Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • MozCon
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      Track AI Overviews in Keyword Research
      Moz Pro

      Track AI Overviews in Keyword Research

      Try it free!
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • MozCon

        Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

      Access 20 years of data with flexible pricing
      Moz API

      Access 20 years of data with flexible pricing

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. On-Page Optimization
    4. Product Descriptions (SEO)

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Product Descriptions (SEO)

    On-Page Optimization
    4
    4
    3223
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • mattl99
      mattl99 last edited by

      So I would like a few opinions. How long should a product description be? Enough to get the point across? 100 words? 800 words? Over detailed? Any advice would be appreciated.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • EGOL
        EGOL last edited by

        Hello mattl99!

        You are really fortunate.  You got two 10x responses from Roman and Bob.

        I'll add just a little...  about.... Your visitors and your niche...

        If you are selling very simple and common items that everybody uses and knows about then you don't need to write a huge description - just explain the specs.  But, if you are writing about things that involve effort, knowledge and creativity of your visitors to purchase, then you need a lot more than specs.  Items for do-it-yourself projects, items for craft/hobby projects, or the tools, parts and accessories needed for complex goods.  These require a lot more effort and the visitors both need and expect your expertise to help them decide, purchase, use and enjoy.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • BobGW
          BobGW last edited by

          It completely depends on your niche, your goals, your competition, the amount of time you have, and the expertise level of the person writing the description.

          Your Niche and Competition:

          Google the top 5-10 product descriptions from a high traffic, important keyword in your industry. For best results, track at least 10 keywords. Each keyword can be different, so you may have to be careful there. Look at the top 5-10 results for a product-related term. Are they long descriptions? Are they short. Are there none? What's the content of them? What features and topics do they have? How's the UX and mobile? I could go on and on.

          Your Goals:

          Are you looking to do a 10X product description or just throw a little something together. I always recommend re-writing the manufacturer's information in your own words at the very least. See Rands Why Good Unique Content Needs to Die for more

          This brings in the writer's Experience Level

          Are you a beginner or an expert in the niche? You may not be able to write 10X content if you know nothing. Try rewriting the manufacturer's info for starters. You will learn a lot. Never copy and paste from another website into your own!

          Which ends with time and scalability

          Do you have all the time in the world or 5 minutes per description. Most medium difficulty level niches require a store with lots of content and at least 200 products just to get started, but it can vary widely and it really depends. Try balancing between not spending enough time and spending all day on one 10X product. Try making your top 10 hitters (by profit) 10X. or make your top 30 or 50 10X. 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your products. Sometimes it's more extreme.

          I hope I have helped.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • Roman-Delcarmen
            Roman-Delcarmen last edited by

            According to Statista, the average CTR for paid search in e-commerce is a mere 2.69% ( _Average clickthrough rate (CTR) in Google AdWords - USA  between August 2017 and January 2018 ) _That’s the equivalent of being eternally ranked immediately below position five.

            In my opinion SEO for products, descriptions bring up a host of difficult questions

            • Which keywords should you target?
            • What’s the perfect description length?
            • Should you write for engines or people?
            • Where and how often should you use keywords?

            Getting the answers right is essential. Here’s how I do it

            • Write for Buyers, Not Bots
            • Major on Benefits (Include Features)
            • Target the Right SEO Product Keywords
            • Let Buyer “Awareness” Drive Your PDP Length
            • Create Unique SEO Product Descriptions for Each PDP

            When writing your descriptions, always ask yourself:

            **Does this help the online buyer? Does it inform them, enlighten them, and, ultimately, help them make a purchase decision? **If you start from square one using this approach, you’re already on the ideal path to writing amazing product descriptions for SEO.

            1. Write for Buyers, Not Bots

            The number one rule for good SEO any time, anywhere, is to write for people first … not the search engine web crawlers.Here’s why: what’s good for your audience is good for search engines, because their main concern is usability.

            The whole point of search is to help users find exactly what they’re looking for. If your product descriptions align with this goal, you’re going to please Google and rank well.

            2. Major on Benefits (Include Features)

            You cannot write an informative, accurate description of a product unless you understand that product inside-out. Vague knowledge of a product will lead to an equally vague description, one that is unhelpful for your online buyers as well as the search engines.

            3. Target the Right SEO Product Keywords

            Your job of correctly optimizing SEO for product descriptions must include using the right keywords. This will help search engines understand your pages, which will help internet searchers find what you’re selling.

            So, how do you find the right keywords, and how do you use them strategically?

            It’s all about narrowing down to the right phrase, and it all starts with a solid keyword tool. SEMrush is a great option, as is KWFinder or Moz Keyword Explorer. These tools let you research specific keywords and give you valuable data about factors like:

            • Search volume (how many people are searching for a given keyword)
            • Keyword difficulty (how hard it will be to rank for a given keyword)
            • Related terms you can potentially use in your content (e.g., longtail keywords)

            4. Let Buyer “Awareness” Drive Your PDP Length

            Your process of optimizing SEO for product descriptions also needs to include writing at the right length for good search engine results. Unfortunately, there is no set length that works for every product. Instead, best practices demand that you base the length of your descriptions on what your audience needs.

