Ecommerce PDPs: What Are They and Why Do They Matter?

Imagine this: you're shopping online for a new dining room table. There are a few "must-haves" you're looking for, including durable wood and enough space for six people. However, your dining room is a little tight on space, so you need a table that measures no more than 72 inches long.

You find what looks like the perfect table at an online furniture retailer. The style is exactly what you're looking for, and the table is made of beautiful and durable oak.

Unfortunately, you can't find the exact dimensions of the table anywhere. Sure, you could reach out to the company directly to ask—but if you're like the majority of savvy online shoppers, you're more likely to find a similar (or identical) table through another business that includes exact specifications, along with all the other information you need, on its Product Detail Page (PDP). 

What is a Product Details Page (PDP)?

A Product Detail Page (PDP) is a web page used on ecommerce sites that provides specific, in-depth information about a particular product. Ideally, anything a customer could ever want to know about a product before buying should be readily accessible on a product details page.

Writing an effective PDP may seem easy enough, but there's more to it than you might realize. And the reality is that brands don't always get this important part of their marketing right. In fact, research suggests that about 98% of ecommerce shoppers have been deterred by missing or incomplete information on a PDP.  

So, what makes well-crafted ecommerce PDPs so important—and what, exactly, does it take to create PDPs that will convert? Let's dive in.

Why product detail pages are critical for e-commerce

Product Detail Pages are an important component of any ecommerce business. This is especially true when you consider the inherent challenges that come with shopping online versus in a physical store. Sure, online shopping offers a convenience factor—but without a robust Product Detail Page, getting all the relevant information customers need about a product to make a confident purchase proves difficult. Potential customers may not be able to find the exact dimensions they need to determine whether a product will work in their space–or a lack of reviews might leave them feeling apprehensive about clicking that “add to cart” button.

In fact, there are many ways in which well-written PDPs are critical to the success of all ecommerce businesses. Here are six of them:

1. Improve the customer experience

For starters, PDPs can improve customer satisfaction when they're done correctly. When an ecommerce PDP includes all the relevant information a shopper needs to make a buying decision (and when that information is easy to find), this makes for a seamless shopping experience and more informed buyers. When a PDP is missing critical information or lacking other details that give your business credibility, your would-be customers are more likely to shop elsewhere.

2. Optimize your product pages for search

In addition to improving the customer experience, excellent PDPs also have the power to boost your site's Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts. Specifically, PDPs can be strategically crafted in a way that can boost search engine visibility, and reach a larger segment of potential customers. We'll get into SEO strategies for PDPs in more detail later on, but suffice to say for now that optimized PDPs can help your site rank higher in search engines.

3. Boost conversion rates

Of course, effective PDPs aren't just about including as much relevant information about a product as possible. They're also about presenting that information in a way that is compelling, relatable, and engaging to your target audience.

This means using product information to actually communicate the Unique Selling Points (USPs) of a product to potential buyers. By doing this effectively, you can help shoppers answer questions or address concerns they may have about the product itself, which could result in increased conversion rates.

4. Set your brand apart

In many ways, well-done PDPs can also help you build your brand identity and set it apart from your competitors. No matter what industry you're in, there's a very good chance that your potential customers are shopping around with at least a few different ecommerce businesses.

When your PDPs are comprehensive, engaging, and include all the information that shoppers need to make confident buying decisions, you can instill a sense of trust that could be the difference between making a sale and losing out to another business.  

5. Increase potential order value

PDPs also offer an incredible opportunity to increase potential order values through add-ons and related products. In addition to using your PDPs as a means of showcasing a single product, these pages can be extremely useful from an upselling and cross-selling standpoint.

Consider, for example, a PDP for a pair of sunglasses that suggests a protective case as an add-on. Customers who may not have considered shopping for a case can easily click through and add the item to their shopping carts, thus maximizing the order's value and providing your customer with a more enjoyable shopping experience. 

6. Draw in new customers

Today, 87% of consumers in the United States begin their product searches online regardless of whether they end up making a final purchase online or in a physical store. Likewise, 81% of shoppers indicate that a brand's online presence impacts their buying decisions. 

