So obviously, when you’re looking to close the deal, it’s critical to have a product page that’s firing on all cylinders. To make sure your product pages are on target, consider these 10 e-commerce website design tips and product page SEO tips from the outdoor-marketing pros at TBA Outdoors:
1. Leverage an intuitive, easy-to-navigate layout
As with everywhere else on your outdoor brand’s website, your product pages should be easy and intuitive to navigate. The name of the game here is to keep it simple — and avoid potentially confusing, impractical layouts that could frustrate your customers. In most cases, your dominant product image should be at the top-left of the page, with thumbnails for additional images and videos accompanying nearby (typically below or to the left of the main image). The product title and description copy should be “above the fold” too, usually at the top right of the page, so that viewers don’t have to scroll down the page to access the most critical page elements. The “Add to cart” button should also be prominent and placed high on the page so that buyers can locate it quickly and easily. (Note that, while the mobile design won’t allow for all of these elements to be in the initial frame, which will typically be devoted to product imagery and title, the most critical page elements — namely the product description and “Add to cart” button — should be found just below.)
2. Create a compelling (and concise) product description
When consumers visit your product page, you’ll want to ensure that they can get the most important details about your offering quickly — and with minimal effort. This means packing the product description with the most essential information, and keeping it short and easily scannable. Skip the sales-y language in this copy (instead staying straightforward and objective about the product’s purpose features), and keep it to one to four sentences, with supporting bullet points just below for easy scanning. (Additional details can be included farther down the page — more on that later.)
3. Invigorate your imagery
According to research, over 90% of consumers say their purchase decisions are made primarily based on a product’s visual appearance. So of course, when selling products online, high-quality product photos are important. The photos on your product page will go a long way toward creating a positive impression of your product among consumers, so be sure to use professional photography for your product images, along with multiple angles of each product and product option (including pictures of each color offered) so that customers can better visualize what they’re buying. And especially in the world of outdoor retail, where consumers are passionate about the outdoors and their outdoor pursuits, including lifestyle imagery depicting the showcased products in use in their elements can help drive the narrative about your offering and your brand.
4. If needed, share additional product details farther down the page
Because the product description included at the top of your product page needs to be short and sweet to facilitate easier and faster scanning by the consumer, you won’t have room to include all the product details there — just the most vital. So to round out the details provided and deliver a more comprehensive collection of information about your offering, use the lower part of the page to tell potential customers anything else they may need to know about your product. Even farther down the page, making your product-related copy easily scannable for consumers is still important, so breaking it up with bullet points and subheads can make it more consumable and more likely to be read.
5. … and be sure to answer consumers’ key questions
While you may not be able to answer all of your customers’ potential questions on the product page, put some serious thought into what the most common ones might be, and ensure that these are answered somewhere within your product description and supporting details. All consumers will want to be able to buy with confidence, and many of them will have specific criteria they need to meet with their purchase — and providing all the important details will support the sale in both of these areas. For example, if you’re selling an outdoor apparel item, most shoppers will want to know what materials the fabric is made of and how they should expect the item to fit. With a product such as a hunting knife or fishing boat, buyers will likely want to know dimensions and other important specs. Try to anticipate what your consumers’ top questions about the product will be, and answer them on the product page.
6. Consider incorporating live chat
You’re unlikely to be able to anticipate all of your consumers’ questions — and in an effort to keep the content on your product page easily consumable, you probably don’t want to go into every minute product detail there. But with so many potential consumers out there, additional questions are sure to arise. So for those who would like to know more, incorporating a live chat or chatbot feature on your product pages provides a fast and easy way for consumers to get any further details they may be looking for or to get any additional questions answered. In addition, such a feature can lend added credibility to your brand by giving potential buyers an immediate way to get any customer service they may be seeking. It can also provide your business with a way to save time for customers (and with a chatbot, even for customer service reps) as well as capture valuable consumer data.
7. Incorporate a clear call to action
By incorporating a clear and prominent call to action, usually in the form of a “Buy now” or “Add to cart” button, you can greatly increase the odds that you’ll spur the response you’re looking for — a completed sale. To ensure that your call to action is as effective and user-friendly as possible, make sure that it:
- is positioned prominently and stands out from the accompanying content so that it’s easy to find on the page
- makes it simple for buyers to convert or add an item to their cart — ideally in a single click
- employs straightforward, action-oriented language
8. Provide product availability
Keeping close track of product availability and providing it on your product pages can serve a range of beneficial purposes. Among them, sharing product availability on your product pages can help:
- reassure consumers that the item they’re considering for a purchase is in stock and ready to be delivered
- lower the likelihood of consumer disappointment — and reduce the chances of brand abandonment — that can come with placing an order that can’t be fulfilled or can’t be delivered quickly
- create a sense of urgency among consumers when stock is low, especially for a popular item, thereby incentivizing them to make their purchases quickly and increasing your conversion rates
Further, thanks to the development of product-availability widgets for use by web designers, incorporating this feature on an e-commerce brand’s product pages can be a fairly easy addition.
9. Include clear shipping details
Shipping fees are often identified as a leading reason that shoppers abandon their carts, making free shipping for online orders that reach a specified dollar amount a smart move for many e-commerce brands. But whether your brand offers this conversion-boosting perk or not, providing shipping details directly on the product page can help prevent consumers from having to leave the page to find it — and lower the odds they’ll altogether bounce off the page. In addition, by notating on the product page the dollar amount required to qualify for free shipping on a purchase, outdoor brands can encourage the addition of more products to consumers’ carts.
10. Spotlight customer testimonials and/or reviews
According to research, nearly half of today’s consumers place as much faith in online reviews of a business as they do in a word-of-mouth recommendation from a friend or relative. So it stands to reason that, by featuring positive customer reviews and testimonials on their product pages, outdoor brands can increase the pages’ conversion rates. (Side note: This TBA Outdoors blog article offers some great tips on generating more online reviews for your outdoor brand.)
Looking to improve the effectiveness of your brand’s product pages and deliver more conversions at the finish line? As a fully integrated marketing firm, TBA Outdoors can cover these critical e-commerce bases — and lots more — for your brand. Reach out to our team of marketing professionals today to see how we can help your outdoor brand with its e-commerce efforts, SEO efforts and more.
