With over 26.5 million e-commerce sites vying for customers, taking a piece of the pie is not easy. And you have realized that every day hundreds of these sites are being created. Further increasing competition in the market. It is so easy to be pushed back or be trampled over by other companies. You need a lot of effort and ingenuity to be able to prevail in this industry.
By managing your product listings well, you can help your website increase click-through rates and immediately improve your rankings. This is an optimum way of presenting your company brand and your entire product catalog to your customers.
This guide will discuss how to effectively and efficiently use Shopify to sell your goods or products. Included are some of the steps you’ll need to improve your product listings. There will also be about pricing, inventory management, and SEO optimization. All of these are to help take advantage of this platform and grow your business.
Understanding Product Listing
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In a brick-and-mortar store, it is all about the layout. All of the items you want to sell are placed strategically in the store to attract customers.
The way you design your layout when it comes to shelf placement and arrangement of products has an effect on how your customers shop. Customers tend to find logic in the chaos, so you need to have some sort of logic with your product placement. A good layout will cause a stress-free shopping experience for your customers and will make them want to come back again. And, if you are really smart with your layout, you can direct their attention to some of your less noticeable items. Why do you think last season’s discounted clothes are placed in front?
In e-commerce, your layout will translate to a product listing. Foremost, product listing enables your product catalog to be displayed online according to categories such as color, size, and price. This makes the shopping experience easy and convenient for your customer. Which translates to more sales and profit.
The Elements of a Successful Product Listing
Here are some elements that you need to consider to improve your product listing.
a. High-quality product images
These are highly important to a customer shopping online. They need a clear image since they are only able to discern the product based on the pictures. The images must show the fine details of the product and its features. Color accuracy is also a must. So, you have to make sure that the color of the product must be translated on the screen.
High-quality production means high-quality products. It reflects your brand and how you present the product to your customers. Humans are visual creatures. A more succinct phrase to describe such an attribute is when we describe something visually pleasant as “eye candy”. Your product images should be able to do that. The product description comes second. It is a way to validate the product features and its desirability
b. Compelling product descriptions
Your product description must highlight the features of your product and how they will benefit your potential customers. A product photo can give your customers an idea of how the product looks. Some features can also be seen. But a lot of customers need more information before purchasing.
Just listing down the features is not recommended. The text is stale and boring. Use a lot of sensory words and action words to attract your customer’s attention.
c. Accurate pricing and inventory information
Most stores would price their products with cents at the end. For example, a t-shirt will be priced at 2.99 or have a discounted price of 2.50. Stores would often use this tactic to appear that they are affordable and are providing their customers with favorable prices.
But one of Shopify’s tips explains that solid prices are often used by reputable brands. Brands like Nike use solid prices in their products. Also, a good solid number is also easier to remember.
Your inventory must always be accurate. All items, goods, merchandise, or materials that you have must have a proper inventory. This enables you to have an idea of what items you have on hand that are available for sale and what items need to be restocked.
All items must be properly labeled and sorted to their specifications.
d. SEO optimization
Search Engine Optimization or SEO is very important in e-commerce. Your product listing must contain the necessary keywords to optimize SEO.
Remember, you are competing with thousands of e-commerce companies. You need every advantage you can have against your competitors. By optimizing SEO, you’ll be ranking higher in search engine results. This means a higher chance of conversion and sales.
An effective product listing increases your chance of convincing your potential customers to purchase your products and drive your sales. Customers prefer easy and convenient shopping. Providing a positive shopping experience will more than likely convince them to purchase from your online store more frequently.
The Best Practices for Product Photography
Let’s be honest. We are attracted to beautiful things.
The more visually appealing it is, the more we are drawn into it. It is quite normal and happens to all people. So, capitalize on that thought.
In product photography, you are taking pictures that are going to be used on websites or various platforms and drive up sales of your products. You aim to take pictures that would attract customers. Producing high-quality images tells your potential customers that your brand is legit and your products are high-quality.
Tips for High-quality product images
a. Proper lighting
This Is one of the most important elements in shooting high-quality product images. It makes all the difference in an image.
Using natural light is ideal if you are on a tight budget. It is free. You just need to time your shoots when the sun is at its peak to be able to maximize the light. If the light is too intense, you can diffuse it by placing a white linen sheet over the product. You can use professional-grade diffusers that can come in different types and colors.
A more expensive lighting setup can also be used. Especially, if you want to be able to shoot indoors or shoot at any time of the day. An optimal setup consists of a key light placed in front of your product and a fill light that is positioned on the side, back, or above the product.
You can add diffusers and reflectors if need be. But be sure to check frequently the image that you came up with. Adjust the lights. Also, camera positioning, camera setting, and lighting setup must be documented so you’ll be consistent with the other product images.
b. Background and props
More often than not, a white or light background is used. This is because it is easier for post-production to edit pictures like retouching photos or removing unwanted objects.
But this doesn’t mean that other colors can’t be used. You just need to choose a color that will not overwhelm the product you are taking pictures of. Patterned backgrounds are tricky, so stick to solid colors.
If you want to see if other colors or patterns could work well with your product you can use a remove bg tool where you can edit out the background in your picture leaving your subject untouched. There are numerous backgrounds available on the site that you can interchange to see which will be right for you.
