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If you’re here, you’re interested in either launching a business on Amazon, or maybe you’re looking to optimize your Amazon Product Descriptions. Either way, we'll be your companions on the journey to mastering the art of crafting compelling Amazon product descriptions. Discover the best practices that will not only set your business apart in the vast online marketplace but also elevate your brand recognition to new heights. Let's dive in and make your online presence truly shine!
Want even more tips on how to increase sales on your Amazon listings? Check out our blog post here, on 10 Amazon Best Practices to Sell More in 2023
What is the Amazon Product Description?
First things first – what is an Amazon product description, and how can it be optimized to increase sales? Check out Amazon’s product description guidelines for key points to include in your product description. Amazon highlights that your description should be:
- Concise, honest, and friendly – while you are selling your product, keep your audience in mind, and consider what they want to get from a product description. They’re looking for information about your product, so try to keep your description as honest and clear as possible!
- Focus on your product’s unique properties – if you’re selling a common item, such as a mug, it’s difficult to stand out against so many competitors. So, drill down into what makes your product special. Maybe your mug has a custom design you created, or was crafted by hand
- Speaking of competitors, don’t mention them in your description. Keep the focus all on your brand, rather than list competitors that potential customers can jump to
- Include applications for your product – this demonstrates how the product can be used and can help the customer envision themselves using it. In the case of our mug example, you might include that they not only can drink tea and coffee from their mug, but can also use it as a piece of décor, due to its intricate, handcrafted shape
- Check spelling and grammar before submitting
- Choose your words carefully – the product description has a limited number of characters, so make sure you’re putting your best foot forward and choosing the highlight the right bits
In addition to Amazon’s guidelines, we’ve outlined the product listing requirements in more detail.
Now let’s have a look at the components and structure of an Amazon product description. Amazon product information has multiple parts:
- Title: Ensure you keep your title concise, without missing any vital details that could change the type of product you’re listing. This is especially important for SEO. Someone searching “blue mug” might be different than the person searching “custom design blue mug” or “blue mug with flowers”
- Key product features: For customers who just want to skim the main components, you can list features in bullet points. Choose the top highlights and benefits in these bullets, as they have a 500-character limit
- The main description: As outlined above, this is a small paragraph describing your product in more detail than the bullet points. For this, you can use up to 2,000 characters.
A bit nervous about launching your first product on Amazon, and want a few more tips? Read our Ultimate Guide to Launching Products on Amazon.
Writing an Effective Amazon Product Description
Now that we’ve gone over the basics and you have an understanding of what should be included in your product description, let’s get into how you can create them effectively and successfully.
Who is your product description for?
As any business owner knows, the audience plays a major role in both how we craft our message and position our product. So, keep your audience in mind when you’re choosing the features to highlight, and the language you use.
Pro Tip: create buyer personas to bring your target audience to life
Think about your product description from the eyes of your buyer persona. What are they looking for? What are their needs? By answering these questions, you can include the solution in your product description.
Focus on the product features and benefits
While we might be talking a lot about the description, and keeping it concise and informative, we must also remember that you’re trying to sell! And to differentiate your product from competitors, especially on such a large scale as the Amazon marketplace, you need to lean into your product’s key features. To write product descriptions that convert, head over to our separate article on How to Write Amazon Product Descriptions Buyers Can’t Resist.
With so many options to choose from, customers will gravitate toward products that are clear about why they stand apart from the rest. While your product might have multiple benefits and differentiators, it’s important to pick just one and lean into it. Be consistent and highlight this benefit throughout your title, key benefits bullet point list, and in your main paragraph description.
{{amazon-ad="/external-components"}}
Let’s return to our mug example. While we might be handcrafting this mug and adding customary designs, rather than mass-manufacturing it, we need to choose which feature to focus on. Perhaps some customers are looking for a simple handcrafted mug, while others don’t care how the mug was created, as long as the design on them is unique. Use your title to drive this home and speak directly to the audience of your choosing. In this case, let’s choose our title to be:
“Blue handcrafted mug”
Then, we can dive deeper into how this benefits the customer in our product description:
Our handcrafted mugs are created by our talented team of pottery artists, designed both for drinking from and as home décor to liven up your living space.
