How to Write Product Descriptions That Actually Sell

Product descriptions: Your secret to digital discovery

Product descriptions are a lot like the tires on your car. When they’re working, you barely notice they’re there. And when they’re not? You slam the brakes and wonder WTF just happened.

But, what makes a great product description? Isn’t it enough that it breaks down some features and uses some of your branded lingo?

Product descriptions aren’t given the love they deserve.

When properly optimized, they can do so much more than serve as a mouthpiece for your latest offering. In reality, they can act as a piece of marketing that drives site traffic, gets you into AI engines, and helps customers make an informed decision.

What is a product description?

A product description is copy that describes a product, breaking down its features and benefits.

A product description lives on both product pages and anywhere else your products show up, whether that’s your home page, third-party marketplaces like Amazon or Walmart, or in marketing collateral on social media.

Short-form vs long-form product descriptions.

Product descriptions come in two varieties: short-form and long-form. Both of them are important for luring in potential customers, and both of them have different purposes.

• Short-form product descriptions: Quick, scannable copy that highlights main product specs and selling points in no more than 200 words, often presented in a bulleted list or more mobile-friendly format.

• Long-form product descriptions: At up to 1,000 words or more, this description type contains extensive information, more room for search engine optimization (SEO), and is great for dedicated pages.

Neither a short nor long-form product description is “best.” Like sugar and cinnamon, they both have their place.

The difference between product descriptions and product specs.

Where a product description uses a combination of everyday language and marketing speak to describe a product, product specs are more technical in nature.

For instance, a product spec for a computer processor will detail the speed in gigahertz, number of cores, motherboard compatibility, and so on.

Meanwhile, a description will showcase the product benefits of the processor. Can it play the latest games? Is the target customer a graphic designer or college student? Does any of it matter when data centers have swallowed all the computer parts?

In short: A great product description tells you why the product is great, whereas specs act as the receipt for that claim.

Where product descriptions appear (PDPs, category pages, ads, email).

Product descriptions can appear in a number of places, including:

• Product detail pages (PDP) or product listings

• Third-party marketplaces

• Search engine results (SERPS)

• Social media posts and ads

In other words, your product descriptions can appear anywhere your product might show up. Depending on the use case, that description might be short or long-form, but in almost all cases it will include the product title and brief description at the very least.

Why product descriptions matter for conversions

An effective product description does more than list features. It persuades. But wait, there’s more!

Compelling product descriptions can help both physical and digital products get discovered by potential customers, drive conversions, and even impact your paid ad quality scores.

Impact on organic search rankings, in both traditional SERPs, Google AI Overview, and generative AI tools.

Sure, a product description is a great way to list out product features. It’s also a great way to help with visibility and discoverability.

Within a product description, you can speak directly to customer FAQs, leverage keyword research to help with SEO and SERP performance, and increase the chances your product shows up in generative AI tools.

For example, say someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexlity, “Help me find a yellow raincoat that’s under $100.” If you’ve got agentic AI-ready product pages that speak to this, it could be your raincoat that gets surfaced.

“Answer engines are not reading your product catalogs. What they want is to find solutions for informational intent queries — which means you have to put mini FAQs on your PDPs so that agents have something to work with when they are generating answers to informational intent queries.”

— Heather Hershey, Research Director, IDC

Role in reducing returns and buyer hesitation.

Almost 1-in-5 online retail purchases are returned. Sometimes a return is inevitable. The person changed their mind, found something they liked more, etc. But, what about the rest of the time?

Take apparel, for example. Odds are, you’ve bought an item of clothing and returned it because it didn’t fit. A more accurate description that included better sizing information could have prevented that.

For those on the fence about a product, a well-written description can help with hesitation, too. If someone’s debating the durability of your coffee mugs, make it known in the description that they can withstand a nice tumble off a desk.

Influence on paid ad quality scores.

Google uses a quality score to gauge the potential effectiveness of your ads. This can influence how much bids cost you, your ad placement, and ultimately how successful your campaigns are. A quality product description can go a long way here.

