Director, eCommerce

Life after PANDA: 5 Ways Duplicate Product Content is Hurting your Online Sales

GeekSpeak[commerce]    www.thinkgeekspeak.com

Search engines rule when it comes to whether an ecommerce web site thrives or dies. As an online retailer you know that search engine optimization is vitally important. If your site doesn't show up top-ranked on Google, Bing or Yahoo! you're losing thousands of dollars in sales while consumers go to your competitors.

Good product copy not only catches and holds the attention of a consumer looking to buy, but it can mean the difference between a search engine’s ranking algorithm giving you a "thumbs up" or the proverbial "Google slap" and sending you to the bottom of the pile. The Panda and subsequent Penguin updates by Google aim to ensure high quality and unique search results.

Duplicate product content is copy that has been repurposed from somewhere else. Whether it's a manufacturer's routine product description or recycled catalogue copy that has already appeared on your site, old content is flagged by Google and other search engines as low quality. This means your product pages are not highly ranked in search results.

For the search engine providers to be successful in generating their own revenues they must continually serve up relevant results   that provide value to their visitors.  Therefore, they've ensured crawlers are capable of discerning between sites that are continually updated and sites that rehash trite copy lacking any consumer interest.

Content that is bland, poorly written, contains phrases repeated elsewhere on the web, or provides very little information serves little benefit to your website conversion objectives. That's why all the major search engines reward unique and fresh content with higher ranking scores. So does the marketplace. Customers vote with their clicks and ultimately, their dollars.

If you're not paying attention to the quality content that represents you in the marketplace you are hurting your sales and wasting any SEO dollars you are spending. In a bricks and mortar analogy, you might just as well have an empty shop window.

Here are 5 ways duplicate product content works against the success of 

your web site:

1.         Reduced online conversion

The biggest factor in achieving sales is converting browsing customers into buying customers. In March, 2010, the top converting sites were enjoying an average 15% - 25% conversion rate, with 40% being an anomalous standout (Schwan's, a home-delivery food service company). Comparing these rates with past years, the trend is to lower conversion rates. Why? Content. For consumers it seems, there's no such thing as "too much information".

2.         Reduced Credibility

Some online retailers have resorted to copy mills that turn out uninspiring content for tellingly low prices. That false economy of saving money on content creation directly affects sales; savvy buyers know when product copy has been churned out simply to fill space on a page -- it's weak, contains factual errors, and does absolutely nothing to make a customer want to buy. Want to stand out from your competitors? Take authority over your category and offer content that makes you the clear expert.

3.         Lower Search Engine Rankings

There is probably nothing that will have a greater negative effect on your rankings than duplicate product copy. Writing product descriptions that are keyword-rich and have pertinent metadata ranks higher after a web crawl because it also unique, but gratuitous padding is penalized. Good product copy makes intelligent use of keywords to enliven descriptions while contributing strongly to good Search Engine Optimization. Further, it is highly searchable, ensuring customers can quickly find what they're looking for. Product SEO is critical;  make sure whoever is creating your copy knows how to optimize without compromise. Working with multiple suppliers? Create a product description template that quickly enables them to provide you with great content.

4.         Frustrated Buyers

The best ecommerce product pages offer fresh, interesting copy that gives consumers more information on which to base a buying decision, and they end up being more satisfied with their purchase because it meets expectations that have been set from the moment of sale. That means fewer returns, more sales, and ultimately, increased revenue. Satisfied customers are loyal customers, who return again and write glowing product reviews which also contribute to the freshness and originality of your site content.

5.         Poor Return on Investment

It takes little effort to get new content onto your site. Good copywriting is always within reach; web content copywriters know how to optimize it properly for search engines and they customize it to your retail environment -- your running shoe content speaks directly to runners, copy about televisions focuses on the benefits of backlighting and resolution. There's nothing generic about it. While it may seem like an up front expense, accurate and compelling product copy is vital to improving website conversion and pays for itself immediately and repeatedly. Talk to an expert.

Benefits and Value

Good product copy and unique content speak to the needs of the buyer by emphasizing benefits and value. Even the modern content generators like kopigin.com can create sparkling product descriptions and interesting copy because their databases contain thousands of professionally-written modifiers along with complex algorithms that combine descriptors in sophisticated ways for continually new copy.

Compare "lightweight women's sleeping bag tested to 20 degrees" with "Enjoy three-season comfort in this well-designed sleeping bag that stuffs into its own small carry sack." Which brings the product alive and prompts the buyer to read further?

Longer Descriptions Work

One might argue that busy consumers just want the facts, that they're too time-burdened to read and long explanations delay them from hitting the checkout. Research, however, proves that to be wrong. Studies by Elsevier and results published in the Journal of Theoretical and Applied ECommerce Research   overwhelmingly endorse lively copy and generous product descriptions as contributing to increased sales. Plus, the search engines ratify that investment in content by delivering higher rankings and therefore many more potential buyers.

If your ecommerce sites are plagued by shallow, duplicate or copied product descriptions, and your SEO rankings show it, take action immediately to remove any low quality information and replace it with something fresh, informative and inspiring. This alone can go a long way in improving website conversion. Your business is too important to be left in the hands of anyone but a professional copywriter who understands the value of high quality product content on the web. That is money well spent indeed. GeekSpeak[Commerce] www.thinkgeekspeak.com info@thinkgeekspeak.com