Brands with ecommerce websites rely heavily on product pages to convert their website visitors into paying customers. To maximize your product pages, present users with the information they need, organized in a way that compels them to take action. But before you can strategize how you’ll get prospects to buy, consider how you’ll get them to your webpages in the first place: by optimizing them for search. Here are four tips to drive traffic to your product pages – and convert users once they get there.
1. Use High-Quality Product Images
Research has shown that product pages with larger images may help to answer users' questions about the product's features. For example, a close-up image of a security system may reveal buttons that show how easy it is to arm or disarm. Or an espresso-colored coffee table displayed in a living room setting may inspire the user to buy the table – and the chevron pillow sitting on the couch behind it.
Product images should typically be web-resolution (typically 72 dots per inch or dpi). This will help to keep your webpage's load time low, another important consideration to increasing the “stickiness" of your product pages. Before uploading your product images, follow these great tips on how to optimize them for search.
2. Display Important Content “Above the Fold"
Web users spend 80 percent of their time looking at information above the page fold, according to studies by Nielsen Norman Group. Provide users with the information they need immediately upon visiting your product pages, without having to scroll down.
This product information might include:
- Product name
- Price (plus shipping costs)
- Product details
- Estimated time of delivery
- Star rating (i.e., users rated this product 4 of 5 stars)
- Call-to-action to buy
If the user has to work to figure out how to buy your product, chances are, they’ll opt to shop elsewhere.
Example view of product page “above the fold”:
3. Optimize the Content for a Relevant Keyword
Keyword optimization is the act of selecting a word or a phrase that describes the central “theme" of your webpage and then taking that word or phrase and integrating it into the content. Simple enough, right? However, this is where many ecommerce sites fall short.
For example, let's say you have a product page about markers. Naturally, “markers" may seem like the perfect keyphrase. In actuality, it may be too broad for the individual product, making it difficult to outrank the numerous other more category-level pages targeting the same keyphrase. To refine it, consider the specific features of the product that make it unique, as well as why the end-user might buy it. Maybe they're washable markers, perfect for a teacher whose students like to turn their clothing into artwork – much to the detriment of their parents. In that case, you could refine the keyphrase to “washable Crayola markers class-room pack" which may help to decrease the level of irrelevant competition and increase your chances of ranking for a qualified, relevant search.
Consider incorporating the keyword you select into your product pages:
- Title tag & description tag
- Headline (h1)
- Product details
- Product image caption
- Alt text
4. Add a “You Might Also Like…" Content Region
Once you've earned a customer's business, grow it by showing them there's more where that came from. This section should feature three to four products that are similar or relevant to the product on the given page. For example, if a user was shopping for a corner office desk, show them similar desks in that category. Alternatively, you could also display related items, like a matching stand-alone filing cabinet.
This can help to upsell customers and also help to make their shopping experience easier – by anticipating their needs and putting what they're looking for right at their fingertips.
