Features of Product Page Optimization
A popular belief is that first impressions count the most. An optimized product page serves as a business’ first port of call in engaging with customers.
Choosing an appropriate way to showcase your products is essential, as it can either drive users to continue to checkout or click away from your store. As such, product pages should have the following features to keep and convert visitors into customers:
Insightful Product Descriptions
Product pages should have excellent product descriptions. They are usually carefully written and vividly displayed.
Useful product descriptions comprise effective buzzwords and phrases like “for your utmost pleasure”, “built to last” among others. These catchy terms set out to get the visitor excited about the product or service.
More often than not, the descriptions target a particular segment of the market but are simple enough for anyone to understand.
Effective Product Shots
Product images should highlight the enticing features of the product. The shots should be of a high resolution so that customers can readily identify the important details of the item for purchase.
Live Stock Levels and Information
Many successful eCommerce sites incorporate a live feed of the availability of every product on the site. This action serves some purposes.
First, it portrays the business as professional and thorough in their services. This assures the customer that the products can be trusted. On another level, a live update on depleting stock levels has a psychological effect. If the customer is satisfied with the product features, such real-time information may spur the visitor to make an immediate purchase decision, before the product sells out.
Utilize Social Media
Many successful online marketing platforms also incorporate social media into their product pages. Unique hashtags are assigned to products with links and distributed across the social networks including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram among others.
Leveraging on social media allows some businesses generate product images which help their marketing goals.
Size Charts and Displays
An effective product display page provides pertinent information for customers, such as clothing sizes. It will be frustrating to order a shirt you thought was medium sized, only to discover it was several sizes smaller than advertised.
Unobtrusive Backgrounds
Award-winning product pages use photography styles that cut out any interference from the background.
Such sites keep the attention of the customer of the product itself. The product page looks seamless and easy-to-navigate for the interested visitor.
Informative Shipping Information
The next big worry for the customer, after any purchase, is the receipt of goods. Good product sites feature clear and simple shipping information and terms, so the customer understands what he or she is getting from the deal.
Incorporate Customer Reviews
There is nothing as moving as the testimonial of a satisfied customer of a particular product or service. As such, effective product pages have a section dedicated to customer reviews of their products. These reports include personal information regarding product performance, strengths, weakness and any other recommendations.
Customer-generated reviews help to increase conversion rates, as people are more likely to buy a product with a list of pros, cons and other personal recommendations.
Product Page Optimization Best Practices
For E-commerce and online store owners, your product page plays a vital role in engaging customers and boosting sales.
Product pages must contain essential elements that bring your company’s brand, values and the product/service itself to life. A business’ product page should also make shopping, a pleasurable experience for customers.
To optimize your e-commerce product pages, attract higher conversion rates, create an exciting shopping experience as well as turn visitors to customers, the following tips come in handy:
Map out Essential Elements for the Product Page
The key strategy here is utilizing the structures, layout, and elements of successful online marketing sites and portals.
Successful e-commerce portals like Walmart and Amazon employ deliberate measures in combining these elements for maximum effect. These businesses pay attention to detail in ensuring that product pages get the most of the constituent elements.
Specifically, the importance of each element shows in the loading order on the product pages. These features are as follows:
Logos & Navigation
These items should stand-out for customers to reach with no minimal effort. The navigational tools should link seamlessly to other pages of the website.
Product Thumbnails
This element serves the purpose of assuring the customer that she/he is on the right page. Thumbnails also give snap previews of products and services as the page loads.
Product Title & Breadcrumbs
Product titles reinforce a customer’s choice and allow navigation back to related searches or page for other product categories.
Main Product Image
This is the desired target purchase of the customer. It is set to load even before the customer finishes browsing through the section.
Draw Attention to the Front and Center Views of the Product
Understand that visitors and customers only have so much time on their hands. They need to make quick decisions, especially with other competing eCommerce sites in the running. Your main product should highlight the front and center views when clicked upon.
These views help clients decipher details of the product they are looking for in a short time. Another important consideration attached to place the element at a prominent location.
Showcase Shipping Information
Studies show that shipping costs form an important consideration in making a product purchase. In fact, the higher the shipping costs involved, the higher the probability of a non-sale.
Successful eCommerce sites not only put shipping fees close to the selected product(s), they also offer competitive rates or deliver such products for free.
Provide Extra Details
Successful online platforms never underestimate the power of information. And they provide such at every opportunity. This stance takes care of customers who desire more specific and general knowledge of desired products and services.
