What is the right word count for product descriptions?

When your aim is to optimize your product pages, the key element is the product description that you put up. You can work hard on the rest of the pages, but if you do not get the description right, then all the hard work is in vain. Bad product copy leads to a bad user experience and does not rank well on the search engine results pages. You can take a look at wordcounttool to know more about the matter. Following are the things that you need to keep in mind when setting the word count for product descriptions.

Type of Product

The type of product you’re selling is the main influencer that determines the length of your product descriptions. For example, a computer, large appliance, power tool, or electronic device requires a longer, more robust product description than apparel, simple tools, wires and connectors, kitchen accessories, or soft furnishings. When deciding how long your product descriptions should be, think about how many attributes, features, uses, benefits, and specifications your product has. If it doesn’t have many attributes or specifications outside of color and size, then you need a shorter word count.

If your products are more complex, with lots of specs and features, then you need a longer description. You need enough words to convey all of the relevant information that the reader needs to make a purchase. If they have to leave your site to find more information on the product, they’ll buy from wherever it is they find the info they need. Depending on the client, their products, and their KPIs, we generally recommend 125-150 words for simple products like apparel, and 350-400 words for complex products like electronics and large appliances.

Using Bullets

Bullets are exceptionally effective when combined with a paragraph or more of product copy. Bulleted lists let you provide a rapidly viewable list of all the key features and specifications. They reduce overall word count, improve readability, and let your consumers quickly decide if the product might meet their needs, in which case, they can read your paragraph copy.

Using Feature/Benefit Structure

So many posts have been circulating the internet in recent years about only talking about benefits and ignoring the features. This is bad advice — and it just leads to vague, nonsensical waffle. It is an oversimplified and distorted twist on the best practices, to the extent that it borders on becoming meaningless. Your bottom line would be affected if you take up a ‘benefits only’ writing approach. Product descriptions need to be a combination of features and benefits. People need to know how a particular product is going to help them, but they also want to know the facts about the product.

When it comes to product descriptions, there is no such thing as a set word count. At the end of the day, the word count needs to be just as much as the product deserves. You need to make sure that the description is thorough enough to inform the visitors and attractive enough to entice them.