When writing a product description, make sure:

• Focus keywords appear in a relevant manner

• Commonly-included features in that category are called out

• Generic copy is avoided, with specifics swapped in instead

• The pairing landing page matches the ad

Your ad’s quality score largely depends on your ad’s potential performance, as well as past performance. By focusing on the above, you’re creating an ad that’s faithful to your product, optimized for search, and more likely to perform well with Google and customers alike.

How to write a product description: step-by-step

You know your products are great, but how do you go about conveying that in a product description?

Unless you’re marketing to your grandma, customers are going to need more than your word. Fortunately, there are some tried-and-true steps that can help you write a compelling, on-brand product description in no time.

Step 1. Define your target buyer persona.

Effective product descriptions start with a deep understanding of your buyer persona.

Don't just list features. Speak directly to your target customer's needs and lifestyle.

Ask yourself:

Who is this for? Define your target audience by demographics: age, gender, interests. A hiking backpack highlights durability for adventurers. A diaper bag emphasizes convenience for parents.

What are the basics? Include size, material, key features, and price.

When do they use it? Daily? Special occasions? Seasonal? Position a throw blanket as a winter essential for cozy nights.

Where do they use it? Home? Office? Travel? Market a portable blender to fitness enthusiasts, making smoothies on the go.

Why choose yours? Highlight your selling points. “Ergonomically designed to boost productivity and reduce back pain” beats generic claims.

How does it work? Explain functions for complex or tech products.

Tailor descriptions to your audience. Show shoppers why your product fits their life.

Step 2. Lead with benefits, not just features.

Most customers don't buy a water bottle because of its stainless steel construction. They buy it because it’s touted as a way to keep drinks cold on hot days.

Address pain points in the product description. Show how your product can solve a problem or improve someone’s life. (Think back on your persona!)

For example:

Feature-driven: “Standing desk made of oak with adjustable height from 28 to 48 inches.“

Benefit-driven: “Reduce back pain and stay energized. This adjustable desk helps improve posture and boost productivity — while adding a sleek touch to your workspace.”

There’s a time and place for both, much like short and long-form descriptions. If something is very technical, feature-driven descriptions are often a must. But, driving home the benefits is still important to helping someone understand why your product should have a place in their life.

Step 3. Use sensory and emotional language.

Save plain text for notepad docs. Make your product descriptions as alive as possible by using sensory and emotional language.

For example:

• Plain: Keep your website safe with our real-time analytics.

• Enhanced: Sleep soundly with vigilant, 24/7/365 protection that alerts you to any network threats.

In long-form product descriptions, you can truly get creative. Tell a story and help the customer see how your product could fit into their day-to-day life.

Step 4. Incorporate social proof signals.

Listen, nobody wants to be called a liar. But, without social proof, like reviews or testimonials, all people have is your word. And even that could be AI-generated or ghostwritten.

Only 4% of customers aren’t reading any online reviews. The other 96% are doing their due diligence. Including social proof in your product descriptions is crucial if you want to speak to this audience of, well, almost everyone.

If you’ve got high Amazon ratings, highlight them and include them on your product pages. Have you won awards? Is your Trustpilot rating in the clouds? Make it known.

Customer reviews, user-generated content, and trust signals build confidence. High Amazon ratings? Highlight them.

Don’t have any reviews? Make sure you’re reading up on word-of-mouth-marketing and how to gather customer feedback.

Step 5. Optimize for search (primary keyword, natural secondary phrases).

Once again, your product descriptions are SEO gold. Just as you optimize an article or page for a certain keyword and secondary phrases, you should optimize your product descriptions.

Use any number of SEO tools to perform keyword research, figuring out which terms make sense for a particular product. Then, optimize for it.

• Include the primary keyword in the description.

• Feature the keyword in the product title if it makes sense.

• Include secondary phrases that frequently come up with that keyword.

