How to Create Killer Amazon Product Descriptions

Understanding Amazon’s SEO Algorithm

Amazon uses its own algorithm, known as A9, to determine rankings for product listings. Knowing what factors influence Amazon SEO will help you create targeted product listings that are more likely to get high rankings. If you’ve found yourself wondering if keywords work in Amazon product descriptions, the answer is yes. Keywords are an important component of the on-page sales content that Amazon uses to determine SERP rankings.

Like Google, Amazon doesn’t share everything about how its algorithm works. However, we do know that two of the most influential factors for Amazon SEO are

Your sales page content

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Amazon scans product descriptions, titles and subtitles for keyword-rich information about your products. Keywords used in the special “Keywords” section within Amazon also help determine rankings.

Your click-to-sales (CTS) rate

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This rate represents the number of customers who click on your product and buy it. Consider your CTS rate the most basic customer feedback A9 utilizes to rank product listings.

Of course, these two factors aren’t mutually exclusive. The better your on-page content, the more customers you’ll get to buy your products. The higher your CTS rate gets, the higher you’ll rise in first-page rankings. It’s a cyclical relationship, so remember that you’ll need to revisit and update your listings from time to time to keep that cycle going. Of course, Amazon also keeps factors such as price and stock supply in account when ranking product listings.

How to Do Amazon Keyword Research

It’s clear that you need to use keywords in your Amazon product listings, but where do you find them? A good place to start is on Amazon’s own homepage. Look at the bestsellers listed in your business category, and then read the product description for items similar to your own. Write down the terms that your competitors use to describe products.

Imagine that you sell sun hats for kids. You might find that successful sellers in this category use terms such as

• sun hats for kids,


• kids’ sun hats,


• kids’ sun hats with UV protection, or


• kids’ sun hats for boys.

You can also use a tool such as Sellics Sonar to do Amazon-specific keyword research. Enter a generic term for an item into Sonar, and the tool returns a list of the most popular keywords used for that item on Amazon. This is a great way to narrow down the keyword list that you made when you looked at your competitors’ listings. Be sure to identify both short and long-tail keywords to use in your listings.

Sonar uses a green bar system with one to five bars to rate the popularity of keywords. Five is the most popular; one is the least. If you enter a term in Sonar and you see very few green bars, try a different name for your product. This is especially important if you sell a product that goes by several different names or has regional name variations.

Remember that keyword research is never really over. Revisit and update your product listings every few months to ensure that you’re using current keywords. You should also take a look at the keywords you’re using if your product suddenly drops in Amazon rankings. Factors such as the season and product-related marketing campaigns from other brands can impact the keywords that customers use when searching for products.

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How to Write an Amazon Product Description That Sells

If you’ve done your keyword research, it’s time to start writing your product descriptions for Amazon. The primary components of an Amazon product description are

• a product title,


• bullet points,


• HTML formatting, and


• images.

Nailing all of these components will help you earn higher rankings for your product on Amazon SERPs.

Product Titles

Your product title is the only thing that shoppers see as they browse products that match their search results. Make sure that your product titles are more than just the name of your product. Titles should mention any essential details for your items such as gender, color options, size or construction materials. They should also include the most important keyword phrase that you’re targeting.

For example, you might write a title like “Waterproof sun hats for kids with UPF 50+ protection for summer.” This title lets customers know what you’re offering and understand how it can meet their needs before they even visit your product page. Effective product titles show off a product’s benefits instead of just telling about a product’s features.

Of course, there are also length limits that you must follow when you write your product titles. These can be confusing because they sometimes vary across different Amazon categories. As a general rule, aim to write titles that are 190 characters or less. Amazon’s “Add a Product” option will generally tell you if the character limit is lower for your category. If you exceed the maximum character count, Amazon will either suppress part of your listing or forbid you from entering extra characters altogether.

Bullet Points

Getting a potential customer to click on your product after conducting a search is the first step in making a sales conversion. Now, you need to draw in the customer with bullet points that explain the features and benefits of your product in detail. You should generally use five bullet points to describe the features and benefits of your product in detail. This is also your opportunity to truly differentiate yourself from the competition.

Bullet points should:

1. Begin with a brief statement of the feature to be described. Some sellers use all caps for this section, but doing so isn’t necessary. Examples include “Double-stitched for water resistance” and “BUILT FOR FLEXIBILITY.”

 

2. Be followed by a deeper dive into the feature. Use this space to explain why your product is worth buying. You can even point out flaws in competitor designs in this area.

 

3. Run between 150-200 characters for most product categories. Focus on using descriptive language that helps customers envision your products.

Think of each of your bullet points as a key touch point in the customer journey. In a brick-and-mortar store, customers can ask sales staff questions they have about a product. They can also touch and smell the item. Your online shoppers can’t use all five of their senses while evaluating your products, so you must create an immersive experience for them. Bullet points are the area where you can provide plenty of sensory information to potential buyers.

HTML Formatting

Formatting your Amazon listings properly helps improve their readability. However, it’s important to know that Amazon is very restrictive when it comes to using HTML in your product descriptions. The official rule in the terms of service (TOS) states that HTML isn’t allowed at all. However, many sellers use some basic HTML to clean up their listings. The tags that you can use are described below.

Line Breaks

First line <br> Next line

Paragraphs

<p>Your text</p>

Bullet Points

The HTML code that you’d traditionally use for bullet points won’t work for Amazon. Instead, you’ll need to use this workaround:

Copy and paste your bulleted text followed by the <br> tag after each bullet point.

