Product Description Titles

[Jester1972]

Hey guys!

Here’s something I’m curious about. Why are the titles for product descriptions so bland? I mean, I realize keyword relevancy is important online. But, why are there so few creative titles? Why don’t more folks do “Meet your new favorite 100% cotton wrinkle-free graphic tee” type of titles? If you search hard, you’ll find a few. But most product descriptions only include, well… the product description. Like “100% cotton wrinkle-free graphic tee”.

This is more of a philosophical question I guess, ’cause I know folks can write their title however they want. And, there are product titles out there with a little flair. But the bulk of ’em are plain Jane. It just makes me curious, because titles (aka headlines) are a huge deal when it comes to writing copy.

So, what are your thoughts? I’m thinking a combination of word count and keyword density has a bit to do with it, but would like to here what you guys think.

[SARubin]

Hey Jester – Welcome to the show


Ya know, I’ve bounced this question around a few times myself.

I guess a lot of it has to do with the reasons you already mentioned (title length limits, and keywords density)

But a lot of it has to do with people who just don’t know any better.


I’ve asked some people about their bland titles and they usually tell me something like “it’s for SEO, so the search engines know how to index the product page” (or something along those lines)

When I ask them if a search engine ever bought anything from them, I often get a blank stare like they have no idea what I’m talking about?

So I try not to push the issue, unless they specifically ask me for help improving conversion rates. Then I explain how SEO is important, but people, not search engines buy stuff. So maybe we should write for people… not robots.


I’ve had a few people tell me they’re playing the numbers game, and with enough traffic they’ll make some sales. And that’s probably true enough. But the way I see it, some interesting copy can increase those response rates and make even more sales, right?


I guess on some platforms it’s not quite as important?

Like on Amazon or Ebay many people already know what they’re looking for (100% cotton graphic T-shirt), and they just want to do a quick comparison of prices and designs before they pick one.

But on a smaller niche website, and even on those bigger sites, I really can’t see any excuse for not putting on a more interesting show for the visitors.

And it’s not only the headline / titles that are boring. The product descriptions are often a big snore too.

[Franklin]

Hey guys!

Here’s something I’m curious about. Why are the titles for product descriptions so bland? I mean, I realize keyword relevancy is important online. But, why are there so few creative titles? Why don’t more folks do “Meet your new favorite 100% cotton wrinkle-free graphic tee” type of titles? If you search hard, you’ll find a few. But most product descriptions only include, well… the product description. Like “100% cotton wrinkle-free graphic tee”.

This is more of a philosophical question I guess, ’cause I know folks can write their title however they want. And, there are product titles out there with a little flair. But the bulk of ’em are plain Jane. It just makes me curious, because titles (aka headlines) are a huge deal when it comes to writing copy.

So, what are your thoughts? I’m thinking a combination of word count and keyword density has a bit to do with it, but would like to here what you guys think.

Yeah but it’s OK. Sooner or later they’ll hire one of us to fix it, if they want to beat the competition