The Only Product Page Optimization Guide That You Will Need
Posted on 10/30/2023
Reviewed by Arnt Eriksen updated at 8/14/2024
Introduction
If you want to get more sales, you need to properly optimize product pages. In this article, we will tell you how.
What is Product Page Optimization?
Product page optimization is a part of eCommerce content optimization that involves analyzing product pages and implementing changes to improve the user experience and increase conversion rates.
Product page optimization involves analyzing data to see how users interact with the page, redesigning or A/B testing page elements, and making changes to copy, call to action, or images.
Why Is It Important To Optimize The Product Page?
Before making a purchase, customers spend a long time learning information about products: searching on Google, visiting different websites, watching videos on Youtube, and researching websites of different brands to make a perfect choice. Sometimes this journey is long, and sometimes it is short - it all depends on the client's need and the type of product.
The product page is the place where customers will make their final decision to make a purchase or not. Due to this, an optimized product page becomes a factor that decides if customers will add your product to the cart and purchase it.
If you optimize product pages in the best possible way, the online store will have an increase in terms of conversion rate and average order value. It will also have a positive impact on SEO for eCommerce product pages, bringing you more traffic and customers.
Example of how changes in conversion rate could drastically change revenue:
How to calculate Conversion Rate
Let's imagine a certain eCommerce store that sells clothes. On average, their website gets 1000 visitors per week from different traffic sources, and the online store gets, on average, 15 orders per week. This means that the online store has an average e-commerce conversion of 1.5%. The E-commerce store has an average order value of $300, which means that the online store has a revenue of $4500 per week.
If the eCcommerce store simply increases the e-commerce conversion rate to 2.5% - it will earn an extra $3000 without any additional investments of time and money into advertising and stock. Multiplying $3000 by 52(weeks in the year), it is $156000 more revenue per year. By this, business owners have more money to reinvest in their business and help the brand grow faster by investing in production, marketing, and sales.
Example of how changes in average order value could drastically increase revenue
How to calculate Average Order Value
Let's take the same e-commerce store which has an average website that gets 1000 visitors, 15 orders per week, and an average order value of $300.
If the e-commerce store simply increases the average order value from $300 to $400, it will earn an extra $1500 without any additional investments of time and money into advertising.
If you want to make really outstanding changes to the results of an e-commerce store - start to optimize product pages.
What Makes the Product Page Great and How To Improve the User Experience of the Product Page?
To make a great product page, you need to start with making your product great. If your product isn't great, it has bad quality, or customers don't have a need for this product - you need to start working with your product. If your product is bad, you won't make a great e-commerce product page, even if it is optimized in the best possible way. If your product is great - you can make your product page great and bring you more sales.
To make a great eCommerce product page, you need to create a perfect user experience for your website visitors. The product page should have a professional design and be well structured so website visitors can intuitively find all the needed information.
The most important thing for improving the user experience of your website store is being user-centric. The product page should be structured as a funnel to provide the visitors with all the needed information step by step when they are scrolling the website and answering all their questions.
Possible questions of potential customers when they are visiting the product page:
What is the material of the product?
How could the product be used?
Will I get a discount if the order cost is higher than a certain number?
How does the product look?
Does this product has any other variations that could be much better options for me?
If the product page doesn't share answers to questions of potential customers, most likely, they will go to your competitors to search for them. And most likely, if they find them - they will make a purchase.
Why is it important to tell the truth about your product?
Sometimes e-commerce stores make a decision to provide not 100% accurate information about the product or try to hide the bad sides of their products to increase conversion rate. It could work in a short time, but it is a shameful decision that will create a bad reputation for your brand and will lead to a lot of bad reviews and high returns.
But if the product page represents the products with transparency, you can get loyal customers who will recommend your brand to their friends and relatives.
How to structure the Product page in the right way
A great product page should have the following:
Product Photos
Product Video(or videos)
Product Variants
Product Headline
Product Description
Product Price
Call To Action
Social Proof
Great Product Page Design
Product page design should perfectly represent the brand values and emotions it intends to evoke.
Great product page design should be professionally made and perfectly represent the brand itself. Colors should be picked depending on the brand identity and have great synergy with all the main elements of a product page.
Product Photos
Product photos are the most important point which influences the purchase of a certain product by a customer. When customers view an e-commerce product page, the first thing that they will check is product images. Due to this, it is very important to put more focus on presenting the brand through photos correctly.
Recommendations for product photos:
Use High-Quality Images on the eCommerce Product Pages.
The study proved that for 93% of people, visual appearance is the key deciding factor for a purchase. This means that the higher the quality of an image, the better impression your product has on the visitors.
The Product Page Should Include as many Images as Possible.
It is important to have photos from different perspectives and photos of small details of the product, so customers won't have a need to search for other options from competitors where this information will be provided.
Product Page Should Have the Possibility to Zoom Images.
With this, you will create an opportunity to see every small detail of the product. If a customer knows exactly how the product looks, they will be less likely to return your product.
The Product Page Should Include Images of the Product Without any Other Object and Images with the Product in Use.
