The Ultimate Guide to Optimising Shopify Product Descriptions for Search

With the ecommerce landscape being more competitive than ever, doing the work to stand out from the crowd is critical if you want more free traffic. Optimising your Shopify product descriptions is an easy, yet powerful way to attract more customers, improve search engine rankings, and boost conversion rates.

Well-crafted product descriptions not only engage potential buyers but also provide essential information that influences purchasing decisions. By leveraging effective SEO strategies, AI tools, and optimisation techniques for both text and voice search, you can transform your product listings into compelling, high-performing assets that drive sales and enhance your brand’s visibility.

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If your products aren’t showing up with a quick Google search, you’re missing out on loads of potential customers.

If your product is on page 3, you may not get any organic (free) traffic at all.

The top 2 or 3 results get most of the traffic and the numbers plummet after that. Many people never get past the first page.

Ideally, you want to get your products showing up at the top of page one, but you’ll want to be on page one no matter what.

To do that, you need a plan, and you need everyone in your team to buy into it.

The great thing is, if you run an ecommerce store you have a huge opportunity.

Get the formula right for optimising your product descriptions and you can implement it across every product on your website.

Yes, it’s a bit of work to set up, but the graft will pay off and will set you apart from the crowd.

Focus on Benefits and Unique Touches

Shopify’s Ivan Kreimer says that there are two problems with most online stores’ product descriptions:

1. They focus on their features, not their benefits
2. They are simply boring and unappealing

So there’s a huge opportunity for you to engage your visitors with more persuasive and informative copy.

In the product description, you need to think beyond the features and start selling the benefits.

A common mistake is to simply copy and paste the manufacturer’s product descriptions. Don’t do that.

Instead, give your descriptions a more personal and unique touch.

Original sales copy will stand out and since many sites will use generic product descriptions, you’ll be rewarded with a better position in the search results.

Write informative and persuasive product descriptions and you’ll not only start to see better rankings but you’ll see increased conversions as well.

If all the info a customer needs to make a purchase decision is on your page, they don’t need to click away. That means they’re more likely to click that ‘buy now’ button.

Multiply this approach across all your product pages and you can make a real impact.

Exciting isn’t it. With just a few tweaks to your existing process, you can start increasing sales.

• Benefits Over Features: Highlight how the product improves the customer’s life rather than just listing features.
• Engaging Copy: Avoid boring, generic descriptions. Use persuasive language to capture interest.
• Original Content: Steer clear of copying manufacturer descriptions. Unique descriptions improve SEO and user engagement.

So where do you start?

Optimising Titles and Tags

There are 3 elements that need the most attention when optimising product pages for the search engines. They are:

1. Page title tag (max 60 characters) and meta description
2. H1 tag
3. Image alt and image title tags

In some ecommerce platforms, title tags may be generated automatically by merging the brand and product name fields.

You need to introduce keywords into these tags.

Think about how customers search for products and try to include those search terms in the product name.

In our experience, many ecommerce companies are really poor doing this. So you’ll have a big advantage over any competitors who are just copying and pasting their descriptions.

For example, Burton Snowboards supply a jacket called the Men’s Burton Sylus. So you might want to include the keywords ‘snowboard’ and ‘jacket’ in the title. That way you’re going to appeal to a much broader set of longtail search terms. The product title becomes Men’s Burton Sylus Snowboard Jacket.

When you’re in retail, it’s easy to get so close to the product that you forget that ordinary people will search using simple generic keywords. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and remember that great French expression ‘call a cat a cat’.

To help you choose high performing keywords, use Google Instant or a keyword tool like Ubersuggest

Please note: The title tag can be a maximum of 66 characters long (including the automatically generated price) so you need to be concise. Longer than this and the clickable link in the search engine results pages will be trimmed. Use the =LEN formula in Excel if unsure.

Optimal title length; Google typically displays the first 50-60 characters of a title tag. If you keep your titles under 60 characters, our research suggests that you can expect about 90% of your titles to display properly.

Don’t forget to add Alt text to your images

According to the popular Shopify SEO app, Booster SEO, over 10% of Google searches are performed within the Image Search tab. That’s huge and presents you with a massive opportunity to get incrementally more organic traffic. All you have to do is make sure you add keyword optimised Alt text to your images.

The Booster SEO app includes a tool to sync your product title with the Alt text of your main product image. Use it and make sure your images show up in the search results.

• Page Title Tags: Incorporate relevant keywords, keeping titles under 60 characters for optimal display.
• H1 Tags: Ensure they are descriptive and keyword-rich.
• Image Alt and Title Tags: Use keywords to enhance SEO and accessibility.
• Excel Formula: Use =LEN in Excel to check character count.

Think about your Keywords

A robust keyword strategy is essential for optimising Shopify product descriptions. Start by identifying keywords that your target audience is likely to use when searching for your products. These should be simple, generic terms that are easy to understand. Tools like Google Instant and Ubersuggest can help in discovering high-performing keywords relevant to your products.

Once identified, incorporate these keywords naturally into your product titles, descriptions, and meta tags. This approach not only improves search engine rankings but also ensures that your products appear in more relevant search results, driving targeted traffic to your store.

• Customer-Centric Terms: Use simple, generic keywords that your customers are likely to use.
• Tools for Keywords: Use tools like Google Instant and Ubersuggest to find high-performing keywords.

AI and Automation

Leveraging AI and automation can dramatically speed up the efficiency and effectiveness of your Shopify SEO efforts. AI-powered tools, such as ChatGPT, can be used to generate optimised product descriptions, title tags, and meta descriptions. These tools are designed to ensure consistency, SEO friendliness, and high engagement rates by producing high-quality content tailored to your target audience.

Additionally, AI-driven solutions can automate the updating process, keeping your product descriptions current with the latest SEO trends and customer feedback. This proactive approach saves time and ensures your product listings remain competitive and relevant in the ever-changing ecommerce landscape.

• AI-Powered Tools: Use AI tools like ChatGPT to generate optimised product descriptions, title tags, and meta descriptions. You can even use AI to perform keyword research. In the past, you may have spent the time to optimise the top 10% of your product catalogue. Now, with the help of AI, you can make sure your whole site is SEO-friendly.
• Automation for Updates: Implement AI-driven solutions to keep your product descriptions updated with the latest SEO trends and customer feedback.

Optimising for Voice Search

Optimising for voice search involves creating content that is conversational yet concise, reflecting the natural way people speak when using voice-activated devices. This means using more natural language and long-tail keywords that mirror everyday speech patterns.

Structured data is essential for voice search optimisation as it helps search engines understand and index your content more effectively, increasing the likelihood of being featured in voice search results.

Additionally, creating content that answers frequently asked questions directly can significantly improve your chances of being selected as a voice search result.

By anticipating and addressing common customer queries within your product descriptions, you not only enhance user experience but also boost your SEO performance for voice searches.

• Conversational Keywords: Integrate natural, conversational keywords that people might use when speaking.
• Question Phrases: Include common questions and answers in your product descriptions to capture voice search queries.

Product Descriptions FAQ

Conclusion

If you want to grow your organic traffic, you should be aiming to rank well for searches around your product keywords. By focusing on benefits over features, using engaging and original content, and optimising your titles and tags, you can attract more customers and stand out in search results. A solid keyword strategy ensures your products are easily found, while AI and automation streamline the process, keeping your descriptions up-to-date and relevant.

Additionally, optimising for voice search by creating conversational, concise content and using structured data helps capture voice search traffic, enhancing user experience and driving more sales.

Embracing these techniques will transform your Shopify product pages into a powerful traffic driving machine that engages customers and boosts sales.