User Experience / How to optimise product pages to increase sales

How to optimise product pages to increase sales

Andy Thorne
How to optimise product pages to increase sales

You don’t necessarily need a complete overhaul of your eCommerce website to improve its effectiveness. Just a few series of small changes can have a tangible impact on your online retail sales.

eCommerce businesses can have a product portfolio that’s potentially profitable and attractive to consumers, yet still have poor sales. That’s often true when their websites don’t work well enough.

This is not necessarily due to the original design. It could be that in the process of populating, updating and replacing product pages, the site’s impact has become diluted.

There are two things every eCommerce business needs to do, to keep sales buoyant. One is to regularly analyse product pages, and measure their effectiveness across UX, SEO for ecommerce sites and other core principles.

The second is to use this checklist of seven ways to optimise your product pages for strong lead conversion.

1. Loading speed

seo for ecommerce sites - Seo tips for ecommerce sites

Tip No.1 if your site takes a while to load, you will lose users who lose interest.

Increasing the sales potential of your website pages starts by improving load efficiently, across all devices and browsers.

A responsive website is vital to engage the growing numbers of consumers who shop using mobile devices. If your pages appear quickly and logically, on a small screen, your potential to secure a completed transaction grows substantially.

2. Page and product clarity

seo for ecommerce sites-Page clarity

This is where user experience comes into play, ensure your product pages are fully designed to ensure the best ux for customers.

The second way to optimise your product pages hinges on engaging your customers’ attention – and stimulating a positive response – in an instant. Can website users see what you sell in a blink of an eye?

When it comes to SEO for ecommerce sites, product pages should be easy to scan visually, so keep content on each page unique, succinct and well laid out. There is no room (or time) for flowery, abstract, or superfluous text or clever design features.

3. Insightful and influential product information

seo for ecommerce sites-insightful and influential

Ensuring your product displays all the relevant information will help reduce customer support requests.

Less can be more on eCommerce website pages, to grab attention. However, product descriptions must be compelling.

That means drilling down not just on your overall brand statements, but also on the individual product descriptions. Think ‘added value’. Be clear on the benefits of this product, not just its physical features.

However, make sure you include information on such issues as dimensions and delivery details, to manage customer expectations.

4. Has your product got high-quality imagery?

seo for ecommerce sites-High Quality images

Pictures are the selling point of your site, the better quality images the more likely users are to invest.

The importance of imagery on eCommerce sites has never been more evident. Your consumers communicate with each other using photographs and videos. So, they certainly expect their purchases to be represented visually.

From a good quality image, website users gather both conscious and subconscious information. They can see the detail of the product – and its relevance to them. This would include models wearing clothes or happy people using gadgets in their home.

However, quality imagery also creates the perception of value, trust and transparency. The reverse of this is mistrust of product quality and cost if they can’t clearly see what they are buying online.

5. Compelling copy that can attract and retain customers

seo for ecommerce sites-Compelling copy

Ensure your copy is suited to your customer, has not grammatical or spelling errors.

Formulating compelling copy for product pages is largely about influencing website users and creating a response. That depends on you knowing what your customers look for, want and need and any peculiarities in their buying behaviours.

38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout are unattractive

Digging deep into your customer profiles is vital. From this comes the ability to create product page content that ‘pushes all the right buttons’.

6. Provides a good customer experience

seo for ecommerce sites - Good customer service

Providing quality customer service will encourage your customers to return and become loyal.

Much of the above is about building a positive User Experience (UX). There are other ways to optimise your product pages that come under the UX umbrella too. These include making sure your page navigation is seamless and swift. Can visitors click quickly to a product of interest? Are the ways items are categorised logical?

Also, have you got quick search features, opportunities to ‘save for later’ and other website design elements that consumers demand?

Keep your calls to action up front and unmissable, especially ‘Add to basket’, and consider adding chatbot technology to your eCommerce website for strong user interaction.

7. Are there reviews for customers to read?

seo for ecommerce sites - reviews

Testimonials and reviews are a great way of social proofing your ecommerce store for new and future customers.

Consumers gather recommendations and inspiration from various sources when considering buying products online. They especially value ‘third party testimonials’; snippets of customer feedback that feature on product pages.

If a previous purchaser awards an item five stars and a positive review, it can greatly increase sales potential!

Optimising product pages for better sales

These seven ways to improve seo for eCommerce sites can make product pages more potent. Done well, you won’t just increase your sales now either.

By building positive UX and a good connection with your customers, you create advocates. These are loyal customers willing to return to buy more and to tell others about your website.

Blog-CTA-Web-design