping experience.
How to Write a Great Amazon Product Description
When it comes to writing stellar Amazon product descriptions, there is a method to the madness. Break down a great product description into 3 key categories: Benefits-Focused, Reader-Centric, and Readability-Centric.
1. Benefits-Focused
Focus on the benefits of your product or service even more than its features. People generally don’t care about the technical aspects of a product—they care about what it can do for them. Make sure you state the value your customers will derive from using your product or service, and how it makes their lives easier.
2, Speak to Your Buyers
Your buyers are looking for helpful information that addresses their needs and concerns before they purchase your product. Make sure you’re speaking directly to them and anticipating the questions they have while they browse various options online. Offer detailed and accurate answers in a direct yet engaging manner.
3. Make Your Product Descriptions Readable
Break up large blocks of text with lists, add visuals if necessary and ensure that all relevant information is included in an easy-to read format. If a customer can quickly scan through a page and instantly understand what you’re offering them, you’re more likely to make a sale!
4. Optimize Your Product Title
Your product title is one of the most important parts of your Amazon product listing. It should accurately describe the item, include the relevant keywords, and include any brand names or other identifying information. To ensure your title stands out, make sure it's concise and easy to read. Avoid using all caps as this can be difficult to read, and try to avoid using punctuation when possible. Additionally, keep your title within the 50-character limit so that it will be displayed in its entirety on Amazon's search results page.
Amazon’s Beginners Guide for sellers stipulates the product title to be 200 characters max, with capitalization on the first letter of every word.
5. Write a Compelling Product Summary
When you're writing great Amazon product descriptions, you'll want to craft a compelling product summary.
This is your chance to get the attention of potential customers and give them a sense of what to expect when they purchase your product. Here are a few tips for writing an effective summary:
- Focus on the benefits of your product: What can it do for the customer? How will it make their life easier?
- Keep it succinct: Remember, you don’t have much time or space to capture their attention, so keep it short and sweet.
- Use strong words: Paint a picture of the must-have item that they need in their lives.
- Add unique selling points: Showcase what sets your product apart from the competition, like extra features or special discounts they won't get anywhere else.
- Include CTA's: Get your readers to take action and buy your product with relevant calls-to-action like “Buy Now” or “Learn More”.
Your product summary should be captivating and informative—so make sure it packs a punch!
6. Focus on Benefits in the Bulleted List
As you know, an Amazon product description should be detailed and persuasive. For that reason, consider including a bulleted list of benefits in your product descriptions. It’s easy to go overboard here, but it’s important to remember that only the most impressive features should make the cut.
For example, let's say you're writing a product description for a voice-activated home security system. Possible benefits that can be highlighted in the bulleted list include:
- 24/7 monitoring: provide your family with round-the-clock safety and peace of mind
- Easy installation: as no wiring is required, you can install the system yourself in minutes
- Voice activation: conveniently control your security system with just your voice
- Remote access: use any compatible device to monitor and adjust your system from anywhere
Taking the time to craft an effective bulleted list will make it easier for potential customers to appreciate exactly what makes your product so great. As long as you keep it short and sweet, readers should be left both impressed and eager to hit the “buy” button!
7. Use Persuasive and Descriptive Words in the Description
You've done the hard work of researching and crafting the perfect product description for your Amazon listing—now it's time to load it up with persuasive words to really make it stand out. Using keywords and phrases that describe your product in detail, as well as words that encourage visitors to take action can go a long way towards boosting conversions.
Here are some ideas for types of words and phrases you can add to your description:
- Descriptive: words like vibrant, precise, waterproof, lightweight, etc.
- Persuasive: words like must-have, unbeatable, effortless, incredible, etc.
- Comparative: words like better than ever, superior quality, improved design, etc.
- Benefits: words like long lasting charge time or hassle-free setup.
These types of words can make your description not only more descriptive but also more inspiring and engaging. You want readers to be able to see themselves actually using the product and its features—this will help to sell the product in a way that simple features don't always accomplish. By using persuasive and descriptive language in your descriptions you will be more successful at selling more products on Amazon!
8. Include Relevant Specifications and Dimensions
For the shopper on Amazon, product specifications and measurements make all the difference when it comes to making a purchase. Having this kind of detailed information gives the customer greater confidence in what they're buying, and makes them feel much better about their decision.
So how can you make sure that you include all relevant information? Here's what to keep in mind:
- Make sure you have all the correct product specifications and the right measurements—both metric and imperial units—so that there is no confusion.
- Include any material or component information (e.g. no assembly needed) that could help a customer understand if it’s suitable for their particular needs.
- Point out any special features or highlights that could be of use or importance to buyers, such as unique design elements, comfort levels, or safety/security features.
- Try using visuals to accompany any descriptions of size or shape—high-quality images make all the difference when customers are trying to get an idea of how an item looks in person.
By taking the time to include accurate specifications and dimensions in your product descriptions, customers will have a much better understanding of what they’re buying—ensuring a more successful outcome for your business in the long run!