Using props will add another dimension to your product. It can set the mood and tone of the image. Also, the added props can add details like how and where should be the product to be used.
c. Image Editing
Image editing aims to give your picture a finished look. It cleans up the image of unnecessary clutter that might distract the viewer. You can add or eliminate other elements that could enhance the picture.
You can also do color correction. This is important since color doesn’t always translate accurately on different screens.
Image editing services are available online if you need a professional to handle the editing of your images.
Crafting Compelling Product Descriptions
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Your product description must employ a storytelling method. This method is very engaging and quite persuasive. Stories reach us on an emotional level. This gives us the push to act.
To write a compelling product description, you must directly and personally address your customers. Imagine you are having a conversation with a friend. If you want to add necessary technical details, be sure to use layman’s terms as much as possible. Also, be aware of what unit of measure your customers are familiar with so as not to cause confusion.
Always check for grammar and spelling mistakes. These mistakes reflect poorly on your e-commerce store and might cause your customers to doubt your legitimacy.
Be short and concise. Your customers need to get all the information they need quickly. A wall of text isn’t really attractive.
Focus on the benefits your product will give to your potential customers. Listing down the features is great but it does not attract customers.
Pricing and Inventory Management
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Pricing products must be strategic and not focused solely on profit. It may sound counter-intuitive but you need to consider more aspects than profit margins.
You need to study your competitors’ pricing in your market. If you are too low or too high, you might lose potential customers.
Pricing too low would appear that you have low-quality products. Worst, customers might believe that your products are dupes or copies.
Pricing too high is also a problem. Customers are always on the hunt for a bargain. You need your pricing to appear more affordable than your competitor.
You need to have a pricing strategy that will attract customers but will gain you profit.
When it comes to the inventory of your product listing, real-time updates are necessary. This is to know which products you still have available and what items you need to restock. Nothing frustrates a customer more than finding what they are looking for and then finding out that it is no longer available.
Manage how many items you have in your store. If you are just starting, include only a few on your first days. This is to avoid being overwhelmed. Then add more items as you become more comfortable with the pace of customer orders and your logistics.
This is one of the Shopify tips we learned. Add products like every month or every week. Post updates on your websites regularly. This signals Google that your site has traffic. It tells them that your site is active. So the more active it appears, the more organic traffic you’ll get.
Some of these ecommerce tips would be offering discounts and promotions. As we discussed before, customers love bargains. The idea of buying a product for less than the retail price is very appealing. So take advantage of it.
You must have a tight timeline for sales promotions and discounts. The shorter the time, the more likely the customers would be to buy as soon as possible. Also having it at a short time will help you determine if the promotion helped your business.
Make sure that your customers know about your offers. All your online platforms must have the posted details of your promotions and discounts. And, highlight the items which are going to be under your offers to entice your customers.
SEO Optimization for Product Listing
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It is hard to be noticed in the e-commerce market, especially if you are just starting your brand. There are literally hundreds of online stores created daily. All are competing for the customers’ attention. That is why you need SEO optimization for your product listing.
In order to rank high in the search results you need to be strategic when it comes to keyword selection. Your primary keywords are the main terms used for your product description. What it does and what problems it can solve can help you get an idea of keywords you can use. You can use plural versions, synonyms and related keywords for variation. This creates a broader scope in your target audience.
You can also consider on-page SEO. This helps search engines like Google to understand what your website contains. The more they understand it the better your chances are for ranking higher in their results.
An example of this is using your URLs. Google said that URLs help them understand what your page or website is all about. It is advised to use real words in your URL instead of characters and numbers. Include your primary keywords to help search engines. But make it short and easy for the search engines to understand. Using a hyphen between words can make it easier to read.
If you can establish working relationships with other websites, backlinking is a great way to increase conversion. You can ask them to include you in their product recommendations. Or better yet, send them a sample of your product for them to make an in-depth review.
We are also in the era of influencers so taking advantage of this platform is also great. Work with them to promote your brand and products. Be very careful though with working with these influencers. They have a “cancel culture” which could be damaging to your brand image if you get caught in the middle of it.
Conclusion
For a successful product listing, you need to concentrate on two things. High-quality production and SEO or keyword optimization. There are more things to consider and should be allocated ample time to think about but these two should probably be first in your priority list.
High-quality images also add legitimacy to your company brand. It tells the customers that your brand is serious about the business and has the resources to produce high-quality materials.
SEO or keyword optimization is your brand’s way to be noticed in the crowd. We cannot emphasize the importance of SEO. Your online store will be lost without it.
An effective product listing will result in a greater chance of conversion. And, conversion translates to an increase in sales and profit. Mastering product listing can be very beneficial to your brand.
Now that you have an idea of how product listing works, maybe it is time to get started on that online business you have been thinking of having. You don’t need to start big. Everyone starts small. Shopify can help you on your first steps to success.
It all starts here.
Author’s Bio
Yen Pedrajas, Removal.AI. Yen is a content writer for Removal.AI, an image background remover tool. She is a digital marketing and eCommerce enthusiast who loves to write and share new insights about marketing, eCommerce, and growth-hacking tips for startup businesses.