The Importance of Unique Product Descriptions for E-Commerce Sites

If you own an e-commerce site, you'll understand that it's vital for your business to stand out. But is your website standing out in the search engines? Many business owners are failing to understand the importance of unique descriptions for their products. It may be tempting to use the original description from the manufacturer, but in reality, re-writing products descriptions can do wonders for your search engine rankings.

Optimising Your Product Descriptions

So, why is it so important to use unique product descriptions? The simple answer is that search engines value unique content and punish duplication. When identical content is present it is difficult for Google and other search engines to know which page is the most relevant. This can result in pages not being indexed for search terms that are valuable to your business. If your e-commerce site is filled with relevant and creative descriptions, it is likely to rank higher than competitors that have stuck with the generic descriptions.

An example of this is the release of the new Harry Potter DVD; a popular product that generates a high volume of traffic. The sites occupying the top two positions for this search term are www.Play.com and www.Amazon.com. Although both are leading retailers, they are also good examples of e-commerce sites that recognise the benefits of avoiding generic content.
 
 Amazon DVD Description


Play.com DVD Description


 In the screen shots above you can see how both Amazon and Play have re-rewritten their original DVD descriptions to produce a relevant, unique version. It shows how just taking a short amount of time to tweak your descriptions is beneficial to even the largest retailers.

Unique Content & Customer Reviews

Allowing customer reviews is another clever way of generating unique content. Amazon and Play.com both use user-generated content to give their customers a useful insight into their products, as well as boosting the content of their site. Smaller e-commerce sites can benefit from this function too, by offering customers the opportunity to comment and review products. This enables fresh content to be continuously added to the site, so you can avoid duplication and enhance your position.

However, it's not just about encouraging better rankings. Unique content and reviews will enhance the overall user experience of your site and can encourage potential customers to buy from you instead of your competitors. 

Contact I-COM

For further guidance on improving your e-commerce site, get in touch with the I-COM team on 0161 402 3170 or email us. Alternatively, you can contact us via our twitter @I_COM, where we will be offering more tips on optimizing your rankings.