            5. Create Unique SEO Product Descriptions for Each PDP

            Another must for good SEO is to avoid duplicate content at all costs.
            In general, creating similar descriptions for all the products in your online store can cause problems for search engines trying to index your pages.

            ** IN SUMMARY**

            SEO for Product Takes Work … But It’s Worth It
            There’s no doubt about it: SEO for product descriptions can be tricky.

            The key is to think of the online buyer’s information needs first and foremost. Then, follow the best practices to make sure your product description SEO skills will net the attention of search engines.

            That’s the simple rule of thumb for writing winning product descriptions that do their job without a hitch.

            Hopes this info will help you
            Regards

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
            • 1 / 1
            • First post
              Last post

            Got a burning SEO question?

            Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


            Start my free trial


            Browse Questions

            Explore more categories

            • Moz Tools

              Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

            • SEO Tactics

              Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

            • Community

              Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

            • Digital Marketing

              Chat about tactics outside of SEO

            • Research & Trends

              Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

            • Support

              Connect on product support and feature requests.

            • See all categories

            Related Questions

            • JustinBSLW

              Product content length & links within product description

              Hello, I have questions regarding content length and links within descriptions.  With our ecommerce site, we have thousands of products, each with a unique description. In the product description, I have links to the parent category and grandparent category (if it has one) in the main product text which is generally about 175 words. Then I have a last paragraph that's about 75 words that includes links to our main homepage and our main product catalogue page. Is the content length long enough? I used to use text that was 500 words, and shortening it I still rank when launching new products, so I don't think an increase in text length will have any additional benefit. I do see conflicting information when I do searches, with some people recommending a minimum of 300 words and some saying to try and go a 1000 for category pages. In regards to the links, I noticed a competitor has stopped following this format, so I'm unsure if I should keep going too. Is it too many links to have each of the products link back to the main catalogue and homepage? Is it good to have links with anchor text to the categories a product is in? There are breadcrumbs on the page with these links already. There are already have heaps of links on our pages (footer, and a right sidebar with image links to relevant categories), so my pages do get flagged for too many links. Thanks!

              On-Page Optimization | | JustinBSLW
              0
            • azu25

              Add content as blog post or to product pages?

              Hi, We have around 40 products which we can produce plenty of in-depth and detailed "how to"-type pieces of content for. Our current plan is to produce a "How to make" style post for each as a long blog post, then link that to the product page. There's probably half a dozen or more of these kind of blog posts that we could do for each product. The reason why we planned on doing it like this is that it would give us plenty of extra pages (blog posts) on their own URL which can be indexed and rank for long tail keywords, but also that we can mention these posts in our newsletter. It'd give people a new page full of specific content that they can read instead of us having to say "Hey! We've updated our product page for X!", which seems a little pointless. Most of the products we sell don't get very many searches themselves; Most get a couple dozen and the odd few get 100-300 each, while one gets more than 2,000 per month. The products don't get many searches as it's a relatively unknown niche when it comes to details, but searches for the "categories" these products are in are very well known (Some broad terms that cover the niche get more than 30,000+ searches a month in the UK and 100,000+ world wide) [Exact].
              Regarding the one product with more than 2,000 searches; This keyword is both the name of  the product and also a name for the category page. Many of our competitors have just one of these products, whereas we're one of the first to have more than 6 variations of this product, thus the category page is acting like our other product pages and the information you would usually find on our product pages, is on the category page for just this product. I'm still leaning towards creating each piece of content as it's own blog post which links to the product pages, while the product pages link to the relevant blog posts, but i'm starting to think that it may be be better to put all the content on the product pages themselves). The only problem with this is that it cuts out on more than 200 very indepth and long blog posts (which due to the amount of content, videos and potentially dozens of high resolution images may slow down the loading of the product pages). From what I can see, here are the pros and cons: Pro (For blog posts):
              1. More than 200 blog posts (potentially 1000+ words each with dozens of photos and potentially a video)..
              2. More pages to crawl, index and rank..
              3. More pages to post on social media..
              4. Able to comment about the posts in the newsletter - Sounds more unique than "We've just updated this product page"..
              5. Commenting is available on blog posts, whereas it is not on product pages..
              6. So much information could slow down the loading of product pages significantly..
              7. Some products are very similar (ie, the same product but "better quality" - Difficult to explain without giving the niche away, which i'd prefer not to do ATM) and this would mean the same content isn't on multiple pages.
              8. By my understanding, this would be better for Google Authorship/Publishership.. Con (Against blog posts. For extended product pages):
              1. Customers have all information in one place and don't have to click on a "Related Blog posts" tab..
              2. More content means better ability to rank for product related keywords (All but a few receive very few searches per month, but the niche is exploding at an amazing rate at the moment)..
              3. Very little chance of a blog post out-ranking the related product page for keywords.. I've run out of ideas for the 'Con' side of things, but that's why I'd like opinions from someone here if possible. I'd really appreciate any and all input, Thanks! [EDIT]:
              I should add that there will be a small "How to make" style section on product pages anyway, which covers the most common step by step instructions. In the content we planned for blog posts, we'd explore the regular method in greater detail and several other methods in good detail. Our products can be "made" in several different ways which each result in a unique end result (some people may prefer it one way than another, so we want to cover every possible method), effectively meaning that there's an almost unlimited amount of content we could write.
              In fact, you could probably think of the blog posts as more of "an ultimate guide to X" instead of simply "How to X"...

