So your online store isn’t doing as well as you’d like, and you’re trying to figure out why.
You’ve done all the essentials. Your website looks great, and it is both easy to navigate and easy to use. Your products are clearly labeled, and there are various incentives to buy, including a strong returns policy, discounted shipping, and promotions. You are driving qualified traffic to the site with a variety of initiatives including SEO, social media, and Pay-per-click campaigns. There’s just one small problem. People still aren’t buying your products. The thing is, it doesn’t matter how great your site is, how easy you make it to buy, how many people come to your siteif they aren’t interested in what you’re selling. But wait, you’ve done your research. You are certain people want what you offer. Then most likely the problem is not what you’re selling, but how you’re selling it.
Why Are Product Pages Important?
A product page is more than just a place for customers to buy your product… it’s also a place you can convince them to buy it. The more relevant information about the product on the page, and the more reasons to buy, the higher the likelihood of someone buying it. In fact, you should treat every product page as a salesman for the product. Some product pages have a mere paragraph describing the product. Would you expect a door-to-door salesman to limit his sales presentations to a few words? Explain every virtue and overcome every possible objection to buying the product, and don’t worry if it runs a bit long. Generally, the more expensive/obscure the product, the longer the page needs to be. You don’t need to take my word for it, take a look at the Kindle’s product page. It’s not random chance that the page runs extremely long and features multiple sections. Printed out, it would exceed 5 pages. It’s designed that way, because Amazon has found that a long product page works best for the Kindle. And it might work best for your product too. So the next time you’re designing a product page, make sure it actually sells the product.
But what if you’re selling hundreds or thousands of different items?
The above applies to items that are particularly difficult to sell. However, you cannot take that approach to all your product pages if you have hundreds of them. So what common elements can be included in all your product pages that helps sell all your products? First, make sure to include some kind of review system. Not only does that provide you with credibility, but in many cases reviews can do the selling for you! Of course, make sure reviews are easy to create and easy to view. Secondly, make sure the product page layout is suitable for the type of product you are selling. Are you selling computer hardware? Then you will want to include the technical specifications of each part in every product page. If you’re selling food products, you might want to include how long the food can be stored. In short, it depends entirely on what you’re selling. But whatever it is, make sure you are providing all the necessary information for a potential buyer to make a decision. Product pages are an incredibly powerful way to increase sales for your online store, if utilized properly. But they often aren’t. Have you tweaked your product pages lately?