If you operate one of the 400,000 or so eCommerce stores that use Shopify as a sales platform, then you know how important it is to stand out. A great product helps, as does a functional, good-looking website (perhaps designed using one of Shopify’s templates). But an absolutely essential part of optimizing your sales on the platform is the creation of Shopify product descriptions that do all the right things. 

Who cares about Shopify product descriptions?

You should. Putting serious effort into finding the perfect image, and arranging the customer journey on your website to provide the best experience, is all part of attracting the customer. And so is the product description. When people look for online purchase information, they are primarily searching at product descriptions, followed by reviews and images. 

Why not just copy-paste this from my Facebook page…

Bad idea. Duplicate content is penalized by Google because it creates a ranking conflict. Search engines cannot decide which page(s) featuring the same content should be ranked first, meaning that both pages get a lower grade. The result is almost certainly a placement far away from the crucial first page. There goes your visibility and investment in search engine marketing. 

Plus, people prefer uniqueness. Take, for instance, a shopper who is looking at your store, and that of a competitor. If you both use the same catch phrases and writing style, the shopper will have no reason to choose your product based on the description. To get their purchase, you might need to offer a discount. On the other hand, if you have some interesting copy going on, you stand a better chance that they will see your brand as something special. So take the time and write out the best possible product descriptions for your Shopify website.    

How to write a Shopify product description

Style

Using the correct style for a Shopify product description is a matter of knowing your audience. This is actually the part that requires the most preparation. Who buys your product? The answer is not always obvious. For example, if you own a store that sells school supplies, your clients are probably not kids, even though they are the end users. Instead, you’ve got to adjust your writing style to appeal to busy parents. 

This means using the mode of language that your customers enjoy. A common approach is to include emotionally relevant language; if, for example, you are selling to a female audience, use “love” and “adore” instead of “like” and “prefer”.

So, before you put words on a page, it can pay off to build some customer personas and verify exactly what your target audience is. Here’s a quick read on the subject, but in short, you might want to brainstorm with other staffers, particularly marketers and product people, to figure out precisely who will be reading the product description.  

Content

What you say is, of course, as important as how you say it. Including the right information:

  • Lets the audience know you have what they are looking for
  • Points out features that can clinch a sale compared to competitors
  • Avoids customers tying up support with questions that the product description should answer
  • Minimizes clicking away in case something is unclear, creating reluctance for a buy

A place to start as a way to ensure complete product information is to look at things from the consumer’s point of view, beginning with the question “why would I buy this?” Try to avoid too much technical stuff in the main description. Also, make sure that you list your main benefits and the central reasons why you are superior to competitors.  

SEO

A good Shopify product description will include the right keywords for your brand and product. But getting to that point can be an exercise in itself. It’s always an option to use a search engine optimization (SEO) service, while some merchants have the ability to build an SEO list on their own. 

One shortcut to creating a list of SEO terms is to see what results turn up when you try some candidates – if they lead to your competitors, you are on the right track. But take care not to engage in keyword stuffing, because that will get you a penalty. And remember that the longer a shopper spends on your website, the higher your Google ranking will get—and a part of that achievement is writing Shopify product descriptions that hold the audience’s interest.  

Format 

You should keep the “15 second rule” in mind when writing Shopify product descriptions. That’s the amount of time that a typical consumer will spend on your site, so you better make sure that they read the most important content straight away.

This can be achieved with interesting headlines, short sentences, and varied paragraph structure. Consider using lists and copywriting formulas, but not all the time, because then they will not catch the eye. 

Try including internal links to complementary items, which can boost your upselling and cross-selling rates. Done right, these links will also stand out and lead to multiple purchases. 

Shopify product description examples

Take a look at some Shopify stores – you’re bound to find some that have really exceptional writing. Here are a few that make great use of the ideas discussed above. 

United By Blue

United By Blue removes a pound of trash from the oceans and waterways for each product sold. A lot of their copy evokes images of water, for example, “Take a Deep Dive on Who and What Inspires Us”, and “Let’s Turn the Tide”. So, in addition to a noble cause, United By Blue has interesting copy. 

Meow Meow Tweet

This is another socially conscious Shopify store with outstanding writing. Meow Meow Tweet is an organic, vegan skincare company that uses animal-friendly, natural ingredients and sustainable packaging. Their deodorant page leads with “It’s Armpit Season”, and their newsletter sign-up form reads “All the Mews That’s Fit to Print”. Funny and witty texts match their off-beat artwork and slightly eccentric appeal.  

Manitobah Mukluks

Mukluks are a type of boot worn by Inuit, the original inhabitants of northern Canada. As such, Manitobah Mukluks’ “The Original Winter Boot” taps into the ancient knowledge that goes into producing this footwear, including models that are hand-made by actual Inuit. 

Shopify product description generators

All of these details can make one forget the whole reason behind using Shopify in the first place – to save time without sacrificing quality. Instead of building a website and an eCommerce platform, merchants use Shopify so that they can focus on tasks that shouldn’t be outsourced. 

That’s why more and more Shopify sellers are turning to product description generators. Many of them are simple to use; you input a page link, provide a few keywords, and that’s it. The Shopify description generator will deliver multiple versions of copy that you can paste onto the Shopify template. 

Shopify description generator with Anyword’s AI

Anyword’s copywriting platform goes a step further. It provides a specific Shopify copy feature that is optimized to create product descriptions for the platform. Instead of spending hours writing text for each Shopify product page, a marketer can rely on Anyword as a Shopify product description generator. What makes the difference, however, are the automated functions that Anyword supplies to enable publishing the absolute best possible Shopify product descriptions:

  • The ‘predictive performance score’, which serves up a numerical grade for each line of copy, whether they are your creations or made by Anyword. The score is based on Anyword’s big data collection of millions of ad spots and an analysis of which copy style has the best chance to convert a certain audience. In this way, you can immediately see what copy will provide the highest conversion rates, instead of relying on A/B testing of various versions over time. The predictive performance score even comes with a histogram showing the conversion potential for basic demographic groups according to age and gender.  
  • Continuous optimization’ is a feature that frees you from even posting the copy to your Shopify website. Instead, Anyword constantly updates product descriptions until they reach the top level of optimization. 
  • ‘Custom mode’ will copy any style of text and build a Shopify product description accordingly. So, if you read a product description in Google with a style that you want for your own, Anyword will mimic it as it creates Shopify product descriptions. 

Put together, these features (among many others) add up to Shopify product descriptions that will outperform while you get on with all of your other marketing tasks. But, if those tasks include writing for other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, Anyword can help you there as well.

Discovering the power of Anyword’s AI-driven Shopify product descriptions is painless! Check out our 7-day free trial (no credit card required), and start making the most of your Shopify eCommerce conversion rates. 

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