Amazon Product Descriptions: Best Practices and Examples

Amazon is the biggest online retailer in the world, stocking more than 353 million products - not including books and other media. This means competition on the marketplace is stiff. To get ahead of other sellers brands need to ensure their products rank in Amazon's search results. And one of the most effective ways to do this is with a carefully optimized Amazon product description.

What are Amazon Product Descriptions?

Product descriptions are the biggest part of your Amazon product listings. It's the text bit that appears below the title when you click through to an Amazon product page. It usually features up to 2000 characters and is used to describe your product in detail.

The title of your Amazon product listings is all about attracting attention and providing high level information. Whereas product descriptions aim to provide consumers with the details they need to make an informed purchase. Online shoppers can't pick up your products and examine them so this is Amazon's substitute for that experience.

Product descriptions are one of the key tools that brands can use to maximize both their conversions and visibility on Amazon. Descriptions can't include any company information promotional language or URLs. Instead it's all about the product.

The importance of Amazon Product Descriptions

Just under half of consumers typically begin their online product searches on Amazon so putting resources into perfecting your Amazon product listings is essential - even if you employ an omnichannel eCommerce strategy.

Here are the two key reasons why product descriptions are so important.

1. They impact your visibility in Amazon's search results

Your Amazon product description plays a central role in SEO. If you create a great product description Amazon's algorithm is likely to reward you with higher search rankings. With a majority of shoppers never looking beyond the first page of Amazon's search results this makes product descriptions hugely important.

2. They enhance the customer experience

A recent survey by PickFu revealed that 87% of consumers believe product descriptions are very important or extremely important when buying something on Amazon. This means they have the potential to increase your sales. By providing shoppers with all the information they need before placing an order you're also more likely to satisfy customers reduce returns and attract more positive Amazon reviews.