Many e-commerce store owners focus a lot of their attention on optimizing their home page. So much so that they don’t give their product pages the attention they require. Ensuring that your product page is built correctly and with the customer in mind is essential to converting visitors into customers.
To better understand the importance of a well-built product page we are going to create a scenario. Let’s say you’re in the market for a new bag. During your online search for the perfect bag, you navigate between two e-commerce stores.
The first website has only one image of the bag, and it is small and blurry. There is no description and no product variations listed. So you’re unsure if they have the color or size you were hoping for. You don’t see a single review from anyone who has purchased the bag.
The second website you visit showcases the bag with multiple high-resolution products shots at various angles. It even has a video of the product being demoed. It outlines all of the variations in detail (it comes in black, and white and in a large and smaller size). There are also a bunch customer reviews on the page who are all head over heels about the bag.
So, who are you going to buy your bag from?
If you answered the second website then you have proven the importance of having a properly built and optimized e-commerce page.
Most e-commerce businesses operate under the mindset that the more people I bring to my product page the more sales I will generate. This isn’t exactly true. Instead, more sales can be generated by optimizing your current product pages to convert more of your existing traffic. In fact, simply sending more people to product pages that haven’t been optimized only results in wasted ad dollars.
So, how do you build and optimize a successful e-commerce product page? Follow these 5 do’s and 5 don’ts to help convert your traffic income customers.
Do…
1. Use High-Quality Images
Your e-commerce customers cannot see your products in person. This means you need to create an online experience to simulate the feeling of what owning the product is like. The use of visuals is a great way to accomplish this.
Showcase your product from different angles. But don’t feel like you are limited to staged product shots. The best way to provide an experience with images is to show them in use. Use lifestyle type photos of the product in real life situations. If your product experience involves a person use someone who reflects your ideal customer for relatability.
Your images should provide a visual to the storytelling you do within your product description. Have them work together for the ultimate effect.
2. Add Product Videos
If pictures are worth a thousand words, then a video is worth ten thousand words. Videos are becoming more commonly found on product pages. The reason is that they can tell more of a story than photos.
If produced correctly video is the best way to help your potential customer visualize themselves using the product. With a properly produced video including the right imagery and soundtrack, you can even persuade the emotional state of that person.
Not to say this fully replaces high-quality images, rather it works in tandem with them. Think of it this way, images allow you to see the product in great detail and the video allows you to showcase the product in use.
3. Include Social Proof
What is social proof? Social proof is a way to influence your potential customers to make purchases based on the decisions made by others. For various reasons, some potential customers will find themselves on the fence when making the decision to buy. The idea is that we reinforce the decision to buy the product from showing them that someone else made the decision and is happy with it.
One of the simplest forms of social proof is reviews. Good reviews are gold. It’s one thing for the company to say how good their product is, but to hear it from an actual customer speaks volumes. Make sure to include customer reviews on your product page and be completely transparent when doing so. Don’t go deleting a bad review, that will cause you more harm than good. Studies show that 70% of consumers say they look at product reviews before making a purchase, and product reviews are 12x more trusted than product descriptions from manufacturers.
Tools like Proof add a more interactive form of social proof. Instead of reviews, they display real-time customer activity notifications on your website. It’s a way of turning your existing customers into brand advocates.
4. Write Vivid Product Descriptions
The description is where you breathe life into your product. This is where your audience will get all of the details they a searching for. But before you start writing you need to fully understand your audience.
Don’t write for you, write for them. Get in the mind of your potential customer. Would they want a more technical description, or something more fun? Your ideal customer should dictate your tone and voice. But either way, you want to make sure it’s easy to read, avoid the use of jargon.
Uncover your ideal customer’s pain points, desires, and needs. Use these are talking points within your copy. Use this time to help them overcome any objections they may have.
5. Build Trust
Your product pages need to put to rest any potential concerns your customer will have when making a purchase. Think of all the potential roadblocks you may face when trying to convert a potential customer and address them.
Here are some elements you can easily add to your product page to build trust:
- Shipping information
- Warranty information
- Return policy
- Money back guarantee
Of course, roadblocks will be different for each product type and industry. Always learn from your customers on better ways to put shoppers at ease.
Don’t…
1. Bury the Call to Action
Your call to action (CTA) needs to be front and center on your product page. Having a CTA that is difficult to find can really hurt your conversion rate.
You want to make sure it is visible ‘above the fold’ on the page. This means it should be visible on load without having to scroll.
The CTA should stand out and draw the eye of the visitor. Bold the text, use a background color that contrasts your page, and use a font and font size that is easy to read. In addition to that, make sure the wording is to the point and specific to the desired action.
2. Recommend Non-Relevant Products.
When executed effectively cross-selling can really boost your average order value (AOV). On the flip side, when it is not executed properly it really hurts the user experience.
Make sure that any cross-sell products are related to the item that the customer is interested in. If they aren’t it makes it feel like you are simply attempting to shove random products into their cart. This comes across as invasive. Personalize the shopping experience by recommending and cross-selling products that enhance the use of the item they are interested in.
Also, only cross-sell after the user adds the primary item to their cart. If you try to push this prior to that taking place you could likely lose the conversion.
3. Make False Promises or Guarantees
Enticing potential customers to make a purchase based on false promises or guarantees is just bad for business.
As an example, if you promote the idea of a 90-day money back guarantee you better follow through. If you fail to do so not only will you damage the relationship with that customer but bruise your brand’s reputation after their voice is heard online. And trust me, their voice will be heard.
Be careful when choosing your guarantees. Only advertise those that you are willing to back 100%.
4. Hide Additional Fees
Be completely transparent and upfront, especially when it comes to pricing. Don’t bait a potential customer on a price on the front end and then add in unexpected fees during the checkout. Not only will it cost you that sale but it will change the perception people have of your business as a whole.
5. Overlook Naming Your Product
Your product name should be as detailed as possible. This will make it easier for a potential customer to find exactly what they are looking for. Not only that, but each of the words in your product title will act as potential keywords for searches.
Avoid any type of bait and switch tactic with your product name. Never create a title that does not match the product. Your conversations will suffer because of it.
One important thing to remember with all of this is that you always want to be testing multiple variations of your product pages. Every e-commerce business is different and so are their customers. By creating different variations of your product pages you can learn a lot about the behavior of your customers. It also allows you the ability to use that data to refine your product pages to be the most successful possible.
Having an e-commerce product page that is set up correctly will ensure your business is profitable. Let’s crunch some numbers to prove it.
Let’s say you’re driving 100,000 visitors to your product page and converting them at 1% with an AOV of $75.
That means you’re generating $75,000 in revenue.
By optimizing your product page and increasing your conversion rate slightly to 1.5% you will be increasing your revenue to $112,500.
All of that additional revenue doesn’t even require an increase in ad spend. It is all done with your existing traffic. Those numbers alone should give you the incentive you need to start optimizing your product pages today.