With all this in mind, it makes sense that well-written and carefully designed PDPs can make a difference when it comes to bringing in new customers. As they conduct research on the products they're looking to buy, consumers who can't find the information they need on a bare-bones ecommerce PDP will be more likely to shop elsewhere. On the other hand, robust PDPs with easy-to-find information and high quality product images can draw in new customers and increase their chances of making a purchase.

Essential components for a high-converting PDP

While no two PDPs should look exactly alike (and a PDP on your own website will look different than those on marketplaces or comparison price engines), there are some relevant details that customers will expect to find on a good Product Detail Page:

• Product title: This should be short and to-the-point, ideally including some keywords that your target audience may be searching for.
• Product description: This should be an SEO-optimized blurb that essentially pitches the product to your target audience. Like product titles, detailed product descriptions should contain relevant keywords while capturing shoppers' attention as much as possible.
• Additional specifications and key features: Any PDP can also benefit from a list of specifications, key features, and other selling points that may set the product apart from others. These are often presented in a bullet point format as a means of breaking up text and even boosting your SEO rankings.
• Pricing and availability: Your PDP isn't serving your customers if they can't easily find how much the product costs and whether it's available. This section is also a great place to add an "add to cart" button or information about accepted payment methods. If your product's price doesn't include shipping or taxes, you'll also want to make note of that here so your customers don't run into unexpected costs at check-out.
• Fulfillment and shipping options: If your ecommerce business offers different ways for customers to receive products, these options should also be included in your PDP. Examples may include different types of shipping or even in-store pickup.
• Digital assets: High-quality images and other digital assets are among the most important core components of any successful PDP. While nothing can perfectly replicate the experience of shopping for a product in-person, detailed product images and even videos from different angles can help customers get a better feel for the product and make more confident buying decisions.
• Return/exchange policy information: When exploring a PDP, potential customers will also want to know about the refund and/or exchange policies at your online business. Be sure to include plenty of transparent information about your return/exchange window, as well as the conditions of returns/exchanges and who will be responsible for return shipping costs. The more up-front you can be here, the more you can build a sense of trust and confidence between your customers and your brand.
• Customer ratings and reviews: Real product ratings and customer reviews can also be crucial when it comes to influencing buyers and encouraging them to make a purchase, so consider including these on your Product Detail Pages whenever possible. Reading real reviews and ratings can provide valuable social proof to potential customers while also building trust in your brand. In fact, research suggests that up to 98% of online shoppers read customer reviews before making a decision. Just be careful not to gatekeep reviews by filtering out customer complaints or negative reviews. All of these have a space on your PDP, and keeping things 100% genuine will facilitate trust and integrity in your brand.
• Call to Action (CTA): Last but not least, be sure to include a clear Call to Action in your PDP on your own website. A CTA should be compelling, encouraging shoppers to take a specific action (such as making a purchase or even reaching out to your company with questions about a product). Depending on the layout and length of your PDP, it might even make sense to include more than one CTA.
  

Best practices for optimizing PDPs

Not sure where to begin when it comes to strengthening your Product Detail Pages? Here are some best practices to keep in mind for SEO, CRO, and overall user experience purposes.

For SEO

Use meta tags and file names with keywords

By optimizing PDPs for SEO, you can bring more users to your site and have more chances at converting casual shoppers into buyers. There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to optimizing PDPs specifically for search engine algorithms, including:

• Accessibility, because pages need to be crawled and indexed by search engines in order to rank. Consider checking your page on this SEO toolbar to see how accessible your PDP is.
• Internal links, as pages that are most important for SEO should be accessible from the home page in as few clicks as possible.
• Meta tags and URLs, including optimized page titles, meta descriptions, alt image tags, and unique URLs for different product variations (in most cases).
• Unique and optimized content, such as thoughtfully crafted product descriptions that are strategically peppered with SEO keywords.
• Schema markup, or code that can be used to improve certain elements of your site as it appears on search engine results pages.

For more practical tips and best practices on incorporating SEO strategy into your PDP, check out this guide.

For CRO and user experience

Include real reviews and ratings

Customer reviews can have a major impact on buying decisions, so it's important to include these in your Product Detail Pages if you want your potential buyers to take action. In fact, studies have found that 98% of buyers find reviews to be a critical part of their decision-making process when making an online purchase.

