Once upon a time all you needed to do was add some nifty metatags and Google played into your pathway, obediently ranking your website top of the search results. That was then. Now, Google has evolved to become a more dynamic search engine that evaluates diligently what is and is not good content. Google now looks for signals of quality in a website’s content before committing to increasing the sites ranking. How do you produce quality in your online written content? Create content that people are interested in, and create content that makes you look like an authority in your space.
E-commerce websites of course must contain listings of products accompanied by attractive imagery and all the specifics surrounding the products. Specifics such as size, weight, measurements etc, have to be included in the content of product pages. These detailed descriptions of your products will not only inform your customers of the attributes of what it is they are buying, but the transparency with which you are sharing information will instil a confidence in buyers that there will be no last minute surprises once the products arrive, enticing them to complete the sale then and there. However, in addition to product information there is a wealth of content that you could be producing to make yourself the centre of authority around your product. Adding attractive headers, using current language and colloquialisms which are emblematic of the trends that appeal to your audience, is highly effecting in engaging visitors and holding their attention long enough that they will browse and buy your products.
When writing product descriptions one thing to bear in mind is that these products may come with very similar description to those present on competitor sites. Indeed, your competitors may be selling exactly the same products as you complete with replica product details. In Google’s mind this qualifies as duplicate content; when the text and the content on your site is the same as what somebody else has already published. To Google this is not a signal of trust and authority, indeed it’s a questionable signal. So when you have products on your website that are generally the same as what competitors or selling, or what even one other website is selling, re-write the descriptions of your products in your own voice.
Lastly try to encourage as much product reviews as possible. Google will consider these as key identifies that you are indeed a leader in your field and an authority on what you sell and it will not least of all recognise that you operate the sort of website that other consumers take interest in.
As we have seen online content is key in getting you up the rankings and into the path of your target audience. Master a voice which has a strong synergy with your target market, coupled with enough informative yet unique product information and you have a winning combination.