While you have 2,000 characters to work with for the detailed description, try to keep it as concise and scannable as possible. Again, Amazon has a massive selection for customers to look through, so be sure to catch and keep their attention by avoiding large “info-dumps” that force them to pick through and find what they’re after. If you want to automate the description writing process, you can also use an Amazon product description generator. If you don’t know where to get started, check out our curated list of top product description generators.
Amazon A+ Content
For those of you who want to optimize your Amazon storefront and boost conversions, Amazon offers its A+ content tool. Available for brand-registered third-party sellers and all vendors, A+ Content [formerly Enhanced Brand Content] allows you to customize your product detail pages by adding rich text, imagery, HD videos, banners, and other features. Amazon boasts a 20% increase in conversions by using this advanced content tool.
Namely, it helps customers to fully understand your product and its benefits, as well as better showcase your brand.
Some benefits of using A+ Content are:
- You can go over the standard 2,000-character limit on your product descriptions
- You can use images, charts, and videos
- It’s free to use for any seller, with unlimited features
If you want to know more about Amazon A+ Content and its uses and best practices, we know everything it takes to optimize your Amazon A+ content.
Amazon’s A9 Algorithm
While writing for your audience within Amazon guidelines is important, also keep the A9 algorithm in mind, to ensure your product description is SEO-friendly. There are a few criteria that influence the A9, such as:
- Keywords – these are the words that customers are typing into the Amazon search bar and is where understanding your buyer personas comes in handy! Choose your keywords with the customer in mind, so that you can identify their needs, and include the solution in the keyword you select
- Sales conversion rate and performance history – if your product sells often and sells well, Amazon will favor it in the search results
- Reviews – the more reviews on your product, the better! Ever notice that the top Amazon search results have the most reviews?
- Price of product – don’t skip the market research! Ensure that your product is appropriately priced. Not so high that customers will turn to competitors, and not so low that they are suspicious of your product’s quality
- Delivery – make sure to keep a prompt delivery time. Remember, Amazon Prime can do as soon as same-day deliveries! Customers that need their products quickly will turn to the seller that can deliver it on time
Pro Tip: If you’re only just launching your business and haven’t had any sales yet to count toward your place in the search rankings, consider running some sponsored ads! This is a quick way to shoot your products to the top of the rankings, for a short time, and gain brand recognition as you work on organic awareness in the background
Just like Google, Amazon takes your rankings, keywords, and sales into account when choosing the order of how products are listed. Effective keywords could mean the difference between being listed on page 1, versus page 10. If you’re a new seller, the best thing to focus on would be your keywords. When choosing these, consider:
- What is your audience searching for? – put yourself in the shoes of the customer. If they’re searching for a handmade mug on Amazon, are they more likely to search “handcrafted mug” or “kiln-fired ceramic piece”?
- What are your competitors doing? – while you shouldn’t speak about them in your listing, it’s important to research what successful competitors are doing, to find out what keywords are being searched and driving sales
- Spelling and word variations – in the case of our mug, some customers might search “handcrafted” while others search “handmade”. Go with one or the other in your title, but ensure to include multiple popular variations throughout your product description, so as not to miss the keywords
Make sure to follow this process to include keywords throughout your product description structure [title, bullet point list, and detailed paragraph]
Pro Tip: as is the case for SEO in general, be careful not to overuse obvious keywords. Referred to as “keyword stuffing”, this is the process of using too many keywords in your copy, derailing from the point of your prose, and instead catering just to climbing higher in the search rankings. This is what’s called a “blackhat” SEO tactic and is an easy way to get flagged and discarded by search engines, Amazon’s A9 Algorithm included.
Imagery
With such a wide variety to choose from, sometimes it doesn’t matter how effective your keywords, or how well-crafted your descriptions are if your images aren’t also up to scratch. The typical user will scan the images and choose something that sparks their interest. Only then, can they read through your product description to find out the benefits we’ve been discussing.
