If you run an eCommerce website, you may think writing titles and descriptions for your products is the least of your worries. It seems pretty self-explanatory, after all. However, this kind of thinking could cost you dearly when search engines decide to rank your site and basically determine how much exposure you’ll be getting. So follow the below advice when creating titles and descriptions to ensure they’re properly optimized.
There are two ways to look at the titles and descriptions on your eCommerce website and both are equally valid perspectives that must be incorporated to hit your SEO potential. The first angle you need to see things from is that of your potential customer. Titles and descriptions need to adequately illustrate whatever it is you’re selling. Obviously, a title should do this in as few words as possible. Your description should be no longer than necessary, but successful in selling your customer.
This is important on its own, but if it means sales and repeat business, you can consider your optimization improved as well. However, you next need to think about how search engines will see your titles and descriptions. To this end, you must include the keywords you’re trying to rank your site for. So long as it sounds natural, include at least one keyword in the title. Then include as many as you can in your copy, though again, it’s essential that their occurrence seems natural. Otherwise customers and search engines alike will resent you.
The other way you’ll put your eCommerce website in the good graces of search engines is by using meta tags in your titles and descriptions too. Both your title tag and description tags should feature keywords just as your copy did. Put the most important ones first, as search engine spiders read tags from left to right.
Title tags are especially important to the success of your eCommerce website, so use them wisely. Most SEO experts agree that you only get between 10 and 60 characters for these tags. After that, you hit diminishing returns.
Description tags shouldn’t be more than 200 characters, but this is enough to allow for short sentences that still pack plenty of information. Remember that this will be your front line when it comes to pulling in visitors who found you through a search engine. Distinguish your site from others by telling a prospective visitor why you’re the site they want.
Of all the SEO issues your website needs to cover, optimizing titles and descriptions are amongst the easiest. However, that doesn’t make this practice any less important. Take the above advice seriously and feel the benefit of more visitors.
Sources:
http://moz.com/learn/seo/title-tag
http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/sem/meta_tag_optimization.htm