Product images without any other object in the shot put all focus on the product itself. Product images with the product in use will show how the pain points of the customer will be solved.
Product Video
In addition to product photos, it is a good idea to use videos in your product optimization. The video has the ability to convey an incredible amount of information very quickly. Product videos are one of the most important aspects of shopping online because visitors will have a much better understanding of how the product looks and how it could be used.
A product video can:
Show Your Product in Motion.
With this, online shoppers will have a much better understanding of how the product looks, and this will increase interest in making the purchase.
Explain Hard-To-Understand Topics.
The study showed that 63% of people are visual learners, and due to this, it is very important to share the most important information by using videos.
Correct Misconceptions About Your Product.
Add Social Proof by Humanizing Your Product and Company.
Lead to More Customers, a Higher Purchase Rate, and Lower Cart Abandonment.
Product Variants
Product variants are the options of a product with different attributes, such as different scents, colors, pricing, materials, sizes, or any other specific features.
Product Headline
Product headline is one of the most important factors by which customers decide if they want to scroll through the whole product page and which product page is more relevant for them.
Recommendations on how to write headlines:
Focus on Your Ideal Buyer.
Write your headline in the way your ideal buyer would talk.
Make it Very Simple.
Don't use hard words. It is important to use words that customers use in their ordinary life.
Convey Instant Benefits.
Your headline should contain the benefits of this product.
Be Hyper-Specific.
The headline should be short and provide only the most important information.
Entice with Sensory Words.
Throw in Some Action Words.
It is needed to entice the customer to take the needed action.
Product Description
Most people used to think that product descriptions don’t make any impact on performance in terms of conversion rate or average order value. But in fact, evidence from e-commerce studies shows that 20% of unsuccessful purchases are due to a lack of relevant information in product descriptions. Because of this, adding as much information as possible is extremely important for product content optimization.
Aside from that, adding relevant descriptions will improve SEO for product pages. You will get more traffic and more potential customers.
Before writing a description, ask these questions:
What problems does your product solve?
What do customers gain from your product?
What makes it better than the competition?
Recommendations on how to write descriptions:
Put Yourself in the Shoes of Your Audience.
Add information that is very important for your customers to your description.
Entice with Benefits.
It could be any information like shipping costs
Avoid Commonly Used Phrases.
For example, most e-commerce stores use “perfect quality” in the description. Customers perceive this information as something common, generic, and meaningless - nobody will ever honestly admit to having products of low quality.
Add Proofs to Your Information
When you add information that your product is the best in something - add proof of it.
Seduce with Sensory Words.
Make it Possible to Scan Your Description Instead of Reading it.
Proper product content optimization involves adding bullet points to your description and highlighting the most important information.
Product Price
Product prices should be competitive. If your competitors' prices are lower - most likely people will purchase from them.
Recommendations for the product price
The Font of the Product Price Should be Bigger Than The Font of the Description.
The Sale Price Should Have Different Colour Than The Primary Price
The Sale Price Should Stand Out on The Product Page
The Primary Price Should Be Noticeable Near The Sale Price
Call To Action
Call to actions are the buttons throughout web pages that tell your customers what to do, where to click, and what to buy. By placing the right CTAs on the right pages, it is possible to keep customers engaged without compromising the relationship you’ve built with them.
Recommendations for CTAs
Add Urgency to Call To Action.
Urgency will induce the visitor to take action as soon as possible to not lose a good offer.
Choose the Colour that Stands Out.
CTA color should stand out against the background of the website.
Put Call To Action Above the Fold.
A Call To Action should be shown on the top of the page to make it easier to take the needed action.
What Is Social Proof?
Social proof is the psychological concept that people are influenced in their decision-making by others, compelling them to act within societal norms or expectations. In the context of marketing, social proof provides evidence of the popularity or usability of a brand among consumers to influence the purchase decisions of prospective and returning customers.
How to implement social proof on the product page
It is very important to implement social proof correctly. Not every approach will suit every website. Choose only best practices that are the perfect option for your product pages.
Social Proof could be implemented on the website:
Reviews
The Number of People Who Bought This Product
Information That This Best-Selling Product
Testimonials
Reviews
Reviews are a type of feedback that customers leave on the product page to provide information about their product experience.
In the reviews, customers can point out the benefits of the product like quality, usability, durability, and add information about all the pros and cons of using this product.
In general, reviews could have a huge influence on overall performance. Most potential customers check reviews to make a final purchase decision.
The Number of People Who Bought This Product
More people purchase the product = more people will think that this product is a good option for purchase. Because if someone has made a purchase, usually, they know something about this product.
Information That This is a Best-selling Product
Information that this product is best-selling will work the same as information about the number of people who bought this product.
Testimonials
Testimonials are statements to describe the customers' experience with the product.
Testimonials can be made in different ways. They can be in the form of video interviews, written statements, or social media posts.
Testimonials are much better compared to reviews because testimonials include photos and videos that help them identify that there are real people behind these statements.