Bold Text

Avoid using the HTML strong attribute. Instead, use the <b> tag:
<b>Your text</b>

The Copyright Symbol ©

©

The Trademark Symbol ™

™

The Registered Trademark Symbol ®

®

Incorporating HTML can affect the character count of your product description. To avoid problems, eliminate all the spaces between your text and HTML code before posting it on the product listing page. For example, change this:

<p> Your text </p>

To this:

<p>Your text</p>

The HTML tags that Amazon doesn’t allow include those for

• text color,


• font size,


• font family,


• italics, and


• background images.

Using prohibited HTML tags will result in an error posting your listing. Save a copy of your product description text without any HTML tags in case you make a mistake and have to start over.

Images

Professional photographs are a must for product listings. Using high-quality images that meet Amazon guidelines can help improve your SERP rankings and drive higher sales conversions. You should use images that are at least 1,000px. Try uploading photos of all aspects of your item. For example, you would need to upload a photo of both the back and front of any shirt that you sell. You can also add photos with text that points out key features or specifications such as product dimensions.

Writing Product Descriptions That Engage Your Audience

Remember that keeping your audience in mind as you formulate your descriptions is crucial. After all, keywords and great images alone won’t sell your products. Your product descriptions also need to speak to your audience and their concerns. One way to ensure that your product descriptions are on target is to keep buyer personas in mind as you write them. Buyer personas help you focus on who your customers are and what they want so that you can speak to their interests and concerns.

Spelling and grammar matter when it comes to product listings. Consumers expect professional copy with clear descriptions of your products. If you aren’t able to write strong product copy, consider working with a writer who has experience developing Amazon product descriptions. Remember that the more information you give a writer about your products and their benefits, the better the final description will be.

Your high school English teacher might have admonished you to “Show, don’t tell.” This principle applies to Amazon product listings too. Remember that your listing is a touchpoint for your customers. It should be a rich description that demonstrates not just how your product works but why it’s really worth buying. Customer reviews for the product offer great insight into the factors that are motivating buying decisions.

You should avoid using superlatives, which are phrases like “top of the line” and “state of the art.” Imagine that you sell an RFID-blocking passport wallet. Instead of saying “We use state-of-the-art materials to ensure durability,” try saying “We use luggage-grade aluminum to prevent dents, scratches and cracks.”

These sentences are very similar. However, the first example only uses generic platitudes to hint at durability. The second gives information about the product’s construction and how that will provide durability. Avoiding superlatives is a great way to show instead of simply telling.

Keep your content as succinct as possible while covering the product’s important facts and selling propositions. Remember, an Amazon product description is limited to a max of 2,000 words.

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Examples of Great Amazon Product Descriptions

There are more than 12 million products listed on Amazon today, and you know your listing has to stand out in order to succeed. You might plan on writing product descriptions yourself or assigning an employee to the task. Maybe you’ve thought about hiring Amazon product description writers or editors. No matter the approach you take, having examples of great product descriptions at hand will help you better understand what you’re aiming for.

Consider this listing for a laptop protective sleeve.

The title provides plenty of information, including

• the sleeve’s brand name,


• the laptops and tablets that fit in the sleeve,


• the sleeve’s color,


• the sleeve’s material, and


• the sleeve’s protective features.

Shoppers who are looking for a protective sleeve that fits one of the named laptop models will be able to find this item and assess its color quickly.

Each bullet point for the item provides information about key features, specifications and benefits. The third bullet point gives a rich sensory description of the “premium felt interior” and “soft suede exterior” of the sleeve. It describes the type of closure the sleeve has and shares that the closure helps keep the laptop secure. The listing also uses professional photos and videos to show off the product.

Here’s another well-written listing, this time for a popular kids’ game.

This listing begins with a strong title that lets shoppers know the age group for this game. Connections to STEM learning and logic skills are mentioned. Of course, the company also tells shoppers that the game is fun and has won many international awards over the past 20 years. This is a great product introduction for shoppers looking for solo learning games for kids over 8 years old.

Descriptive bullet points educate shoppers about the game and convince them that it’s worth buying. One point says that the game is “enormously popular” and has sold over 10 million units. Another shares that Rush Hour Traffic Jam “develops critical skills” by presenting challenges that help kids hone their planning and reasoning abilities. These rich descriptions are compelling to buyers and earn high Amazon ratings.

Amazon Product Description Templates

If you’re selling more than two or three items on Amazon, working from a product description template will improve efficiency and consistency. This product listing template from Jungle Scout and Splitly has examples, takeaways and don’ts to keep you on track.

Professional sellers on Amazon can use inventory file templates to upload listings quickly. These templates can be customized to your needs. You can also create listing templates with the help of paid services such as inkFrog.

Amazon A+ Content

Strong product descriptions can help you move up on Amazon SERPs. Amazon A+ Content offers even more opportunities to improve search rankings and sales conversion. It’s used to show off what Amazon calls enhanced brand content (EBC). Amazon EBC allows professional sellers to provide extra photos and in-depth information about their products directly below the “Have a question?” section on the product page.

Extra space to show off your products is at the heart of Amazon A+ Content. Take another look at the laptop sleeve we used as an example earlier. If you scroll down to the bottom of the listing, you’ll see an additional section called “From the manufacturer.” There are graphics that show product features, text that describes these specifications and a branded banner in this section.

If you don’t have Amazon A+ Content access yet, you likely wonder how you can get it. To qualify for A+ Content, you must be a professional seller approved through the Amazon Brand Registry system . Once you’re approved, you’ll be able to add A+ Content to products that you sell from your brand. You cannot add A+ Content for products made by another brand that you carry in your online store.

Boost Your Sales With Amazon Product Descriptions

Everyone knows that success on Amazon is determined by sales, but not everyone knows how to land those sales. Start with product descriptions that grab your audience’s attention. Remember that great descriptions are more than just a rundown of an item’s features. They’re a powerful sales tool that will help you close the distance between your online customers and your brand.

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