Extra information should help the customer answer question and clear any doubts, primarily since they cannot physically test such products or talk to a Sales Representative.
The information provided should include the base material of the product, the style, design features, instructions for care and maintenance, manufacturer’s details as well as product metadata for further research or inquiries.
The benefits of providing extra details are many. First, they give a unique perspective to a business’ product offering and sets such products apart from the competition. How are you focusing on Product Page Optimization?
Secondly, such data helps boosts the site’s SEO ranking on web engines and crawlers. Also, the company enjoys the reputation of being an expert in the field. Perhaps, the most crucial point is the fact the customer is empowered enough to make the best decision concerning the products purchased.
Using Imagery
Imagery serves as a potent tool in descriptive and figurative language to represent ideas, concepts, and innovations to appeal to a reader’s physical sense.
In the online marketing world, imagery assumes great significance. Businesses select images that enhance the conveyance of a message or concept relating to the company’s brand.
The many objectives of product imagery include fostering customer engagement by creating an attachment to the brand as well enhancing sales/revenues.
Optimizing Images for Product Pages
Image optimization, according to search giant Google, is both an art and science. It is the former because there are no sacrosanct paths on how best to deploy or compress any one product image. This is because images are subject to the nature of the product as well as the effects of other elements comprising product pages.
Hence optimizing images not only saves downloadable bytes but it also improves the performance of the eCommerce site. Therefore, customers can view product pages in a short time as well as have a pleasant surfing and shopping experience.
Image Optimization Tips
Images serve as powerful tools for infusing quality into product pages. As the famous saying goes “a picture tells a thousand words!”
Optimizing Images for products pages should cut across critical areas of consideration.
Businesses can look at finding creative ways to depict their brands. The goal is getting customers to associate your product with image impressions that last, even after leaving the product site.
Another strategy is creating relational concepts to the product or service. This approach is seen in the Michael Jordan Gatorade drink advert, where his perspiration is colored orange.The thrust of this campaign focused on consumers linking physical activity with the need to drink a bottle of Gatorade.
Finally, product imagery should support the business’ brand and message. A restaurant for lovers should opt for dark shades of color for a romantic ambiance, rather than brightly colored ensembles.
Businesses and companies can utilize the following image optimization techniques/tips:
Consider Image Attributes
The quality and properties of your image files can affect customer response as well as the search ranking of the product page. Before you handle, save and upload product images, you must be mindful of the following:
- Make use of target words. These words help puy product pages within the top ranks of search engines so that customers can reach your site without much ado.
- Use descriptive words that convey as much data/information as possible
- Hyphenation between target words enhances image optimization.
- Avoid using abbreviations unless customers search for them specifically.
Use ALT text
Standard routes for image optimization involve the use of Alt text. An alt text, in simple terms, describes the photograph itself. Alt texts include target keyword, descriptors, and full words.
To obtain the most benefits from alt text, experts advice businesses to go for 10 to 15 words per text, avoid keyword stuffing/repetition as well maintain communication in English.
Title Text
A title text could also double as a call-to-action to visitors and existing customers. When composed of the right words, Title texts have the potential to increase conversions and click-through rates.
Use Relevant Images
This tip seems like a given, but it needs emphasizing. You should only go for images that relate to the product(s) offered for sale and help customers have a thrilling shopping experience.
Do not let emotions get in the way of selecting the most appropriate image for your product page. The image should show the customer the most compelling features of the product, so he/she can take the action of buying the item in question.
Place Anchor Texts for Maximum Effect
If your product site uses images on a stand-alone basis, it is advisable to use target keywords as your anchor text.
When customers hover over these anchor words, they are prompted to head over to the product photos themselves. When this action repeatedly happens over time, the likelihood of your product pages posting high ranking scores increases.
Keep Image File Size in Check
Businesses must understand that customers have only so much time on their hands, in the search for products to buy. If product image takes a long time to load, visitors may very well leave for the product pages of a competitor.
In fact, estimates put the time spent by the average customer for page views at 3 to 5 seconds. So if images are too big and take too long to load, your business may experience reduced revenues due to lost sales.
Faster sites are easier to visit and enjoy for the user, and they’re also easier for search engines to index and rank accordingly.
As a rule of thumb, image optimization experts advocate keeping images/pictures at or below 70 kb. A host of software applications exists that can help businesses compress and resize images to optimize them for search.
Popular image editing software includes Adobe Photoshop, Apple’s Preview, TinyPNG, Compress JPEG as well as Shopify.