Page Speed Optimization
Page speed optimization requires improving the loading time of web pages. This is done by serving fewer files and ensuring the files are as light as possible without decreasing the quality or functionality of a web page's web design.
Why page Speed optimization is important
If the page needs a long time to download, there is a high possibility that potential customers will bounce off the page and start checking the websites of your competitors.
How to improve product page speed
Optimize Images
Make sure that images are downloaded in modern file formats, and are not larger than necessary.
Use Lazy Loading Images
Images should not be loaded with the whole product page, but when people are scrolling to view them. This will ensure that the elements that matter most will load first.
Bundle Files
Bundle all files into one, so the website needs to pull only one request to the server to download the needed files.
Reduce Redirects
Enable Compression
How to check Page Speed optimization
Page Speed Insights is a perfect tool for checking page speed optimization
How To Increase Average Order Value By Product Page Optimization
After implementing all needed changes to the product page to make the user experience great, the website will certainly have a better performance in terms of conversion rate. Still, there are a few things that should be implemented on product pages to increase the average order value. It is cross-selling and upselling.
Cross-selling
Cross-selling is selling related or complimentary products to go along with the customer's primary purchase.
How Cross-Selling Could Be Implemented on The Product Page
1."You Should Also Like" Section
The "You Should Also Like" section is a good way how to increase the average order value. People who are visiting the product page could be interested in other products from your brand. Due to this, it is necessary to show other products that could create an interest in them.
The "You Should Also Like" section could make a positive impact not only on the average order value but on the conversion rate as well. In some cases, website visitors hesitate about making a purchase of a certain product, and they are not sure if this product is a perfect option for them. While scrolling the product page, they might come across a "You Should Also Like" section and notice another product that is a much better option for them. Instead of bouncing off the page and searching for other options, they might decide to purchase another product on your website.
What Products Should Be shown in "You should Also Like"?
Best-Selling Products.
As these products were purchased most often, others will probably like them too. People got used to thinking that if other people purchased this item - this should mean that it is the best option.
New Arrivals.
On average, people are more interested in products created recently.
Products Related To The Main Product Of The Product Page.
The highest results from the block "You Should Also Like" could be driven by showing relevant products.
For example, if someone checks the product page of a grey t-shirt - there is a high possibility that if they added this product to the cart, they would want to purchase grey shorts that will suit this t-shirt.
An e-commerce clothing store can implement it as "Complete The Look":
"Complete The Look" is a perfect option for clothing stores as people who are thinking about making a purchase are interested in what products they should buy to create a new look for them. Instead of spending a lot of time finding products that match one another, website visitors can easily pick the look that suits them the most.
The "Complete The Look" section could influence not only on average order value but the conversion rate as well. Purchasing products for a whole look makes a purchase look more reasonable.
2. Bundles
Product bundling is a retail strategy that involves creating and selling a curated collection of complementary products.
To implement product bundling on your product page, you can combine a few related products as one offer with a sale. This will make a positive impact on the desire to make a purchase. People who are interested in purchasing one product will be more likely to make a purchase of a bundle with this product because it will look like a more winning purchase for them, even when the price is higher than what they planned to spend.
3. Block "Buy Cheaper Together"
Block "Buy Cheaper Together" provides a potential customer with a discount price if they will purchase an additional product.
The block "Buy Cheaper Together" could make a positive impact not only on average order value by selling an additional product, but also on conversion rate. When people are choosing between a few websites and thinking about where it is better to make a purchase of a certain product, and they find a better deal with a discount if they buy an accessory to the product - they will be more likely to make a purchase on this store.
4. Block "Products You Viewed Before"
Block "Products You Viewed Before" gives website visitors an opportunity to come back to other products to make the best possible decision.
Upselling
Upselling is selling updated variations of the product or a similar product that is much better.
1. Upselling better configuration of the product.
Providing customers with the option to pick a better product configuration will affect an increase in average order value. Website visitors are more likely to pick a better product configuration even if they need to spend a slightly higher amount of money. Purchasing a better configuration of the product feels like a much better decision.
2. Upselling much better variations of the product.
Potential customers could be thinking about purchasing the cheapest product, but if the product page includes a comparison of similar products, visitors could move towards a better one.
When potential customers see that they need to spend extra money but purchase a much better variation with more features or a better look - this leads to a decision that spending more money is a better option. With this strategy, an e-commerce store could easily lead potential clients from purchasing mid-tier to top-tier products.
3. Upselling add-ons to the product.
Additional flavors that can be added to the coffee are a great example of how upselling add-ons could be implemented. The potential customer could be thinking about purchasing a simple latte, but additional flavors could significantly increase the average order value.
Using add-ons is a very specific selling technique that will suit only a small number of businesses.
Summary
Product page optimization is the most important part of the conversion rate optimization of an e-commerce store. It can influence brand awareness, trust, conversion rate, and average order value, which is crucial for online stores.
Product page optimization could make a difference in overall website revenue. If you have tested all types of digital advertising and still are not profitable - you need to check if your product pages are optimized correctly. Without it, you won't have any possibility to outperform your competitors and achieve your final goal.