Selling Electronics online? Forget using manufacturer’s product descriptions
We have been creating a few E Commerce websites for online retailers of electronics and one thing we have found repeatedly is the use of product descriptions that goes alongside the products to be the one given by the manufacturers. This seems to be quite common and it saves the retailer time from having to re-write the descriptions or money if they are to get it commissioned via a professional. Besides, the main manufacturer descriptions is usually quite articulate and well-written and chances are, you can’t quite get the same level of impact created by a non-professional.
However, using the standard descriptions is a bad idea for 2 reasons:
Lack of uniqueness
If you are using the same content as all your competitors, potential customers who are in the research phase may come across the same content across multiple websites. The differentiating and perhaps, the deciding factor becomes price alone (all other things remaining equal). What may stand out is the offering of the retailer who has taken the time and trouble to explain the benefits and features of the product in a different way, especially if they have improved upon the original description and given you a lot more to help you make an informed decision.
Impact on SEO
The second disadvantage of going with the standard product description is the negative impact that it may have on your SEO.
Google doesn’t like duplicate content and penalises websites which have this. Of course, by penalising duplicate content, Google’s aim is to encourage creativity and uniqueness on the web, however, from a technical standpoint, your content can still be perceived as duplicate which can put the SEO of your product page(s) at risk.
Getting unque content generated may be time consuming and expensive but you should consider getting this done for your high-margin or high selling items, at the very least. Not only will this help improve your organic rankings, it may well increase your website conversions and sales as well.
