Why and how to produce marketplace-specific product content?

Step 1. Create a search proof product title

Being found amongst the wide-ranging plethora of goods and products is the first concern when you decide to sell your products through an online marketplace. Hence, providing your products with strong and search proof titles plays a significant role in the initial phase of the product set-up. But what do we consider a good title and how to make it visible on marketplaces? Here you have to make sure that you:

• match the product title with the search results of the potential buyers (think about the order of the characteristics: for instance, brand - product name - type - size-etc.).
• consider the length of the title based on title and data requirements from specific marketplaces
• place the most relevant and essential information at the beginning of the title

A good product title piques the curiosity of viewers and entices them to click through. You can set up strong, search proof titles in smooth and efficient ways using smart rules with replacement tags option. Besides replacing the value of the title field, you can also apply advanced actions on the replacement tag’s content.

Step 2. Create a high-quality product description

A truly great product description can be a real conversion booster. According to research, it has positive effects on product cognitive and affective involvement. How to make your product description work?

• make sure it contains all the relevant information about the product.
• tap into the emotions of the potential buyer. Why and how does your product make the life of the buyer better or easier? What can he or she do with the different functionalities?
• when possible, tell a story, offer a solution, and promote a lifestyle. Make the product relate and appeal to the customer.
• customize your product description in line with marketplace specifications. For instance, Amazon uses product descriptions and the accompanying keywords as a ranking factor. It means that Amazon will show a product in the results if a keyword is only used in the product description. Bol.com does not apply this unless the keyword is also part of the title and/or specifications. A product description that works for Amazon might not work for bol.com or the other way around.
• use the product description to draw attention to the unique selling points (USP). At Amazon, it is possible to add (premium) A+ content. It is an additional section where you can tell customers more about your product with appealing images, diagrams, tables, and videos.
  
  
  

Step 3. Select the optimal product images

Humans are image-driven animals. It means that visual content is also an essential component of attractive marketplace content. Recent studies proved that it influences shoppers’ engagement and purchase decisions. Thus, even though it is often overlooked or taken for granted, product imagery might be a strong deciding factor.

The quality of the product must be clearly displayed. Among the core image characteristics related to one’s innate interest are:

• high quality (good resolution brightness, neutral background, etc.)
• alternative views
• photo for each color or variation
• consistency between multiple images

The use of visual content is also highly marketplace specific. Some channels (like Alibaba) offer a wide range of options for image optimization. On other platforms, such a photo-centric approach might be less appropriate.

The degree of image enhancement also depends on the product you want to sell. If we talk about shoes on Zalando or jackets on Otto, knock yourself out with the high-quality, engaging images to create an attractive customer experience. However, a new bestseller copy on Amazon will benefit more from a good synopsis of the story, rather than alternative views of the book.

Finally, follow the general requirements/recommendations for product images.

Bonus tip: Know your marketplace audience

Content optimization goes hand in hand with extensive customer research. After all, your efforts are to bring a full, immersive, and intuitive shopping experience. Many online platforms offer tools and insights that tell you a lot about their shoppers. For instance, Amazon Content Relevance Analysis (CRA) provides a detailed analysis of the search and buying behavior of Amazon users, on both the product and category level. The goal is to entirely understand customers and provide the optimal product information to stimulate a positive purchase transition. This tool performs intensive keyword research and initiates success-oriented content creation. CRA draws information from customer reviews, questions, and answers, external websites, other marketplaces, webshops, and blogs/vlogs from influential experts.

Rakuten Intelligence, eBay Terapeak Research, and Google Shopping Insights are also great research tools to analyze the preferences and shopping habits of the buyers.

Below, is a summarized overview of the earlier discussed content optimization steps. You can use it as a memo while doing  customer research.

Figure 3. Content optimization steps