How, When & Why to use

For our purposes, a product page and a service page are really the same thing. If something is being offered for sale, then it requires a product page. Product pages are all very unique based on the product that is being offered for sale.

Features and Functions

The format of the product page will vary widely based on the product that is being offered. However, it is critically important that the content on the product page is unique. Many websites simply copy and paste the manufacturer product descriptions and feature lists. This creates a huge duplicate content problem. The result is that your page has the same exact content as the manufacturer’s page and probably a lot of other unimaginative lazy resellers too. To get good rankings in Google and to become a business that stands out from the crowd in the eyes of your customer, you have to be better than that.

Intro Visualization Paragraph

You should have a descriptive paragraph that is focused on the benefits to the user. Use imagery that includes their senses: you will see… taste the… feel the… smell the… hearing the sounds of… as you… Using these type of sensory stories to capture the imagination of the visitor at the very top of the page, above the product, can open the visitor to more information in powerful ways.

Product images

A large product image with several additional pictures, either from different angles or showing the product in use, are typically a good idea. Utilizing a magnification feature when the visitor hovers over the picture is also a popular user experience feature for desktop and laptop users, although it doesn’t translate to mobile. Mobile users may want to pinch zoom.

Features and Benefits

Features are typically listed to the right of the product pictures on desktop view and beneath the pictures in mobile view. It is important to list features, but it is not enough to just list features. Each feature should be tied to a benefit. This helps the visitor understand the importance of the feature and what they can hope to get from it.

Use cases: Describe use cases for the product below the features and benefits. This picks up where the intro “visualization” paragraph left off, allowing the visitor to understand how other customers have actually used and benefitted from the product.

Ratings, Reviews and Testimonials

Below the use cases, it is important to have unique ratings, reviews and testimonials that you have actually gathered from customers. This is actually one of the most, if not the most, important things that you can have on the page, and this is the appropriate place to have it, down the page below the previously noted items. Online reviews and ratings are incredibly important to buyer decisions. 90% of online shoppers say that their buying decisions are influenced by online reviews. Also, search engines look for product reviews and ratings (that include the proper code mark-up) and reward pages that include this information with higher search results. Also, search engines may include ratings and reviews information as “rich snippets” on the actual search engine result page, immediately influencing visitors and increasing click through rate for your listings.

Credibility Seals

Anytime you are expecting visitors to engage in a financial transaction, it is critically important to include credibility seals such as VeriSign, TrustE Certified, McAfee, PayPal, Amazon, Google Checkout, Credit Card logos like Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, etc… these familiar images give the user a sense of familiarity, trust and credibility that allow them to feel safe participating in the transaction.

Add to Cart / Checkout

It is important to make the checkout process as simple as possible. If your online store lends itself to customers purchasing multiple items before checking out, then the product page should include both “Add to Cart” and “Proceed to Checkout” buttons. This way if someone wants to keep shopping they can, but if they are ready to just make the purchase, they can easily to that also. When someone is ready to checkout, do not show them a “review order” page. Instead combine the review order and checkout into a single page, and make sure to include a pop-up lightbox (not an actual popup that browser can block, but a lightbox that appears on the same page). In that lightbox you should include some upsells to increase the average order value. This is where you put the “impossible to resist” deals. Make sure that the upsells being offered are add-ons that are directly related to the specific product being purchased.

Related Products

Product pages are your money pages, therefore you want to try to limit any links that could provide visitors with a path away from page before making a purchase. However, including a feature that displays highly related products that you also offer can be a really good idea. Label the feature either “Related Products” or “People Also Liked”.

SEO Checklist

Everything we reviewed at the beginning of this course in the lessons on the basics of content optimization should be applied to the written content and any product images.

  • Static Content SEO Checklist applies to all written content on the page.
  • Word Count should be over 700. Use expandable divs to limit the wording that is displayed when the page loads.
  • Use Schema.org markup on any images or product videos.
  • Use any applicable http://schema.org/Product mark-up to provide search engines as much information as possible about the product. Most of this information can be hidden in an expandable div so that it is not forced on the user, but is clearly available to anyone interested.
  • Use http://schema.org/Review mark-up on any reviews and ratings.

Marketing, Syndication, Distribution, Social Engagement

Products should be marketed through each of the following channels.

  • Comparison Shopping Engines (which act as Pay Per Click ad networks, but can send a significant amount of traffic if your site offers the product at a competitive price.)
  • Use SingleFeed.com to submit your data feed to hundreds of comparison shopping engines at once.
  • All of your products, or at least the top products in each category should be promoted to targeted demographics through promoted posts on social networks.
  • Blogs and articles conveying stories about people in your target demographic, engaged in activities where they would be using your products and services should be written and promoted (see blogs and articles) and include links to your specific product pages.
  • It is important to build links to all of your product pages so that they can outperform the competition in search engines.
  • Gather reviews from customers about your products using a review management tool.


Remember, Product And Service Pages

Are Supposed To Make The Sale!


Next In the next lesson we will take a look at