💡 If you're still not sure where to start, it may be a good idea to enlist the help of a product descriptions generator. Sign up for a free Hypotenuse account and give it a whirl!
What Not to do When Writing Amazon Product Descriptions
Now that you know the right techniques for writing a killer Amazon product description, let's talk about what not to do.
1. Keyword Stuffing
The first and most important thing is to avoid keyword stuffing. Keywords are still important for SEO, but cramming too many of them into your description makes it look unappealing and can hurt your chances of ranking. Instead, use keywords sparingly throughout your copy, and focus on creating an interesting and engaging narrative.
2. Compare Your Product With Your Competitors
When you're writing a product description, resist the urge to compare your product with your competitors' offerings. Doing so can make it seem like you don't trust the quality of your own product, giving customers the wrong impression before they've even tried it out. Stick to the facts about why customers should purchase from you and leave out any mention of your competition.
3. Promote Your Website
When adding a product description to Amazon, it’s also important to resist the urge to include any links or promotional information about your website. Instead, focus on creating an informative and engaging product description that will give customers a good idea of what they’ll be purchasing and leave any external links or promotions to your webpage or store to other parts of Amazon.
4. Write Long Descriptions
When it comes to product descriptions, it’s important to strike a balance between giving customers enough information to make an informed purchase and not overwhelming them with a description that's too long. Aim for descriptions that are concise, yet informative, and that accurately represent the product without going into too much detail. Keep in mind that customers likely won’t read through an entire product description that’s too long, so make sure you’re getting your message across in a concise and engaging way.
5. Promise the Moon
Finally, don't make promises that your product can't keep. Offering too many features or benefits that sound too good to be true will only lead to disappointment and bad reviews. Instead, stay honest and realistic in your description, and focus on highlighting truly exceptional features or characteristics that you can back up with proof.
Increase conversion rates using Amazon’s Features
Did you know that, by using Amazon’s Enhanced Brand Content (EBC) feature, you can increase your conversion rates? EBC allows you to customize your product description with enhanced images, comparison charts, and videos—all of which help engage the customer better than plain text.
When writing a stellar product description, it’s important to remember that Amazon has a strict character limit. EBC helps you bypass this limitation and allows you to put in as much content as necessary to provide customers with the clarity they need when making buying decisions.
Adding a detailed FAQ section at the end of your product description is also a great idea. This will give customers insight into common questions that arise and help them make an informed decision about the product they’re considering. At the same time, FAQs also provide much needed clarity to potential customers who are unfamiliar with what they are buying.
Optimize for Amazon’s SEO Algorithm
When optimizing your product descriptions, keep Amazon’s SEO algorithm in mind. Amazon’s algorithm looks at relevance and performance when ranking products and pages, so the words you use in your product descriptions should reflect that.
Keywords
Using the right keywords is essential for Amazon SEO. Research to find out which terms your target customers are using and incorporate them into your product descriptions. Additionally, consider using synonyms and related terms to capture all possible search queries that users may be using to research or purchase items related to yours.
Backend Search Terms
In addition to including keywords in your product descriptions, it’s also important to use Amazon's backend search terms. While these don’t appear on the actual listing, they do help Amazon’s algorithm understand what your products are about and helps them rank better in specific searches.
Remember that 44% of product searches begin on Amazon, so it’s crucial for brands to get their description right if they want their products to be seen by their target market!
Amazon Product Description Guidelines
When it comes to writing product descriptions for Amazon, the rules are simple and straightforward. You just need to focus on providing the customer with all the necessary information about the product and nothing else.
Amazon Quick Start Style Guide
Amazon’s Quick Start Style Guide provides guidelines for product listing pages, including titles, descriptions, images, and bullet points.
Be sure to avoid the following when listing products on Amazon:
- All types of code, excluding line breaks (</br>)
- Sharing contact details, URLs, pricing, product conditions or availability
- Spoilers, reviews, quotes, dates, and testimonials
- Watermarks, borders, drawings, animations, or text on product images
- Backgrounds other than white for your images
- Images featuring items sold separately without their own listing
- Titles exceeding 200 characters, using all caps (except initial letters), special characters, or promotion/product popularity references.
Refer to the Amazon guide for the full list of guidelines!
Conclusion
As you can see, there are some clear-cut strategies you can use to write great product descriptions for Amazon. These include optimizing your titles for search results, using persuasive power words, utilizing customer reviews, and focusing on the benefits of the product, rather than its features.
Make sure to follow these guidelines when you're writing product descriptions, and you'll be on your way to creating Amazon product descriptions that stand out from the competition. By doing so, you can maximize the visibility of your product, and make sure shoppers can find and purchase it with ease.
Pro Tip: Enlist the help of a Product Descriptions Generator
You might have heard about Hypotenuse AI, an AI content marketing platform that offers solutions for automating a range of content creation needs. One of the tools we offer is a product description generator that can write descriptions in bulk. Experience what it can do for free here!