Create Mobile-friendly Versions
The 21st-century customer engages in a lot of activities on the go. This characteristic also covers his/her shopping habits. The ubiquity of the smartphone and other portable devices also fuels this lifestyle.
Businesses should create mobile-friendly versions of product images. Customers should enjoy seamless engagement on online websites as well as mobile sites.Relegating quick cellular responsiveness to the background has the potential of increasing customer departures and bounce rates.
For mobile-responsive versions of product images, businesses should remember to take image shots at appropriate distances, upload brightly-lit photographs and use a white background to focus more attention on the product.
Employ a White Background for Product Images
Standard industry practices advocate using white backgrounds for product images. This is the norm with big eCommerce platforms and sites. Product Page Optimization is Key
The advantages to using white as the product image background. White makes the editing process simpler and such online platforms achieve consistency in appearance and style. This, in turn, causes customers to zoom into product details without distractions from the background.
Using a white background also reduces overhead costs associated with making edits and amendments to product images and listings.
Take Multiple Photographs
Product images should convince the visitor or existing customer to purchase an item or product. Therefore, many large eCommerce sites deploy a varied and broad range of photographs, depicting the product.
Businesses use a mix of product photos to highlight important angle. The styles will also include emphasizing key points or features of the item. For instance products like shoes can have views showing the soles, stitch patterns as well as well the various color schemes available.
A standard methodology involves the use of in-context images.In-context photographs stir the imagination of the customers and allow him/her see the product in actual use. An example is a close-up shot of a runner with a fitness wrist watch, showing how much calories he/she has burned.
Use Accurate Product Image Metadata
Image metadata is further information that qualifies displayed data. Businesses should ensure that their product photos come with the right compression margins and incorporate the proper aspect ratios.
These parameters are essential in keeping the site navigable and allowing customers enjoy a pleasurable shopping experience.
The following tips come in handy for optimizing product image metadata:
- Use the right ALT tags that accurately describe the image
- Use suitable title tags
- Employ relevant file names utilizing hyphens (e.g., my-picture.jpg)
- Ensure product images have the same height and width. From experience, square images give better display ratios across all devices. Rectangular images may give awkward results, especially if you have products with long lengths or widths.
- Ensure the images are big enough to enable zoom. Depending on the setup of your eCommerce site, you will use different sized versions of the same image for thumbnails, collection images, product images and the zoom functionality. The ideal situation is for large-sized images that permit this zoom function to work without any unnecessary distortions. Images between 1,000px and 1,600px are common and used often.
Protect Images
Businesses can take the path of protecting their product images from illegal or unauthorized use. Experts recommend registering for a creative commons licenses, which in the least, grants the business powers of attribution.
However, many successful eCommerce websites make it easy for users to borrow images. To this end, provide an embeddable HTML snippet for the product image, including attribution and a link to the product page.
Working with Image Formats
The images that work best for product websites are Vector and Raster images. Each type of image has its pros and cons.
Vector images are zoom and resolution-independent. As a result, vector images are ideal for viewing on multiple devices.They also work well with simple geometric shapes like logs, texts, and icons.
On the other hand, Raster images work best in environments with complex scenes, irregular shapes and intricate details.Note that because Raster images are resolution dependent, you will have to multiple versions of the image at various resolutions.
Image Optimization Checklist
It is worth mentioning again that Image optimization is both an art and science.In other words, human intuition, as well as developed techniques and algorithms, help in selecting the most appropriate image from and size.
The following techniques and tips will help with the image optimization process for E-commerce and online marketing platforms:
Prioritize Vector Formats
These formats are independent of scale and resolution. Hence they are suitable for use in many devices and high-resolution environments.
Compress Image Assets
Drawing applications often contain unnecessary metadata. businesses should reduce such excesses with the application of GZIP compression for SVG assets. Product Page Optimization!
Get Rid of Unnecessary Image Metadata
This excess information, like location information and camera settings, impacts negatively of the loading time for product pages. Use suitable tools to delete these data.
Be Mindful of Scaling for Images
Consider that images on product pages feature on multiple resolutions and devices. It is important to resize images on the server and ensure that display sizes are as close as possible to the natural size of the image. Take care when handling extra large product photos.
Conclusion
A central question to addressing image optimization is whether a product page requires images to convey the message of the brand and achieve targeted effects. If the answer is yes, then the responsibility of finding the right images and associated optimization tools rests on the shoulders of the design team of the company.
The most appropriate optimization strategies should take into consideration the nature of the product, the target market as well as the skillful use of related software applications and tools.
Now that you know how optimize your product pages, click here to see what Catsy can do for you.