              On-Page Optimization | | azu25
              0
            • cmp101

              Does css float affect SEO?

              It is generally believed that the closer the content is to the top of the page, the better it is for SEO.  If that's incorrect, please let me know. I have a 2 column site where the left menu is navigation and right side is content.  Obviously, the left menu appears in the code before the content does, but I can flip them around via css float.  If I do that, the content will appear on the left visually, even though in the code it still comes after the left side navigation. Do either positions affect seo?

              On-Page Optimization | | cmp101
              0
            • semmediapvtltd

              Is .PW domain is good for SEO?

              I want to register .PW domain which has recently got live to register. I am in doubt should it is good for SEO or not.

              On-Page Optimization | | semmediapvtltd
              0
            • GOODSIR

              Is content aggregation good SEO?

              I didn't see this topic specifically addressed here: what's the current thinking on using content aggregation for SEO purposes? I'll use flavors.me as an example. Flavors.me lets you set up a domain that pulls in content from a variety of services (Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, RSS, etc.). There's also a limited ability to publish unique content as well. So let's say that we've got MyDomain.com set up, and most of the content is being drawn in from other services. So there's blog posts from WordPress.com, videos from YouTube, a photo gallery from Flickr, etc. How would Google look at this scenario? Is MyDomain.com simply scraped content from the other (more authoritative) sources? Is the aggregated content perceived to "belong" to MyDomain.com or not? And most importantly, if you're aggregating a lot of content related to Topic X, will this content aggregation help MyDomain.com rank for Topic X? Looking forward to the community's thoughts. Thanks!

              On-Page Optimization | | GOODSIR
              0
            • kennyrowe

              ECommerce Product Meta Descriptions vs. Product Descriptions

              Wondering if using on-page product descriptions as the individual product meta descriptions is a best practice for an eCommerce site? Instead of writing two product descriptions (one regular and one meta), I am thinking if the product copy is SEO rich, we'd be good to use just the one for both purposes. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? Seems that many companies follow this practice. Thanks!

              On-Page Optimization | | kennyrowe
              1
            • BoatOutfitters

              Are blank Product Review pages bad for SEO?

              Hi there, I'm running a new e-commerce site (BoatOutfitters.com) and have a question about our product review pages. On our current campaign, we have a lot of duplicate page content errors. When we export the data, it's almost all blank product review pages (since we are new, we don't have that many product reviews yet). Our product reviews aren't run through javascript, so we originally did not add them to a robots.txt file - however, I'm now wondering if it's worse to have all of these duplicate blank pages, or is it not affecting our SEO at all? Should we just wait until these products have reviews which will benefit our SEO and then they won't be considered "duplicate pages" - right? Sorry if this has been answered before - new here at SEO Moz and just looking for some help. Thanks!

              On-Page Optimization | | BoatOutfitters
              0
            • BradBorst

              Is an Overflow SEO friendly

              Is an "overflow" (scrollbar) seo and Google friendly?  I only ask because it hides part of the visible text.

              On-Page Optimization | | BradBorst
              0

            Get started with Moz Pro!

            Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

            Start my free trial
            Products
            • Moz Pro
            • Moz Local
            • Moz API
            • Moz Data
            • STAT
            • Product Updates
            Moz Solutions
            • SMB Solutions
            • Agency Solutions
            • Enterprise Solutions
            • Digital Marketers
            Free SEO Tools
            • Domain Authority Checker
            • Link Explorer
            • Keyword Explorer
            • Competitive Research
            • Brand Authority Checker
            • Local Citation Checker
            • MozBar Extension
            • MozCast
            Resources
            • Blog
            • SEO Learning Center
            • Help Hub
            • Beginner's Guide to SEO
            • How-to Guides
            • Moz Academy
            • API Docs
            About Moz
            • About
            • Team
            • Careers
            • Contact
            Why Moz
            • Case Studies
            • Testimonials
            Get Involved
            • Become an Affiliate
            • MozCon
            • Webinars
            • Practical Marketer Series
            • MozPod
            Connect with us

            Contact the Help team

            Join our newsletter
            Moz logo
            © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
            • Accessibility
            • Terms of Use
            • Privacy

            Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.