SEO tips for product pages

The SEO benefits of product pages can often be overlooked, with many just offering basic product details, photos and a brief description.

So how can you make the most of them from a search marketing perspective?

Here are some suggestions...

• Unique product descriptions
  
  Avoid simply reproducing the manufacturer’s product description as several other sites will probably be using it already. It may be easier but will not help you move up the rankings as search engines will mark it down as duplicate content.
  
  A unique product description should not only help your conversion rate, it should also allow you to attract more search traffic.
  
  In addition, a slightly lengthier product page will enable you to use more of your most important keywords and phrases. This could improve your rankings for a range of terms.
  
  
• Use keywords in URLs
  
  Many online retailers, especially those with large product ranges, use dynamic databases, which can produce some ugly, lengthy URLs which bear no relation to the product.
  
  Adding related keywords to your product page URLs will help them rank more highly in search engines, as well as making them more understandable.
  
  
• Use customer product reviews
  
  Customer reviews can not only help persuade shoppers to make purchases, they can also be very useful for SEO.
  
  
  
  Adding them is a good way to ensure that your product pages are filled with unique content - just what search engines are looking for.
  
  
• Make sure product pages are just a couple of clicks away
  
  This is good practice anyway as it will allow customers to find products more quickly, but it also makes it easier for search engine crawlers to access these pages.
  
  
• Optimise your images for SEO
  
  With the introduction of universal search, more and more images will be popping up in the search results, so every image on your product pages should be optimised.
  
  
  
  Optimise your product photos with descriptive, keyword-rich file names and ALT tags. Also, descriptions of your images will help the visually impaired.

Related research:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Best Practice Guide
Search Engine Marketing Buyer's Guide
Search Engine Marketing Report
E-commerce Platforms Buyer's Guide

Related links:
Video: Dr Dave Chaffey's SEO tips

Related stories:
Simplifying SEO - Five laws of effective search engine optimisation
The biggest secret about SEO

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