• Perform competitor research and see how others are using that keyword.

You won’t win a keyword overnight, but with the right optimization you can rank over time.

Step 6. Format for scannability.

Whether you’re writing a short or long-form description, things should be scannable.

• Use bullet points, just like these ones right here.

• Emphasize key copy by making it bold.

• Write short paragraphs. Big walls of text scare people.

• Break up pages with nice visuals that keep things interesting.

Most of the above apply to general web copy, too. If you’re not already doing these things with your articles and other pages, make sure to incorporate a scannable approach moving forward.

Step 7. Add a clear micro-CTA or urgency element.

A great product description is only great if someone buys the thing. A sense of urgency or a micro-CTA can help make this happen.

A micro-CTA can vary depending on the type of product. Typically, a micro-CTA isn’t your “Add to cart” or “Buy now” button, but something related. For instance, you could include a micro-CTA urging people to watch a quick demo video or view the product on a model.

Urgency can be a little trickier. If you’re running a sale or the item is limited, this is an easy one to call out. Otherwise, you can create urgency by pointing out how NOT buying this item is impacting the person.

For instance, if you’re selling water bottles, you could mention that summer is just around the corner and it ain’t getting any cooler out there. It’d be cool if it was, though.

Product description best practices

Congratulations, you now know how to write a product description from beginning to end. Now, let’s take a look at how you can really make those descriptions sing.

Match tone to your brand voice and target audience.

Everything you write should be on-brand, whether it’s a product description or a social post or a witty little line in an article.

When writing product descriptions, make sure it’s in your brand voice and speaks directly to your target audience. People already do or will eventually love your brand for its voice. Keeping the product descriptions in-line with that voice will help them feel confident in purchasing.

Avoid quoting exact manufacturer content.

Unless you’re making your own products from scratch, you’re selling from a manufacturer. Use a manufacturer’s own words to inspire your descriptions and inform the specs, but don’t quote it verbatim.

Manufacturer descriptions are usually:

• Written for businesses or distributors

• Dryer than consumer-facing copy

• Matter-of-fact in approach

• Technically dense when compared to consumer copy

Again, the above is great for helping you decide whether you want to carry the product, and provides the specs you need to list on your own site. But, your own copy should be in your company’s voice and far more compelling.

Address common objections proactively.

It’s always a good idea to get ahead of problems, and this includes objections around a particular product.

If your product’s been around a while and you have negative reviews to reflect on, speak to those objections in your copy. Is the product “new and improved?” Then make it known. Do many negative reviews stem from misuse of the product? Make sure your description points out proper use.

If your product is brand new, then look at competitors and any complaints people frequently have. Then, speak to those objections.

A/B test descriptions for high-traffic SKUs.

A/B testing reveals what resonates with shoppers by tweaking small elements, one at a time, and seeing what results in a shift.

Minor tweaks can drive significant results. But, in order to get the most from an A/B test, you need the largest sample size possible. This makes your high-traffic SKUs far better candidates for testing than your small-volume ones.

Some common elements to A/B test include:

• Headlines: Benefit-driven vs. straightforward product names

• CTA text: “Shop Now” vs. “Get Yours Today”

• Format: Bullet points vs. short paragraphs

Once you’ve picked some elements to test, use tools like Google Analytics, Hotjar, or Crazy Egg to identify improvements.

Optimization never stops. Continuously refine to maximize conversions.

Product description examples (with analysis)

It’s one thing to read countless words about product descriptions. It’s another to see them, alive (not) and in the flesh (pixels). Let the following industry-specific product description examples serve as inspiration.

Example 1: Apparel / fashion product (emotional, lifestyle-led).

Saddleback Leather Company, maker of high-quality leather goods, features numerous product descriptions that embody an emotional, lifestyle-led approach.

Take the below example, from their Blackstone Barrister Briefcase product page.

The copy speaks to a luxurious lifestyle, while also mincing no words when it comes to laying out the emotional draw: joy.