Some ecommerce sites even take their reviews to the next level by including an “upvote” system that allows users to vote and showcase the most valuable positive and negative reviews, which can be helpful to shoppers. Meanwhile, other ecommerce platforms add value to the review process by allowing users to rate different aspects of a product (such as fit, quality, design, and more). 

Ratings and reviews not only build trust, but provide social proof to shoppers who may be on-the-fence about making a purchase.

Add related product recommendations for cross-selling

Maximize your potential order value by adding product recommendations, related products, upgrades, and other cross-selling or upselling opportunities to each of your Product Detail Pages. Often times, these can be called out using such phrasing as "others are also buying" or "you might also be interested in." 

Another option to consider would be offering product bundles that include the product the user is already looking at. Regardless of how you go about it, cross-selling can be a great way to make shoppers aware of other products they may not have otherwise considered while improving their shopping experience with your brand.

Invoke urgency with real-time stock levels

Have you ever felt compelled to make an online purchase because quantities of the item were limited or a special promotion was only good for a limited time? If so, then you've experienced the power of invoking scarcity firsthand.

You can use this tactic in your own Product Detail Pages by displaying the inventory remaining directly on your Product Detail Page. This, in turn, can create a sense of urgency that may be the tipping point for eager customers.

Build trust with security credentials on your website

Today's consumers are (understandably) more wary than ever when it comes to sharing their personal information (including payment information) online. With this in mind, you can build trust in your brand by adding special security credentials to your ecommerce website, such as "guaranteed secure checkout" badges or even SSL certificate badges.

Be up-front about shipping costs, taxes, and other fees

Customers may feel cheated if they add an item to their shopping cart, proceed to checkout, and discover that shipping and taxes will add on another $20+ to the transaction. In fact, this is one of the most common causes of cart abandonment among online shoppers in the United States.

You can build a stronger sense of trust with your customers by being up-front about taxes, shipping fees, and other costs before items are even added to their carts. Better yet? Explore ways to offer free shipping to your customers, if at all possible. These days, many businesses choose to slightly increase their prices as a means of offering free shopping–which, in turn, can boost sales.

Common mistakes to avoid when crafting PDPs

As you work to improve Product Detail Pages on your ecommerce website, there are some common mistakes and pitfalls you'll want to avoid.

Spelling and grammatical errors

Even a perfectly innocent typo can have major consequences when it comes to your brand's sense of trustworthiness among customers. Take time to carefully proofread all Product Detail Page content for spelling and grammatical errors before publishing, and consider using a grammar tool to make additional improvements for clarity or conciseness.

Using manufacturer product descriptions

If you're selling items that come from another manufacturer, there's a good chance that there are already boilerplate product descriptions on the manufacturer's website. Although it would be much easier (and faster) to simply copy-paste this content on your own Product Detail Page, the reality is that it's always best to have unique product descriptions for the sake of SEO and setting your brand apart from your competitors.

Reusing the same template for every product

Thinking you could save time by creating a template that you use for every Product Detail Page? Again, even though it may be tempting to go this route in an effort to save time and hassle, using generic templates for a Product Detail Page can actually have a negative impact on your search engine visibility. While using a “fill-in-the-blank” template can be a viable way to save time when calling out unique features of each item, it’s not always the best option to use the exact same template for all products–so tread lightly here.

Using large blocks of text

Customers can be easily thrown off or even intimidated by huge blocks of text, so try to avoid these in your PDPs. Instead, keep your readers engaged by breaking up larger chunks of text with high quality images, bullet points, and headings.

Examples of exceptional PDPs

You don't have to venture far on the web to find some examples of PDPs done right (and wrong)—but here are a couple of shining examples we've discovered in our own research.

Target.com product pages

Target is a major retailer that has really refined the art of the effective product listing page, with a site design that's responsive on mobile devices and includes plenty of relevant information customers need to make informed purchases.

Check out this example of a Product Detail Page for an Intex kiddie pool, which includes:

• A compelling product description.
• Highlights in an easy-to-read bullet point format.
• Plenty of high quality product images.
• Detailed specifications.
• Information about shipping and returns.
• Guest ratings and customer reviews with images (user-generated content for the win!).
• Up-to-date pricing and shipping information.
  

