SEO Optimization: How can I optimize my products for search engines?

SEO refers to the process of improving the quality and quantity of traffic to a website or web page from search engines.

Why is SEO important?

Making a few small changes to the way you name your products and write your product description (style notes) for the Wolf & Badger site will help build the visibility of your products and your brand, which means more customers viewing your products, and more conversions.

Naturally, competition to be listed at the top of Google is fierce, with many companies and platforms all vying for visibility. This guide will give you tips to improve the chances of potential customers finding and clicking through to your products on Wolf & Badger.

Background

Customers could arrive at your product pages through several mediums and sources. For example, social media is one medium, and within social media, there are several popular sources such as Facebook and Pinterest. Another example of a medium is organic search, which refers to users coming to Wolf & Badger via search engines (like Google and Bing) without them receiving any payment for the traffic.

This type of traffic can be extremely powerful as there is not only a lot of it, the traffic is generally very high intent and more likely to convert as they are looking for something specific.

Below are some tips to make your listings more likely to show up in search engine results (AKA boost their SEO):

Provide Sufficient Information in the Product Name

Ensure when writing the name of a product that you are both concise and descriptive, ideally including the product name as well as the product type or category and its key attributes. If you use human names for your products, e.g. "Phoebe" or "Emma" ensure that you also add what the product is e.g. "Phoebe Blush High Heels" "Emma Yellow Leather Clutch Bag". This will help minimise irrelevant (non-converting) traffic to your product pages. This is needs special consideration when your product names are a little cheeky and contain words could be misunderstood without context, i.e. Lolita or sexy. 

The key rule when naming products is that users should get sufficient information about the product by just reading the title. This will mean that, when your product appears in Google’s search results, users will know exactly what to expect when they click through. But please bear in mind that there is a limit to what Google can show, so if your product is called “William the Conqueror’s Favourite Shoe in The Whole Wide World by Normandy The Shoe Brand”, you might be better off opting for something like “William The Conqueror High Heel Strappy Sandal by Normandy” thus clearly outlining what the product itself without risking anything being cut off. In a mobile-first world, there is no maximum character length anymore as screens are very different in size. The rule of thumb is that the first 50 characters are most likely to be seen, so put key information at the front.

Write Custom Descriptions for Wolf & Badger to Avoid Duplicate Content

If you have your own website, in addition to being listed on Wolf & Badger, do not simply ‘copy and paste’ your product descriptions from your own site onto your Wolf & Badger product page. The product description should be rewritten so that it is unique and relevant. This will protect your own site’s rankings and enable you to get more of your personality into the search results as you will have multiple positions where you control messaging.

Can I Have AI Generate my Descriptions?

Yes, absolutely, if this is what you feel is right for you. Google explicitly announced that what counts is not the creator of a piece of copy, but the quality of its content. So if you have well crafted AI content that follows the tips below, you are absolutely OK.

What to Include in Your Description 

Google has 2 concepts that are increasingly relevant in SEO: EEAT (which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust) and Needs Met (which checks if a page meets all the needs a user expressed in their search). Together they mean that the pages that rank highest have good grammar and spelling, use language that shows the author knows their subject, are not spammy or overly salesy and include everything a user would want to know. They also have to be published on a trustworthy site that is an authority in their field, but we’ve got this one covered for you. You can build on that by showing your specific knowledge of your brand and products to the customer.

Start with the core features of the product, add some information about its benefits and then practical examples of how to wear or use the product. Make sure to add key attributes (such as the category, colour, style and material of the product) that anchor the page within a thematic field and enable Google to show them at the right point in a user journey. Search results these days are no longer focused on words; Google now aims to target users, not searches, and tries to show them solutions, not word strings. This means that someone who has searched for “English history” and then types in “William the Conqueror” will be shown information pages about Norman king William I whereas someone who has searched for “great party shoes” is more likely to see our fictitious strappy sandal.

Also highlight anything that is unique about your product or brand. Is it handmade? Vegan? Incredibly soft? Really durable? Known for its comfort? Loved by someone your customers admire? You get the picture. Give people not just information, but a good reason to buy your product. These tips will not only help with SEO but should help to increase conversion as buyers will be able to find all the information they are looking for.

What about Keywords?

In some contexts keywords are important. If you are trying to get Amanda, a blue silk maxi dress, to rank in Google, not including reference to the category, colour and material will make ranking hard. “Amanda will wrap your body in the softness of a blue lagoon” is not going to be very helpful. “Amanda, the latest addition to our collection of soft silk maxi dresses, falls flatteringly around the body. Its blue tone gives the impression that you are floating through a gently flowing lagoon.” Now Google understands that you’re looking at a dress, not a spa treatment.

However, the key to being visible in Google is no longer to choose the exact search terms someone might be typing into their search box, but words that are relevant to your customer’s intent (is what you’re offering what they’re looking for?). You don’t have to worry about plurals or singulars, variations on a theme (i.e. jeans and denim) or word order (i.e. “women’s shoes” vs. “shoes for women”). And absolutely avoid buzzwords if they look out of place or be pushy or salesy. The days when keywords like “buy now” or “designer luxury [product]” increase rankings and sales are long gone as customers have grown to know the internet and tactics used by spammers and are more likely to be put off when they feel sold to rather than charmed.

Keyword research is definitely still part of the content writing process, but is mostly used for pages covering broader concepts like e-commerce categories or information pages where what the user wants to see is less clear. For product descriptions it can be useful to help you place your product within the context of what your target market is interested. So rather than adding your product name to a keyword research tool, add your category and some variations and see a quick snapshot of what people ask of Google that you could highlight in your description.

An example might be that of a jewellery brand looking to write great copy for a collection of recycled gold earrings in various shapes sizes. They can use it to research if people are relatively more interested in materials (i.e. “gold earrings”) or styles (i.e. “studs”) and gauge what attributes they are interested in (i.e. “recycled gold”) in. Add a few terms like “recycled gold earrings”, “small gold earring”, “big gold hoops”, “stud earrings”, “hoop earrings” and the tool will show you how the terms you added compare in terms of demand and gives additional ideas. You might, for example, be shown “men’s earrings” or “18k gold earrings”, which is a hint that gender and carats are of interest to potential customers and could be highlighted in the copy.

Take Advantage of SEO Tools

There are many methods, tools, and platforms designed to help with SEO (many of which are available for free!). Here are a few we recommend:

• Answer the Public: find questions related to your article topic (who/what/why etc)
• Keyword Tool: search volumes for different keywords

Google: type in the high-level topic you have in mind and see what Google predicts you will ask, or what common questions and related searches are listed.