Example 2: Tech / electronics product (feature + benefit hybrid).

Videopro, seller of cameras and photography equipment, features a large catalog of the latest and greatest in image technology. Camera descriptions are rife with technical speak, making it easy to get lost in all the numbers. Yet, Videopro does a great job balancing features and benefits.

Take the below example, which showcases the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III.

The copy doesn’t shy away from calling out specs, like the sensors or optical zoom, but also points to the clear benefit: this camera gives you photos and videos you’ll be proud to share.

Example 3: Food / consumable (sensory language heavy).

The Crab Place sells, as the name implies, seafood. When you’re selling food online, customers don’t have the benefit of a free sample or smelling the food cooking right in front of them. Instead, you have to paint a picture and really play into the senses.

The Crab Place does a great job driving home just how delicious their seafood is. Take the below example, which describes their Maine Lobster Tails.

Not only do they call them “mouth-watering” right out of the gate, they also use words like “buttery” and “rich taste.” It’s enough to make you start melting butter before finishing the paragraph.

Example 4: B2B or SaaS product (ROI-focused, functional).

Logiwa, a SaaS provider of logistics optimization tools, works in a space that’s both technical and highly ROI-driven. With how costly shipping and warehouse space are, efficiency and overall ROI are huge selling points.

Logiwa’s ecommerce shipping page is a prime example of using ROI-focused language in the B2B space, using a combination of emotional language and those that speak clearly about benefits.

The description calls out their “advanced” tech, points out how it helps with real problem areas like shipping rates, packaging, and carrier management, and immediately calls out minimization of waste. It’s emotional, benefit-driven, while not avoiding calling out real ROI potential.

How to write product descriptions with AI

Nothing beats good ol’ human ingenuity. But, writing product descriptions with AI is possible, and sometimes a decent solution. This is especially true if you’re dealing with a massive quantity of products.

Before you rush off and ask ChatGPT to do your homework, there are a few things to know.

When to use AI vs. writing from scratch.

Whenever it’s possible, you should write from scratch. But, what about when it’s not?

In general, you should:

Use AI: If you’re dealing with a high volume of product descriptions lacking copy, and the products aren’t highly technical. AI can also be helpful for an SEO pass after you’ve written copy.

Write from scratch: When time and resources allow, if the product is expensive, or if you’re wanting to lean in on the emotional/sensory angle.

How to prompt AI tools effectively for product copy.

Remember all those steps to writing product descriptions from earlier? When prompting AI to help with product descriptions, you want to keep all of those in mind.

You can accomplish this by including the following when prompting AI for product descriptions:

• Target audience: Who’s shopping for this product?

• Features: List out primary features you want highlighted.

• Benefits: Similarly, which benefits are you wanting to play up?

• Format: Is this going to be a long or short-form description? Bulleted?

• Guidelines: Set character counts, include style suggestions, and so on.

When prompting it, make sure you include historical context for the big picture. Is this product page part of a new line? Are you launching a campaign around this product? What’s the goal? The more information you can feed the beast, the better.

How to humanize and QA AI-generated descriptions.

You should always, always edit any AI output. Product descriptions are no exception.

Take whatever AI hands you and edit it, making sure that:

• Outputs make sense and are factually accurate

• Any writing has humanity and emotion in it

• Your brand voice is respected throughout

• Sentence length is varied

• Structure isn’t static throughout

• Fluffy, nonsensical words are stripped (and replaced with your own fluffy, nonsensical words)

It’s a good idea to look up what the latest AI buzzwords and habits are, too. The em dash will never be safe again, but other words, phrases, and structures come and go with AI.

Risks: generic output, hallucinated specs, brand voice drift.

AI isn’t a magic cure-all, and it’s not without its risks. Make sure you’re always on the lookout for:

• Generic outputs: Beyond buzzwords, you want to make sure AI content isn’t just flat out generic, either.

• Hallucinated specs: Sometimes AI goes off the rails and hallucinates, pulling specs or “facts” out of thin air. Always fact check outputs and make sure specs line up, and statements are truthful.