And don’t forget, it’s just as crucial to show your product in the best possible light, by using eye-catching visuals, as it is to adhere to Amazon’s guidelines. We’ve outlined these requirements, below:
Technical Requirements
- 1,000 px on each side to allow for zoom
- 500 px to 10,000 px on their longest side
- JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg), TIFF (.tif), PNG (.png), or non-animated GIF (.gif) file formats, and
- Clear, unpixellated, and have no jagged edges
Main Product Images
- This is the first image that appears on the product detail page
- Accurately represent the product, and be realistic and of professional quality
- Have a white background – this allows for consistency across all Amazon products
- Show the product as 85% of the image
- Cannot include text, logos, borders, color blocks, or watermarks
- Show the entire product within frame
- Cannot feature accessories that will not be included when the customer purchases your product
- Include only a single unit of your product
- Cannot include packaging
- Cannot include a mannequin, in the case of selling garments
All Product Images
- Accurately represent what you are selling
- Match your chosen title
- Cannot contain nudity or be sexually explicit
- Cannot contain customer reviews, ratings, or claims
- Cannot include Amazon logos or trademarks
Note: this is an abbreviation. For a full list of guidelines, please refer to Amazon’s official requirements as linked above.
For more information and tips on choosing images for your product details page, head over to our all-encompassing spec guide where we’ve outlined Amazon image sizing and specs.
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Start Writing Amazon Product Descriptions
And now you’re ready to write your first Amazon product description! It can be a little overwhelming at first, especially with so many sellers to go up against, but if you follow Amazon’s guidelines, speak directly to your selected audience, and keep in mind SEO best practices to ensure the best ranking for your product, you’ll be selling in no time!
Let’s summarize the top-line tips we’ve run through:
- Follow Amazon’s specs and guidelines
- Keep descriptions clear and concise, focusing on key highlights and benefits
- Think about your audience and their needs
- Understand the A9 Algorithm, and how to use it to your advantage
- Choose your keywords carefully, and use them throughout your product description elements without keyword stuffing
- Select high-quality, professional images
- Enhance your product detail page with Amazon A+ Content
At the end of the day, no one knows your product better than you do. Keep the above guidelines in mind, but don’t restrict yourself too much! It’s also important to stand out from the crowd, so allow room for creativity, and for your brand to shine through! For more information, tips, and ecommerce tricks, head over to The Checkout where we help over 17,000 brands with their ecommerce content.
If you’re here, you’re interested in either launching a business on Amazon, or maybe you’re looking to optimize your Amazon Product Descriptions. Either way, we'll be your companions on the journey to mastering the art of crafting compelling Amazon product descriptions. Discover the best practices that will not only set your business apart in the vast online marketplace but also elevate your brand recognition to new heights. Let's dive in and make your online presence truly shine!
Want even more tips on how to increase sales on your Amazon listings? Check out our blog post here, on 10 Amazon Best Practices to Sell More in 2023
What is the Amazon Product Description?
First things first – what is an Amazon product description, and how can it be optimized to increase sales? Check out Amazon’s product description guidelines for key points to include in your product description. Amazon highlights that your description should be:
- Concise, honest, and friendly – while you are selling your product, keep your audience in mind, and consider what they want to get from a product description. They’re looking for information about your product, so try to keep your description as honest and clear as possible!
- Focus on your product’s unique properties – if you’re selling a common item, such as a mug, it’s difficult to stand out against so many competitors. So, drill down into what makes your product special. Maybe your mug has a custom design you created, or was crafted by hand
- Speaking of competitors, don’t mention them in your description. Keep the focus all on your brand, rather than list competitors that potential customers can jump to
- Include applications for your product – this demonstrates how the product can be used and can help the customer envision themselves using it. In the case of our mug example, you might include that they not only can drink tea and coffee from their mug, but can also use it as a piece of décor, due to its intricate, handcrafted shape
- Check spelling and grammar before submitting
- Choose your words carefully – the product description has a limited number of characters, so make sure you’re putting your best foot forward and choosing the highlight the right bits
In addition to Amazon’s guidelines, we’ve outlined the product listing requirements in more detail.
Now let’s have a look at the components and structure of an Amazon product description. Amazon product information has multiple parts:
- Title: Ensure you keep your title concise, without missing any vital details that could change the type of product you’re listing. This is especially important for SEO. Someone searching “blue mug” might be different than the person searching “custom design blue mug” or “blue mug with flowers”
- Key product features: For customers who just want to skim the main components, you can list features in bullet points. Choose the top highlights and benefits in these bullets, as they have a 500-character limit
- The main description: As outlined above, this is a small paragraph describing your product in more detail than the bullet points. For this, you can use up to 2,000 characters.
