How to Write Content for Your eCommerce Website

eCommerce sites primarily sell products, so it’s understandable if you struggle to write content for them. Even if your site attracts people to buy a service, you still need a writing strategy to boost its appeal.

eCommerce content focuses on accurately describing products. So to write them, you should have adequate knowledge of your offers. But more than that, you need ground rules to keep you on track, and this article will throw light on them.

Figure Out Your Audience

Before writing anything, you should know who you expect to read your content. Brands that aren’t sure of their target audience will often use the shotgun approach. And if you run an online store with a wide range of products, it’s easy to fall into this trap.

So, don’t assume everybody is your audience, as that’s a sure way to veer off course. Instead, research the customers in your industry, know your niche, and pinpoint your unique value proposition. These details will guide your content creation efforts to be precise and speak to the appropriate market.

Let’s take essayservice.com as an example. It is a professional essay writing service for students. Since their target audience is students, their content is tailored accordingly. It is written in a language a learner would understand and find friendly. It also uses slang college students use in their daily lives.

Focus on People First Before Google

Is Google essential for your eCommerce site’s success? Absolutely! But your customers are people, and Google’s SEO bots won’t buy your products. So expect some Google-friendly approaches not to be people-friendly.

Write clear, skimmable product descriptions that 5-year-olds would understand. You can include keywords and links but don’t make them the primary determinants of your content’s length, simplicity, and tone. 

Write descriptions that tell your customers everything they should know about a product. Also, use pictures that show the products from different angles, as it will build the site’s visitor’s trust that you have the advertised items in stock. These steps simplify the buyers’ purchasing decisions, which is one of the best things you can do for eCommerce shoppers.

Prioritize Benefits Over Features

Your products may have the latest specifications in their class and still not sell as much as you expect. Customers don’t buy products because of their features. They purchase them because of the advantages they get from the features. So, while product features are essential parts of your writing, don’t base the entire content around them.

Highlight the products’ advantages, especially if you are a B2C eCommerce store targeting new customers. You can tie the benefits to specific features and suggest ways to get the best experience from the product.

For example, if you want to encourage students to buy essays from your writing service, don’t talk exclusively about it being the best on the market or having top writers. Instead, focus attention on the benefits students will get, like high grades, more free time, etc.

Let the consumer know why they need to get the product or upgrade from the ones they have. This approach will always trump listing specifications, updated parts, etc.

Make the Content Skimmable

As information becomes readily available, people have less patience for reading long-form texts, especially on their smartphones. They want to get the most details in the shortest time.

You can feed this craving by writing your content in a way that highlights the primary information at a glance and combines text with images. Keeping sections short and using bullet points is effective for managing readability.

Skimmable content encourages your site’s visitors to stick around for long enough to buy something. Also, ensure your paragraphs flow with minimal breaks in ideas. They help customers find specific details about your products quickly.

Pay Attention to Word Count

While making your content skimmable, don’t leave your product descriptions barebones. Readability doesn’t equal using fewer words or leaving out important information about your products. So, use detailed product descriptions to please your customers and Google simultaneously.

Yes, you read that right — the updated Google Panda algorithm prioritizes detailed web pages over those with sparse content. It understands that people look for as much information as they can get on a product, so it boosts sites that meet those expectations.

And what are those expectations in terms of word count? An appropriate product description should be around 300 words long, enough for the product’s features, dimensions, and customer reviews.

But don’t assume that longer content automatically means better content. On the contrary, descriptions that exceed 450 words may bore your visitors or overload them with information, making their purchasing decision more difficult. So, find the word count sweet spot for your products and keep your content within that range.

Publish to the Right Channels

Knowing your audience will give you insight into their favorite social platforms and communication channels. And you can improve the efficiency of your marketing by focusing your efforts where they matter — wherever your consumers are.

When writing for your eCommerce website, you should format the descriptions to suit your audience’s preferred channels. Add videos and pictures to your written content if the platform tilts towards media consumption. Then, promote your site on those channels to increase clicks and potentially attract customers to buy from you.

Avoid Duplicate Content

Yes, other websites might have many of your products on display, but that doesn’t make copying their descriptions ideal. Duplicating content signals laziness and low quality on your part, two characteristics you don’t want any customer to associate with your brand.

You will always find detailed product descriptions online, but knowing that Google has already indexed the original content should deter you from copying them. They won’t do your SEO efforts any favors anyway, so there’s no reason you should use them. You can also be penalized for repeating your company’s motto or bio on many pages on your site.

Avoid using manufacturers’ official product descriptions. Many other eCommerce companies looking for the easy route would do the same, and there are no guarantees that your copy would get online first. So, using them would also make you guilty of duplicating content.

Maintain a Consistent and Relatable Tone of Voice

Customers appreciate consistency because of the sense of security it brings. So, while writing content, choose an appropriate tone of voice and stick with it. Ensure to root your style in proper research, pinpointing how your target audience prefers their favorite brands to sound.

Make your tone distinct and confident to boost trustworthiness. Customers won’t buy from you if you sound unsure about your products or features. They won’t stick around or remember you if your tone is generic. So, use a customer-friendly voice for all arms of your brand.

Work with Influencers

A renowned figure in your niche can attract customers to your products faster than many other marketing strategies. The effectiveness of this strategy stems from people’s need for proof of a brand’s quality and reliability.

Picture this — you want to buy running boots but aren’t sure which product to get. Then you see a product description with a review from Usain Bolt. Even if you’ve never heard of the footwear brand, you immediately feel inclined to buy the boots from the site because of the familiar face.

In the same way, including an influencer’s review in your content will boost your site and products’ trustworthiness in customers’ eyes. You can also partner with top bloggers in your industry by giving them free items or compensation to talk about your site or products elsewhere. Essentially, prove that you understand your customer’s needs and have experience solving them through social proof.

Conclusion

Increasing an eCommerce site’s appeal is challenging, especially when it comes to written content. Finding the right audience to create content for can hinder your website from becoming a force in your niche. But by researching your target audience and understanding what eCommerce visitors expect when shopping online, you can tailor your writing to boost your site’s performance.

Be original, consistent and relatable, keep your content digestible, focus on people, and watch your website get the traction your business needs.