11 Tips for Ecommerce Product Page Optimization

Ecommerce brands spend considerable time and budget driving customers to product pages – but is that page the best it can be? Optimizing product pages is a cost-effective way to increase conversions and maximize the value of your marketing efforts.

Whether your site has a dozen product pages or hundreds, we have seven tips to optimize product pages to drive conversions and delight customers.

First, What Is Product Page Optimization?

Product page optimization is the ongoing process of changing the format, content, features, and design of either a product category or product detail pages on an ecommerce website. Many marketers refer to product page optimization as conversion rate optimization since

product pages are at the very bottom of the sales funnel and tend to have higher average conversion rates than other types of content.

We’ve divided our product page optimization tips into two categories. First, we’ll examine product page SEO best practices to drive quality organic traffic to the site. Then, we’ll examine some visual and content opportunities to provide users with the on-page experience that will help them convert.

7 Tips for How to Optimize Product Pages for SEO

Comprehensive product page optimization addresses all of the factors that can affect how a page ranks on a search engine results page (SERP).

1. Research Short and Long-Tail Keywords for Product Pages

A product page should target keywords that accurately describe and categorize the product, helping search engines and customers find what they’re looking for.

Let’s start with the basics of keyword optimization for a product page.

Do keyword research to identify a unique keyword group for each product page that combines broad, short-tail queries with specific, long-tail queries. Choose keywords based on relevancy and purchase intent, not search volume!

A quick example: The search query “red shoes” has an average of 40,500 Google searches per month. If you’re selling men’s red running shoes, winning that term will likely result in a lot of SERP impressions, but very few clicks and even fewer conversions. Holding a top three position for “men’s red running shoes” and its 320 monthly Google searches is much more relevant – and lucrative. We’ll expand on this a bit more soon.

Include your primary keywords in the title tag, meta description, and H1, making sure they sound natural and not repetitive. Don’t drop the ball in the description either – write an original, keyword-rich description instead of using a manufacturer’s default language.  

2. Research Customer Preference and Product FAQ Keywords

As you do your keyword research for product page optimization, you may notice some long-tail keywords falling into two categories:

1. Question keywords – Example: “Do Asics shoes run small?” [Editor’s note: They do not.]
2. Keywords indicating specific product preferences – Example: Apple MacBook Pro 15in M1 Chip

For example, pretend you’re selling this record player that looks like an old gramophone.

You will find these question queries during your keyword research:

• what record player should i buy – 260 US-based searches per month
• do you need speakers for a record player – 140 US-based searches per month
• why buy a record player – 90 US-based searches per month
• can a record player play any size vinyl – 40 US-based searches per month

And these preference keywords:

• record player with horn – 1,300 US-based searches per month
• record player with built-in speakers – 880 US-based searches per month
• affordable record player – 260 US-based searches per month

When it comes to SEO for product pages, it’s all about understanding your users and what they want. These queries reflect a user qualifying specific features and reflect intent to purchase, so they’re excellent choices for your product page. Try putting the preference keywords in your product description. Then include a FAQ section after that to address the rest.

3. Don’t Automate Keyword Optimization

You should avoid doing this if you can. For example, it may be tempting to auto-generate all your title tags and meta descriptions by just swapping out a word here and there – programmatically or using CMS settings. But if you want your product pages to rank well and get good clickthrough from the SERP, it’s best to write unique and informative title tags and meta descriptions. The same goes for product descriptions.

But what if you have so many product pages you can’t create unique content for all of them? Well, you may need to automate some of your content. But if you do, you must tell search engines how to handle it so you don’t run into duplicate content problems.

For example, imagine you have 300 products, and there are 20 versions of every product page to represent all available sizes.

In this scenario, it may be best to:

• Manually optimize the primary version of each product page.
• Automatically generate the content for the variant pages (with software; or copy-paste and change some words).
• Canonicalize all the variants to the primary version.

4. Ecommerce Product Description SEO Best Practice: Metadata

Outside of your metadata, the product description is the most important component of on-page SEO. Try to naturally include mentions of key features, colors, size options, or differentiating components that have organic search value. 

5. Additional Product Page SEO Best Practice: URL Structure

Even relatively small ecommerce sites balloon quickly if they create unique URLs for different product variants.

Suppose people are frequently searching for the product using color-specific keywords. In that case, you might create a unique page (with a unique URL) for every color variation while still including a JavaScript color switcher on each page. This seems attractive, but it can come with a lot of extra work and risk, including duplicate content and cannibalization issues. Search Engine Journal brilliantly summarizes how to decide whether to write many variants of a single product page.

Hot Tip: Unless you have mega resources, it may be best to stick with single product pages that have JavaScript color/size/quantity selectors that don’t change the URL when clicked.