A bit nervous about launching your first product on Amazon, and want a few more tips? Read our Ultimate Guide to Launching Products on Amazon.
Writing an Effective Amazon Product Description
Now that we’ve gone over the basics and you have an understanding of what should be included in your product description, let’s get into how you can create them effectively and successfully.
Who is your product description for?
As any business owner knows, the audience plays a major role in both how we craft our message and position our product. So, keep your audience in mind when you’re choosing the features to highlight, and the language you use.
Pro Tip: create buyer personas to bring your target audience to life
Think about your product description from the eyes of your buyer persona. What are they looking for? What are their needs? By answering these questions, you can include the solution in your product description.
Focus on the product features and benefits
While we might be talking a lot about the description, and keeping it concise and informative, we must also remember that you’re trying to sell! And to differentiate your product from competitors, especially on such a large scale as the Amazon marketplace, you need to lean into your product’s key features. To write product descriptions that convert, head over to our separate article on How to Write Amazon Product Descriptions Buyers Can’t Resist.
With so many options to choose from, customers will gravitate toward products that are clear about why they stand apart from the rest. While your product might have multiple benefits and differentiators, it’s important to pick just one and lean into it. Be consistent and highlight this benefit throughout your title, key benefits bullet point list, and in your main paragraph description.
{{amazon-ad="/external-components"}}
Let’s return to our mug example. While we might be handcrafting this mug and adding customary designs, rather than mass-manufacturing it, we need to choose which feature to focus on. Perhaps some customers are looking for a simple handcrafted mug, while others don’t care how the mug was created, as long as the design on them is unique. Use your title to drive this home and speak directly to the audience of your choosing. In this case, let’s choose our title to be:
“Blue handcrafted mug”
Then, we can dive deeper into how this benefits the customer in our product description:
Our handcrafted mugs are created by our talented team of pottery artists, designed both for drinking from and as home décor to liven up your living space.
While you have 2,000 characters to work with for the detailed description, try to keep it as concise and scannable as possible. Again, Amazon has a massive selection for customers to look through, so be sure to catch and keep their attention by avoiding large “info-dumps” that force them to pick through and find what they’re after. If you want to automate the description writing process, you can also use an Amazon product description generator. If you don’t know where to get started, check out our curated list of top product description generators.
Amazon A+ Content
For those of you who want to optimize your Amazon storefront and boost conversions, Amazon offers its A+ content tool. Available for brand-registered third-party sellers and all vendors, A+ Content [formerly Enhanced Brand Content] allows you to customize your product detail pages by adding rich text, imagery, HD videos, banners, and other features. Amazon boasts a 20% increase in conversions by using this advanced content tool.
Namely, it helps customers to fully understand your product and its benefits, as well as better showcase your brand.
Some benefits of using A+ Content are:
- You can go over the standard 2,000-character limit on your product descriptions
- You can use images, charts, and videos
- It’s free to use for any seller, with unlimited features
If you want to know more about Amazon A+ Content and its uses and best practices, we know everything it takes to optimize your Amazon A+ content.
Amazon’s A9 Algorithm
While writing for your audience within Amazon guidelines is important, also keep the A9 algorithm in mind, to ensure your product description is SEO-friendly. There are a few criteria that influence the A9, such as:
- Keywords – these are the words that customers are typing into the Amazon search bar and is where understanding your buyer personas comes in handy! Choose your keywords with the customer in mind, so that you can identify their needs, and include the solution in the keyword you select
- Sales conversion rate and performance history – if your product sells often and sells well, Amazon will favor it in the search results
- Reviews – the more reviews on your product, the better! Ever notice that the top Amazon search results have the most reviews?