• Brand voice drift: Nobody knows your brand voice like you. While many AI models can be trained on brand voice, they’re still bound to miss the mark. Make sure your brand voice is always present.

You can minimize these risks by sticking to organic, non-GMO human writing. But, if you use AI, be mindful of the risks and make sure you edit everything. (EVERYTHING.)

How to be cited and mentioned in AI tools.

AI tools, most commonly agentic AI, will only surface your products when queried if the right criteria are met.

While there’s no silver bullet for getting mentioned in AI tools, generally you want to:

• Make sure your product pages are succinct and consistent across the board.

• Optimize all your product pages and third-party marketplace listings.

• Enrich product descriptions with the right attributes and metadata.

• Read this article that goes over agentic AI readiness in detail.

Depending on the size of your product catalog and your presence on other marketplaces, agentic readiness can be difficult to achieve. It’s a good idea to try out a feed management platform, as this can make it easier to ensure your data’s ready to rock and easily scalable.

Common product description mistakes to avoid

We’re only human. Unless you’re an AI creating copy. But hey, even AI makes mistakes, so the point stands. Mistakes happen.

There are a number of common product description mistakes to avoid as you embark on your spec-riddled journey.

Mistake 1. Using manufacturer boilerplate copy.

It bears repeating: Manufacturer boilerplate copy is not your copy.

The copy manufacturers send your way is great as a way to gut check whether the specs you’ve listed are accurate. It can even inspire your own copy. But, it should never be what you have on your site.

Boilerplate copy is going to:

• Lack your brand’s unique voice

• Damage SEO, as it’s duplicate content

• Hurt your brand’s reputation if people notice

• Stink up the place

Again, use the manufacturer copy as inspiration, but nothing beyond that.

Mistake 2. Listing features without linking to benefits.

Features are an important part of a product description. But, so are the benefits.

Make sure you’re connecting every feature to a benefit, not just telling people the specs.

For example:

Feature-only: This beauty has a twin-turbo V8.

Feature and benefits: This beauty has a twin-turbo V8, making it easier than ever to get your next speeding ticket.

Mistake 3. Ignoring mobile formatting (wall of text).

You’re not writing for an ancient scroll, but for scrolling devices. Avoid walls of text and provide a mobile-friendly experience that emphasizes readability on a little screen.

Use bullets anywhere you can, small paragraphs or single lines elsewhere, and a nice clean font everywhere. Then, test everything on mobile and see how it looks.

Mistake 4. Neglecting SEO basics (no keyword, no structure).

If you’re not taking care of the SEO basics, at minimum, you’re not getting all you can out of product descriptions.

Your product descriptions should go beyond basic product information, containing a primary keyword, proper structure, and internal links pointing toward them where it makes sense.

(You should also be practicing ecommerce SEO basics across your entire online store.)

Mistake 5. Forgetting to update descriptions after product changes.

Both physical and digital products can change. Anytime this occurs, your product descriptions need to change with them.

Whether you update your own product or a manufacturer updates theirs, you need to update product descriptions accordingly. When doing this, don’t forget to update this description in any marketplaces you’re also selling on. (Again, this is where a feed management platform can really help.)

The final word

Getting product descriptions just right takes time and a whole lot of trial and error. Much unlike changing a flat tire, which you hopefully get right the first time.

Once you’ve gotten the basics down and run some A/B tests to see what does the best with your audience, let success be your template for future descriptions. But, the moment conversion rates dip or traffic falls, it’s back to the drawing board.

As is the case with all things ecommerce, pay attention to the market and what your competitors are doing, too. A few years ago it was all about SEO, now it’s AI, next year it might be something else entirely. (But probably more AI.)

What’s that? It’s the winds of change, blowing in through the window. Be sure to check out this piece on the latest trends in ecommerce so the rest of your business can be as modern and spiffy as your product descriptions.

FAQs about how to write a product description