Expert Suggests Days of Long Product Descriptions Are Over For Ecommerce

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June 16, 2010
Intro By The ZippyCart Content Team and Guest Post By John Lawson, Founder of ColderICE.com.

John Lawson is an expert in the world of ecommerce, so much so that he has been recognized by brands like MSN Money, eBay, and StartUp Nation. John has been growing and changing his business with the continuously shifting world of ecommerce since he began selling a few used IT books online for extra money back in 2001. John is a top rated ecommerce professional with sales channels on Amazon, eBay, Yahoo Stores and his company web site. He is an eBay Platinum Powerseller with more than 75,000 feedback responses and 130,000 views on YouTube. In a world where most experts suggest that content is the key to ecommerce success, Lawson has a somewhat controversial point of view: The days of long product descriptions are over for ecommerce sellers. Below, Lawson explains in his own words:

The Days of Long Product Descriptions Are Over For Ecommerce Sellers

I am writing a new presentation for Vegas. Yes, I am going back in two weeks to do a keynote at eBay Radio event. I am all in thought mode while I do this, thinking about what I want to say and how to convey the information. The title is “Making Your Business BIGGER,Bolder, Badder.” I actually wanted to say “bad-ass” but eBay probably would have not let that fly LOL.

Coming out of the research for this, I came up with some points that are really strong for the future success of ecommerce merchants. One of the strongest ones (and possibly one of the most controversial) will be my declarations that the days of long, drawn-out, unique descriptions are BAD for business!

Yep, I am saying and advocating that ecommerce descriptions need to be shorter, concise and a quick read. Now you can argue this point all you want, but I want to give you my reasons for why I think this is not only a truism, but also how your items will be DISADVANTAGED going forward if your descriptions are not reduced.

Yes, back in 2004 I would have agreed that making unique descriptions was a great move for SEO. Having a cute story about using the product was a fun way to differentiate yourself. And that longer descriptions allowed you to stuff more keywords in the text in hopes of people finding it with natural SEO. As a matter of fact, many so-called SEO experts still preach this outdated mantra even today.

Here is what’s up for 2010 and beyond in my opinion. If you look at two factors in our industry, you will understand why the shorter more uniform approach is becoming crucial…

1. To find things quickest, information MUST be cataloged. So now you see eBay moving to a model where it can catalog similar items. Amazon is expanding its cataloging efforts as well, even though they have a good jump on it already.

2. Multi-platform shopping is REAL! People are no longer only using PC’s to shop, now mobile devices are becoming the key player. This mobile generation wants information in a microwavable format. You can not scroll for days and days to see 10,000 word descriptions for products. What was once good for sales is now bad for the mobile platforms.

So in order to maintain the competitive advantage, you have to be one of the early adopters to methodologies. This is the NEW method and the faster you begin to adopt, the better positioned you will be for search. Yes, even Google is rolling up similar links for ecommerce items. This is NOT a trend, this is actually optimization. If you have too many files, you put them in folders. You got too many DVD’s you put them in shelves. Too many emails, you organize them with labels or folders, etc.

Are you getting the picture here? With too many people having too many descriptions about the same “blue widget,” it no longer is an asset, it is now a liability for search optimization, management and storage, so they are streamlining it to make it easier to find.

Am I saying that a long description is no longer useful? NOPE, what I am saying is that type of stuff you need to use in your blogs. Talk forever about your product over there. Keep your product descriptions short, but add the VALUE of UGC (user generated content) to enhance the buyer experience. Add your customers reviews, product feedback and things like that to the product page. Keep your own editorial comment to your supporting pages like the blog. That is where it will generate the best SEO for you and your business.

Small Business owner/expert John Lawson is the founder of ColderICE.com and the CEO of the retail ecommerce store 3rd Power Outlet. John is featured by American Express Open for “Building an eBay-based Business” and starred in their national TV commercial. Lawson is an award winning blogger and named “Savviest in Social Media” by MSN Money and StartUp Nation.