product description bigcommerce
June 28, 2023

How to Write BigCommerce Product Descriptions: Examples & Best Practices

Article at-a-glance: 

- Understanding your target audience is crucial before writing product descriptions. Tailoring descriptions to match their preferences and speaking their language can make them more engaging and persuasive.
 
- Highlighting unique selling points (USPs) of your products helps differentiate them from the competition and capture the interest of potential customers.

- Using persuasive language and evoking emotions encourages customers to take action. 

- Providing clear and concise information about products, including key details and specifications, helps customers make informed decisions.

- Incorporating social proof, such as reviews, star ratings, and user-generated content, builds trust and credibility with customers.

- Implementing these strategies can boost sales for BigCommerce store owners.


How much time do you spend making sure what you’re about to buy online is the BEST choice?

Think of the research you conducted and the detailed product descriptions you scrutinized just to avoid buying the wrong products. Now imagine how your customers would buy products online if they followed the same approach.

You can simplify their shopping experience by optimizing your product descriptions.

Product descriptions are one of the key components of online sales, as they capture potential customers and provide valuable insights into the products they are purchasing. You can influence your customers’ buying decisions by using persuasive descriptions.

For anyone running a BigCommerce store, knowing how to write compelling and effective product copy is essential. Here are some tips on how to write BigCommerce product descriptions:

1. Understand Your Target Audience

Before you start writing product descriptions, first understand your target audience. Think about the who, what, when, where, why, and how before writing. Consider their demographics, interests, and needs.

Tailor your descriptions to match the preferences of your target audience. This will help you create a more engaging and persuasive message.

Let’s say you’re selling high-end fashion accessories. In this case, your target audience might want descriptions that emphasize luxury. They might also want the description to mention quality materials and craftsmanship.

Now pretend you’re selling budget-friendly electronics. Now, you might want to focus on affordability, functionality, and value for money. These terms may resonate more with your audience.

Write with your buyer personas in mind and speak in your customer’s own language.

2. Highlight Unique Selling Points

When writing BigCommerce product descriptions, be sure to highlight unique selling points (USPs). What sets your products apart from the competition? Is it the sleek design or the innovative features?

Clearly describe the unique selling points, main features, and benefits of your products.

Whatever it may be, clearly communicate these USPs. This will help you capture the interest of potential customers.

For instance, if you’re selling a smartphone, you could highlight its exceptional camera quality or long-lasting battery life.

You could also mention its advanced security features. Use specific and concise language to make your product stand out in a crowded market.

3. Use Persuasive Language & Emotional Appeal

First, make sure you’re providing factual information. Next, make an effort to evoke emotions with your product descriptions. They should persuade your customers to take action.

Channel your inner sales agent and use persuasive language that taps into the desires of your target audience.

For example, think about how you’d sell skincare products.

You might start by simply stating that a skincare product moisturizes the skin. But you can actually describe it differently.

You might say it’s a “luxurious solution that leaves your skin feeling rejuvenated.” This type of language creates a more compelling narrative.

It also entices customers to visualize the benefits of using your product.

4. Optimize for Search Engines

Product descriptions should appeal to human readers. That said, they should also take search engines into account. So, incorporate relevant keywords in your titles and descriptions.

These are words that potential customers might use when searching for your product. Keywords will improve your search engine rankings and increase the visibility of your products online.

If you’re selling organic dog treats, you would include keywords such as “healthy dog treats,” or “natural pet snacks.”

Be mindful to not overstuff keywords when optimizing your product descriptions. Overstuffing can make the description sound unnatural and spammy.

To optimize your product descriptions, I’d recommend you take the following steps:

  • use an SEO-optimized URL structure
  • edit your metadata and include meta descriptions and page titles
  • add category descriptions
  • include relevant hyper-targeted keywords
  • make your copy short and sweet

It’s important to note that Google rewrite and creates its own meta descriptions 70% of the time, so pay more attention to the first few sentences of your BigCommerce product descriptions. They should be compelling and informative.

Besides, you can check out the BigCommerce control panel, where you can find various fields and recommendations for entering SEO information, such as keywords and metadata.

5. Provide Clear & Concise Information

It’s also crucial to provide clear and concise information about your products.

Make sure to include key details like product dimensions, materials, colors, and any other relevant specifications.

If you’re selling clothing, include size charts and measurements. This information will help customers make informed decisions.

When writing your product descriptions, think about the customer, not the product. Set a scene and anticipate customer questions.

If you have a picture of a model wearing the clothing, you should tell people the size of the clothing the model is wearing and the model’s height. This will help people picture themselves in your clothes. 

For technical products, provide specifications such as processor speed, storage capacity, and compatibility.

The more information you provide, the easier it is for customers to decide on the product. You can store and organize your product information in platforms like IceCat or KatanaPim.

6. Use Visuals to Enhance Descriptions

A picture is worth a thousand words. In e-commerce, visuals play a vital role in product descriptions.

Include high-quality product images or videos. These should showcase the product from different angles. They should also highlight its features, or show its use.

Visuals can enhance your product descriptions. They provide a visual representation of what you’re describing. You won’t have to describe the product using 100 words if you can simply show a picture or graphic.

When customers can visualize the product, it increases the likelihood of the customer buying the product.

7. Incorporate Social Proof & Reviews

Social proof is a powerful tool for building trust and credibility. So, incorporate it whenever you can. You can find social proof in reviews, star ratings, and user-generated content like videos and pictures.

If you’ve received some positive reviews in the past, use the language from those reviews in your product description. If your users have shared videos or images of them using the product, make sure it’s easy for customers to find those pictures and videos.

People tend to trust product users more than they trust the brand. You can leverage this by bringing user-generated content into your product descriptions whenever possible. 

8. Format Your Product Descriptions to Make Them More Readable & Mobile-Friendly

For your store to enjoy higher conversions and sales, your product descriptions should be easy to read, informative, and engaging.

Format your BigCommerce product descriptions with headers, add bullet points, and write concise paragraphs to enhance readability and mobile friendliness.

To accomplish that, you can follow the following best practices:

  • Take advantage of the white space on the page; don’t overwhelm your pages
  • Break down your copy with headers into short descriptive paragraphs to make them easier to read on mobile devices
  • Use bullet points to list features and benefits
  • Avoid long and complex sentences
  • Incorporate storytelling in some of your sections
  • Keep the descriptions under 300 words

No matter what, always make sure that the product descriptions on BigCommerce are consistent with your brand voice.

Revolutionize Your eCommerce Strategy & Boost Your Conversations & Sales with Content Marketing

Now that you’re familiar with some of the top tips for BigCommerce product descriptions, you’re ready to write your own. Test different versions of your product descriptions to see which ones will resonate better with your target audience and will lead to the highest conversions.

Remember to be informative, descriptive, and evoke emotion. Be sure to read through the rest of the articles on our website to learn more about eCommerce best practices.

Check out our case studies to discover how eCommerce brands dominate their niches and drive sales with content marketing.

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