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Elements of a Perfect Product Page
4/1/2008
Elements of a Perfect Product Page
The product detail page also known as the item page is the page on your site that focuses on a single product. This is usually the page your customers will visit just before adding a product to the cart. It’s important to carefully balance search engine optimization and usability on this page. Below is a top down list of a perfect item page.
URL
An example of a good URL is: www.example.com/123/MFG_SKU_Manufacturer_Category My_Cool_ Product .aspx. 123 is the product ID, followed by the manufacturer SKU, product manufacturer and category then first few words from the description of the product.
META Data
The META title of the page should closely mimic the URL, META keywords should include MFG SKU, Manufacturer, and Category, your product description can be used for the META description.
Navigation
The top of the page should show a navigation path such as example.com/category/manufacturer_category_product description each section should link to the appropriate position in your website.
Menu
Make sure links to your home page, shopping cart, and contact us are included in your menu and easy to find.
Search
If this is not the product the customer is looking for, help them easily search for the correct product. Make sure the search form or link is easily found.
Send to a Friend
Typically on the menu or right side you will want an area to send a particular page to a friend. You can have a section that collects the information or link to another page. Just make sure the link opens a new page, you don’t want them to have to navigate away from the current page to send to a friend.
Toll Free Phone Number
Prominently display your customer service/sales phone numbers so customers have the ability to call to get further information or order by phone.
Short Description
Display the MFG, Category, MFG SKU, and short description. Consider putting the MFG, Category, and MFG SKU in H1 or H2 tags.
Images
Display primary image for the particular product. Below the primary image should be thumbnail image links of alternate views to change the primary image. Product videos can be displayed here as well. The hover for these links should again include the MFG, Category, and MFG SKU.
Add to cart
This should be prominent, usually located on the top right side of the page. Making this an image link or image button will help this stand out. This is your main call to action so make sure it’s easy to find quickly.
Wish List
Allow users to add a product to a wish list for future reference or email reminders. A similar function would be to email the customer a link to they’re cart so they may continue in the future.
Prices
Many times displayed near the add to cart button, you want to make it easy for your customers to find the product price. Make sure to include any shipping or other costs associated. Many customers will add products to a cart and start checking out to determine the total cost. Don’t give them any surprises during the checkout process.
Stock Status
To make more sales you want users to see if you have the product in stock or not. Not displaying this will increase calls to your customer service lines and reduce overall sales.
User Rating
This is becoming more and more important as more people are starting to look for this. This rating is typically something like 3 out of 5 stars or 6 out of 10 rating.
Social Bookmarking Links
Another call to action, get users to bookmark your page for them to find it easily in the future and share with others. These are preformatted links like a bookmark link for Delicious or Stumble Upon.
Long Description
This will typically be found closely below the product images. This is the longer description of the product that could include bullet points for emphasis.
Accepted Payment Types Banner
Display which credit card and additional payment types that you accept. The more types you accept, the better chance you have to make a sale.
Trust Seals
Displaying seals for your SSL certificate and hacker proofing services will help build customer confidence increasing your ability to make the sale.
Newsletter Signup
Another call to action, try to make this potential customer a lifelong customer by getting them to subscribe to your newsletter.
Related products
Displaying related products with MFG, Category, Short Description, image and price will help customers find the products they are looking for or additionally items to purchase.
User Reviews
Displaying additional user reviews will help the customer decide to purchase or continue searching. Make sure to ask for they’re rating and review.
Policies
Links to your privacy and return policies will again help build confidence. Many people won’t read them but want to make sure they exist.
Additional Languages
Linking to pages translated into other languages will help those who do not speak the primary website language make purchases.
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