For many shoppers, buying a product online can be a terrifying idea. I'm sure, like myself, you've all had that heart-sinking feeling when your order arrives and it's completely different to how you imagined it to be. Along with your product photographs, your product descriptions are the only glimpse at your product a customer gets before they make their purchase, so it's vital that you get them right. Not only will customers be more inclined to make a purchase, but your ecommerce store will look more professional and rank higher in search engine results. Now, before you simply copy and paste the manufacturer's description or use the same generic paragraph for all of your products, take a moment to read our 9 Tips for Perfect Product Descriptions.

1. Look Before You Leap

Before you start writing your product descriptions, take a moment to sit down and think about your product. Make a list of all of its key features and plan exactly what you want to say. It may seem time consuming, but planning your product descriptions and making a concise list of features allows you to tick them off as you go; ensuring that nothing vital is missed out of the final product description. Research your target audience and make sure that you're writing in an appropriate style and tone.

2. Use Original Content

I can not stress enough how important it is for each and every product description to contain new, original content that you have written yourself. I know it can seem like a good idea to copy and paste a product description straight from the manufacturer's site, but doing this can hurt your SEO and so many companies use manufacturers' product descriptions that it's likely you'll get lost in the crowd. Instead, take a look descriptions that other people have written for your product, or similar products, and take inspiration from them.

3. Keyword Rich Content

As with any content on your website, it's important to include lots of relevant keywords in your product descriptions. Not only will this benefit your website's SEO, it will also reassure visitors that they have found the right page for the product they are looking for. It's very easy to get carried away with including keywords, however, and your product descriptions can begin to sound robotic and disjointed. Try to write naturally and make your content sound personal and friendly - a lot of the time, you will automatically use keywords without even noticing.

4. Make It Fun

The key to good product descriptions is to make them fun and exciting to read. Determine what is appropriate for your target audience and then write your product descriptions accordingly. Don't be afraid of using colloquial or informal phrases in your product descriptions if it is appropriate for your target audience, and humour is always a sure seller. Appeal to each of your customers' senses to increase their interest in the product, especially if your brand sells luxurious, indulgent products.

5. Think Like Your Customer

The easiest way to write successful product descriptions is to put yourself into your customers’ shoes. What would make you buy the product? What features are you looking for? Tell your customer everything that they’ll need to know about your product. Ask a friend to read your product descriptions and have them point out any questions that they would have as a customer or anything that isn't perfectly clear.

6. Easy To Read

Customers are often in a hurry when shopping online and won't want to waste time reading long paragraphs of text. Make your product descriptions easy to scan over by including a bullet-pointed key features list separate from your main product description. Briefly include any key information that your customers would need to know about your product; try to keep each bullet point short and concise to make it easier for your customers to quickly find out about your product.

7. Social Proof

No one would ever highlight the negative points of their products, and customers know this. It can be quite hard for customers to believe what they read in product descriptions, not matter how well written they are. Including social proof from real customers can be a very powerful asset. Whether you choose to use product reviews or links to articles where your product has been featured, having external people talk about your product can be the difference between making a sale and losing customers. It’s easy to start collecting product reviews for your ecommerce store, and there are lots of fantastic modules available on the OpenCart Extension Store which allow customers to leave reviews on your products.

8. Product Stories

Your product descriptions should be interesting and exciting to read. A great way to engage your customer is to turn your product descriptions into stories - tell them about:

• Where the product comes from
• How it was made
• Who made it
• What was the inspiration for it

Telling your product's story makes the product description feel less like a sales pitch and more like a friend telling you about a great product that they've tried. Product stories can help your products stand out from your competition and will make customers want to know more about your brand.

9. What Makes It Better?

For the vast majority of products, there are alternative - often less expensive - versions of it already available on the market. With more and more sellers taking their stores online, it's vital that you make sure that your products stand out as the very best available. Highlight what makes your product different to others and what makes it better. Talk about it's benefits and use adjectives and superlatives to reiterate your point. Make sure to include information about any deals or promotions you have, such as free delivery, to entice the customer into buying your product.

By following these 9 simple steps, you’ll quickly have perfect product descriptions that your customers will love. Combine these product descriptions with high quality product photographs and an excellent shop design, and you will very quickly see an increase in conversions and sales.