Blog

6 Product Listing Optimization Tips for E-commerce Players

Blog

Product Listing Optimization Tips for E-commerce Players

Retail stores have mastered the art of shelf optimization; often high commission items are placed in the front while products with less profit margin are placed at the back. These physical stores also stack up chocolates and other irresistible items on the lower shelf and near checkout counters to entice users.

Such scale of optimization has made these stores successful even when they are selling daily-use items like chicken and eggs at a heavily discounted price. E-commerce stores have their own set of rules and tricks but optimization is something they need to learn from retail stores.

What retail store focusses on is making products visible and accessible to customers who are most likely to buy them. Similarly, e-commerce players can make changes to their product listing and gain the requisite visibility. By optimizing product listings, online stores can make products visible to search engines as well as customers.

Here, we bring to you a coveted set of tips that have worked for the biggest players in the e-commerce industry. When followed religiously these tricks and tips can make products rank higher in search engines like Google as well as on the store.

Also Read: Top Emerging E-commerce Innovations to Watch Out In 2021

Product Listing Optimization Tips for E-commerce Marketplaces

1.Use Descriptive Product Titles Always

Both customers and search engines love products that have a descriptive title. A well-written title simplifies the job by answering the most important questions. In the recent past, we have witnessed how cell phone companies have started mentioning the 4G/5G version in the title itself. Such smart usage of keywords helps customers identify the right product with just one look.

Search engines don’t work like common people, they do not read every word; they are dependent upon meta description and heading tags to identify a product and rank it for relevant keywords. Using descriptive titles with relevant keywords included sends signals to sites like Google and helps them rank the product faster.

Here’s an example from Amazon India, the listing for OnePlus 8T “5G” version has 5G mentioned in the title itself. This can be repeated for daily use products like yogurt too. Sellers can mention keywords like “gluten-free” or “for lactose intolerant” in the title making it easier for customers to identify the right product.

Use Descriptive Product Titles Always
Use Descriptive Product Titles Always

Do’s and Don’ts when creating a descriptive title:

  • Minimize the usage of symbols like “@,/,-,$,&”
  • Useless but relevant words
  • No use of promotional words like “sale, discount, selling fast”
  • Deceiving phrases like “best-selling, limited version”
  • Do not mention price in the title
  • Keep it limited to the product name and version
  • Try to use the name first followed by the version

2. Communicate the Value Proposition Clearly

The primary job of a product listing is to help customers understand the product intricately before deciding. By making efficient use of available space for product descriptions, marketplaces can help customers make informed decisions faster.

Taking a cue from Amazon, every marketplace now allows sellers to highlight the features of a product just below the title. This space is different from the one allocated for product description and needs to be used differently.

Use this space for mentioning features or specifications that are really unique or potent enough to convince users to buy the product. Often these keywords are indexed by search engines hence by mentioning the right words here, you can drive free & organic traffic from sites like Google and Bing.

Here’s a screenshot from the OnePlus store India, where they have highlighted the specifications of the OnePlus 8 just below the product title. These are little changes that go a long way in improving conversion and customer experience.

product listing optimization OnePlus8
product listing optimization OnePlus8

3. Focus on User-friendly Search Engine Optimization Tactics

The mere goal of Google is to make searches efficient for users and that should be your goal too. Do not add keywords or tags to influence Google, do it to make your listing information for users and it will automatically get indexed in search results.

One more thing every seller needs to understand is that all marketplaces are search engines in themselves. The sole goal of marketplaces is to make the right products available to customers at the earliest. When you create a product listing for e-commerce players as if you were creating it for Google, you are likely to beat competitors and command top rankings.

Here’s how to do user-friendly search engine optimization:

Click-Through Rate: CTR is an important SEO metric, a greater number of clicks means continuously improving ranking. The right way to influence CTR is by writing good titles. A user looking for 5V batteries will look for the “5V” keyword in the title, by placing it at the start followed by the company name can increase visibility and CTR.

Reviews: E-commerce stores are now coming of age and so do customers. It is now easier for customers to return products and get a refund hence e-commerce stores need to buckle up. By highlighting reviews and using them as a marketing tool, marketplaces can gain heavily. Let the stars represent the quality of the product. Place the rating very close to the title and help customers make quick decisions.

Note: This is something that lies in the capacity of webmasters and not sellers, but if you are an entrepreneur and are starting your online store, you should consider doing it.

Must Read: Catalog Quality Analysis: Best Practices & Factors to Focus On

4. Brand your Product Boldly

The key to success on marketplaces lies in getting maximum visibility. The legit way of increasing visibility on these stores is to make use of quality content. As mentioned earlier, start by writing an effective product title. Once you have successfully created a quality title, move to images followed by the product description.

Images

Varied marketplaces including Ajio and Flipkart allow resellers to sell products even when the original manufacturer is selling them. For example, even if Nike is directly selling on these platforms, other re-sellers can also join the wagon and sell their products at varied pricing.

You don’t need to use the same images provided by the brand, you can make use of available resources to click better pictures to help customers understand the product better. While some brands do not allow sellers to click pictures privately but an array of brands do and it can be used as a tool to gain more visibility.

Quality images that highlight the varied components of a product will attract more eyeballs and will have higher chances of receiving orders. Sellers can also demonstrate the usage of these products in real life through lifestyle photography of use-case videos.

Product Description

Unlike retail stores, where they have salesmen to explain the qualities of products, e-commerce players need to make their product description as descriptive as they can without making it bulky.

Investing in quality catalog writing services is the key takeaway here. With a pool of talented writers with industry knowledge, marketplaces can create a listing that offers great insights and drive sales.

Also Read: A Guide to Improving B2B Catalog Management

5. Create a Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) For Your Users

We all have come through phrases like “2 left in stock” and “Limited Version”. These are often marketing gimmicks that create a sense of FOMO reflecting positively on conversion charts. Online sellers and marketplaces can use similar phrases and tricks to create a sense of urgency in customers, but such campaigns can be risky and should be applied only on quality products otherwise there can be a plethora of return and exchange requests.

Everyone from politicians, actors to shop-owners have used the FOMO to create campaigns that have benefited them heavily. Customers often try to look intelligent and gain the most of every opportunity hence campaigns that make customers look smart to win in the long run.

Some of the ways to creating fear of missing out through product listing are:

  • Use the version of the product as the highlight in the Title
  • Explain how unique the product is and how it is crafted for specific users
  • Use dynamic pricing, where marketplaces take a cut on their commitment to offering the best pricing to customers
  • Advertise limited stock or hour sales to drive more conversions.

6. Understand It is a Never-Ending Routine

Both sellers and marketplaces need to understand that product listing optimization is a never-ending cycle. The moment you get complacent, you are likely to be replaced. Both customers and Google look refreshed content, they want to hear something new from you, perhaps this is the reason Apple and OnePlus sell millions of devices every quarter.

By revisiting your product listing, adding new use-cases, highlighting newer software or version upgrades, you are sending positive signals to search engines as well as customers. Refreshed content with a glorious history ranks higher and dominates rankings for a longer time.

Help your Customers Find the Right Product at the earliest!
Help your Customers Find the Right Product at the earliest!

Final Thoughts on Product Listing Optimization Tips

E-commerce marketplaces are going to get crowded; with both small and big re-sellers joining the club the competition is going to get stiff. The ones that offer the best information are likely to win over those providing the best price too.

The key lies in product listing optimization and all the factors and tricks mentioned here are going to work like magic. By working out the nitty-gritty stuff, sellers can gain momentarily and build a successful online purchase.

We are the trusted partner for Business Process Outsourcing for leading global organizations.