6. Use Schema Markup

Product pages need product schema markup. This allows search engines to pull product information like price, ratings, primary image, SKU, color, and other details right into search results. If your product result doesn’t have that information in the SERP but your competitors’ products do, the competitor is more likely to get the clicks.

Need a refresher on this whole area of SEO? Check out our schema markup overview.

We recommend these types of schema markup for your ecommerce product pages:

• Product schema, including these: product name, color, size/dimensions, price, image, brand, description, SKU
• FAQ schema
• Review and ratings schema
• Availability schema
• Video schema
• BreadcrumbList
• and more …

Many schema markup capabilities are built in if you use a CMS (or CMS plugin) like WooCommerce or Shopify. See what’s available, then customize on top of that.

7. Prioritize Technical SEO

As if that schema markup discussion wasn’t already complex enough …

The technical SEO health of your ecommerce site is vitally important. If your website isn’t fast, well-structured, and crawlable, all the work you put into on-page SEO won’t deliver the results you’re looking for.

From the SEO team at Oneupweb, here are four quick technical SEO guidelines for ecommerce websites:

• Avoid iframes. Your content should truly be on the page.
• Prioritize site speed, especially Core Web Vitals, and especially for mobile users.
• Make internal linking strategic, not heavy-handed.
• Use merchant centers for product listings, such as Google Shopping.
• Use canonical meta tags to handle duplicate content.
• Control crawl budget for massive sites by adding noindex or canonicals to pages that don’t need to rank in search engines.

(If some of this terminology is over your head, check out our SEO glossary.)

Once these measures are taken, it’s typical to see improved rankings in the SERP for your product pages at about the six-month mark. This will bring more direct traffic to your product pages.

The final section below includes tips for changing your product pages so that users are more likely to convert once they are there.

4 Ways to Drive Product Page Conversions by Optimizing for User Experience

Strong SEO only puts customers in a position to convert. Once users are on-site, ecommerce brands use a mix of stunning photography, informed page formatting, and social proof to get turn users into customers.

Here’s how to optimize your product pages for more sales …

1. Use a Clear Call-to-Action

Effective product page design puts the customer in a position to convert. One way to do this is by keeping all important information near the top of the product page. Your call-to-action (aka that “add to cart” button) should be visible above the fold – if possible, to describe the basic product information in that space. Make sure the CTA is consistent throughout a user’s experience. For example, if you land someone on a product page through a social media ad that promises 15% off, don’t hit them with a pop-up offering the same offer requiring more steps. At the heart of efficient product page optimization is a question: How am I helping the user find what they need to find?

2. Use Professional, Optimized Product Photos and Videos

One often overlooked ecommerce product page best practice is imagery. Successful businesses rely on beautiful, engaging photography and videos to get clicks and shares on social media. That same quality should greet users when they land on your product pages.

What to shoot (and how!):

When it comes to product photography, sweat the details. Include a comprehensive gallery of product images that replicates the in-person experience of picking up a product and giving it a 360-degree inspection. If possible, include lifestyle photos that show the image in use in real life to tell the full story – more on that in a second.

Product videos:

It’s video; people can’t not look at it. If your business doesn’t have the budget to include a demo or lifestyle video with every product, focus on creating video assets that cover a product category. (Bonus: You can also cut the footage down into some sweet video ads and use clips in social media content!)

3. Tell an Exciting Story

Believe it or not, storytelling has a place on a perfectly optimized product page. Don’t just describe the product itself; use photography, video, and text to describe the phenomenal experience the customer will have after they make a purchase. Showcasing customer testimonials is another smart way to let prospective buyers imagine themselves enjoying new shoes, riding that new bike, or logging into that new laptop.

4. Add Reviews and Ratings

87% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase, and 79% trust them as much as they would a personal recommendation. Putting customer-submitted feedback about individual products helps convince customers that the product is the best option out of an internet full of other choices.

For ecommerce brands, the goal is to give customers who already have items in a cart every reason to click Buy. Think about it this way: Having a few positive reviews on a product page is akin to having satisfied customers in a brick-and-mortar store, encouraging undecided shoppers to purchase.

(Avoid showing just one cherry-picked, 5-star review. Aggregated reviews are more trustworthy and allow the user to explore details about your product.)

Get More Ecommerce Sales with Oneupweb

Product page optimization is a complex process. It does not happen once and then get crossed off your to-do list. Every new trend and technology is a new opportunity to put your brand in front of the right customer.

Need a hand getting the most out of your ecommerce site? Working with a digital marketing agency (you know, like us) is an investment in your remarkable products. Schedule a chat with Oneupweb today to meet the demands of today’s complex digital world.