- Price of product – don’t skip the market research! Ensure that your product is appropriately priced. Not so high that customers will turn to competitors, and not so low that they are suspicious of your product’s quality
- Delivery – make sure to keep a prompt delivery time. Remember, Amazon Prime can do as soon as same-day deliveries! Customers that need their products quickly will turn to the seller that can deliver it on time
Pro Tip: If you’re only just launching your business and haven’t had any sales yet to count toward your place in the search rankings, consider running some sponsored ads! This is a quick way to shoot your products to the top of the rankings, for a short time, and gain brand recognition as you work on organic awareness in the background
Just like Google, Amazon takes your rankings, keywords, and sales into account when choosing the order of how products are listed. Effective keywords could mean the difference between being listed on page 1, versus page 10. If you’re a new seller, the best thing to focus on would be your keywords. When choosing these, consider:
- What is your audience searching for? – put yourself in the shoes of the customer. If they’re searching for a handmade mug on Amazon, are they more likely to search “handcrafted mug” or “kiln-fired ceramic piece”?
- What are your competitors doing? – while you shouldn’t speak about them in your listing, it’s important to research what successful competitors are doing, to find out what keywords are being searched and driving sales
- Spelling and word variations – in the case of our mug, some customers might search “handcrafted” while others search “handmade”. Go with one or the other in your title, but ensure to include multiple popular variations throughout your product description, so as not to miss the keywords
Make sure to follow this process to include keywords throughout your product description structure [title, bullet point list, and detailed paragraph]
Pro Tip: as is the case for SEO in general, be careful not to overuse obvious keywords. Referred to as “keyword stuffing”, this is the process of using too many keywords in your copy, derailing from the point of your prose, and instead catering just to climbing higher in the search rankings. This is what’s called a “blackhat” SEO tactic and is an easy way to get flagged and discarded by search engines, Amazon’s A9 Algorithm included.
Imagery
With such a wide variety to choose from, sometimes it doesn’t matter how effective your keywords, or how well-crafted your descriptions are if your images aren’t also up to scratch. The typical user will scan the images and choose something that sparks their interest. Only then, can they read through your product description to find out the benefits we’ve been discussing.
And don’t forget, it’s just as crucial to show your product in the best possible light, by using eye-catching visuals, as it is to adhere to Amazon’s guidelines. We’ve outlined these requirements, below:
Technical Requirements
- 1,000 px on each side to allow for zoom
- 500 px to 10,000 px on their longest side
- JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg), TIFF (.tif), PNG (.png), or non-animated GIF (.gif) file formats, and
- Clear, unpixellated, and have no jagged edges
Main Product Images
- This is the first image that appears on the product detail page
- Accurately represent the product, and be realistic and of professional quality
- Have a white background – this allows for consistency across all Amazon products
- Show the product as 85% of the image
- Cannot include text, logos, borders, color blocks, or watermarks
- Show the entire product within frame
- Cannot feature accessories that will not be included when the customer purchases your product
- Include only a single unit of your product
- Cannot include packaging
- Cannot include a mannequin, in the case of selling garments
All Product Images
- Accurately represent what you are selling
- Match your chosen title
- Cannot contain nudity or be sexually explicit
- Cannot contain customer reviews, ratings, or claims
- Cannot include Amazon logos or trademarks
Note: this is an abbreviation. For a full list of guidelines, please refer to Amazon’s official requirements as linked above.
For more information and tips on choosing images for your product details page, head over to our all-encompassing spec guide where we’ve outlined Amazon image sizing and specs.
Start Writing Amazon Product Descriptions
And now you’re ready to write your first Amazon product description! It can be a little overwhelming at first, especially with so many sellers to go up against, but if you follow Amazon’s guidelines, speak directly to your selected audience, and keep in mind SEO best practices to ensure the best ranking for your product, you’ll be selling in no time!
Let’s summarize the top-line tips we’ve run through:
- Follow Amazon’s specs and guidelines
- Keep descriptions clear and concise, focusing on key highlights and benefits
- Think about your audience and their needs
- Understand the A9 Algorithm, and how to use it to your advantage
- Choose your keywords carefully, and use them throughout your product description elements without keyword stuffing
- Select high-quality, professional images
- Enhance your product detail page with Amazon A+ Content
At the end of the day, no one knows your product better than you do. Keep the above guidelines in mind, but don’t restrict yourself too much! It’s also important to stand out from the crowd, so allow room for creativity, and for your brand to shine through! For more information, tips, and ecommerce tricks, head over to The Checkout where we help over 17,000 brands with their ecommerce content.