Gymshark interactive product pages

Gymshark, a popular athletic clothing brand, has taken their PDPs a step further with:

• Interactive features that allow shoppers to visualize how their clothing items look on different sizes and body types.
• Cross-selling and up-selling product recommendations under “Get the look!”).
• Plenty of high quality product images.
• Detailed reviews with specific ratings for things like quality, comfort, sizing, and whether or not an item is “squat-proof.”

All of these PDP components effectively build brand trust while empowering buyers to shop with confidence.

Tools and software for PDP management

Aside from following some PDP best practices and avoiding common mistakes when creating Product Detail Pages, having access to the right tools and software can make PDP management, analysis, and optimization that much easier.

Ecommerce platforms/CMS

The right ecommerce platform makes setting up your online shop a breeze, offering such features as secure payment gateways, built-in inventory management, and a user-friendly interface for your shoppers. Depending on the platform you choose, you may even be able to enjoy integrated content management system (CMS) features. Some examples of popular ecommerce platforms to consider include:

• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• WooCommerce (with WordPress CMS)
• Magento

Analytics/CRO tools

Meanwhile, analytics/CRO tools make it easier to gain insights into PDP performance by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rates, average order value, website traffic, and more. Staying on top of these KPIs and translating them into meaningful insights can help ecommerce businesses better understand their target customers, improve their marketing, and gain a competitive edge over other ecommerce businesses.

Looking for the right analytics tools for your business? Explore such options as:

• Google Analytics
• HotJar
• VWO
• Unbounce
  

SEO tools

Knowing how to incorporate the most relevant keywords into your PDPs is easier when you have access to reliable keyword/SEO research tools. Specifically, resources like Google Trends and Moz Keyword Explorer can help you optimize content on your Product Detail Pages with confidence with robust keyword research tools, competitor analysis features, reporting/tracking, and even SEO automation. All of this can help you save time while better targeting your SEO efforts and improving your search rankings. 

In addition to popular tools like Google Trends and Moz Keyword Explorer, you may also want to check out:

• Ahrefs
• SEMrush
• Yoast SEO (for WordPress)
• Screaming Frog

UX/UI Design tools

Don’t underestimate the power of the right UX and UI design tools when it comes to creating stunning PDPs that keep shoppers engaged. Many UX/UI tools for ecommerce offer customizable templates, so you can easily tweak them and make them your own without the need for extensive coding experience. To get started, check out such platforms as: 

• Adobe Photoshop
• Figma
• Canva

Finally, consider using Product Information Management (PIM) software to better manage your products and related product data in a single, centralized location. PIM software can make managing, updating, and optimizing your product information (including digital assets) easier by keeping it in one place that's accessible to everybody in your organization. 

The right PIM software can save your teams time while ensuring accuracy as each Product Detail Page is written and updated over time. Plus, PIM platforms like Plytix offer a wide range of other useful features, from product data enrichment and catalog creation to data validation and media asset linking. With a robust, user-friendly PIM platform on your side, your team can make the most of every product detail page.

Choosing the right tools for the job

Which of these tools are must-haves for your growing ecommerce business? Ultimately, choosing the right tools means selecting options that are:

• Scalable, meaning that they’ll work for your ecommerce business not just now, but down the road as things change and evolve.
• Easy to use, so you can spend less time learning the software and more time using it to your advantage.
• Seamless and easy to integrate with your existing systems and software.
• Cost-effective, meaning that the software has the features you need at a price that’s within your budget.

The bottom line on PDPs in e-commerce

More than just a space to dump every spec and feature of your product, a consciously crafted PDP should be as engaging as it is informative to your target audience. By taking SEO, user experience, and other important factors into consideration while being careful to avoid some of the most common PDP mistakes, your team can create pages that boost conversions, increase order value, and build your brand identity. 

Of course, having the right tools to effectively manage your PDPs can also make a difference. Plytix PIM software is specifically designed to help teams manage and syndicate product information at scale, creating centralized product data that makes building informative and compelling PDPs a breeze. 

Ready to see for yourself what Plytix could do for your ecommerce business? Get in touch today to schedule your free demo!