Create Perfect Product Detail Pages For Ecom (PDP Optimization)

As an e-commerce store your product page is arguably one of the most critical pages on your website if you’re looking to drive more sales and conversions. So why is it that some websites have product pages that convert at less than 1%, whereas others have product pages that convert at upwards of 10% with the right traffic source?

Well that’s because the best product pages out there leverage everything we know about consumer psychology and human behavior. Why do we do the things we do? What makes us put off a decision versus making a decision right here and now? And no, I’m not talking about adding a sale countdown timer to your page.

These are often very deeply rooted things that a lot of the time people wouldn’t even be able to tell you why it worked and they went ahead and made the purchase.

In this blogpost I’m going to be dissecting a very high converting product page, element by element, to show you what things you can start implementing on your own product pages to begin seeing a significant increase in your conversions. So let’s dive straight in.

So I’m going to walk you through an example here of a very high converting product page in the skincare industry, but the principles I’m going to be showing you can apply to any industry. So as we’re going through this, I just want you to think about how you can apply some of these same principles to your own website and to your own product pages

So one of the first things you’ll notice here is how they’ve condensed all of the need to know information into what we call the “above the fold content”. This is what the user is going to see before having to scroll down the page. You’ll have to factor in how this looks on mobile devices, because it will look very different and you might not be able to fit everything in that you need to in the mobile version.

You will want to think about the order and sequence of everything and not making things too “wordy” breaking up the text with images and icons, so it’s easy for people to digest the information that they need to see.

You’ll notice here how Solawave are actually telling you what you are going to get from using this product, for example, glowing skin, decreased look of puffiness and reduced appearance of blemishes. So Solawave are speaking into those outcomes and transformations that people are actually looking for, which allows them to know they’re in the right place. So instead of just putting all of this as blurb in the product description and having this as copy, it helps to break up the text and make it more digestible at a glance.

The other thing they have very cleverly done here is to address common objections that people might have. So for example, when buying a product like this, which is obviously a high-tech and expensive device, they’ve got the text just under the “add to cart” button saying, “Free delivery” and “60 day free trial” to give people extra assurance.

You always want to be thinking about making these assurances, especially in industries like fashion, where people will often be thinking, “how quickly can I get it?” because they might be buying a particular item of clothing for an event that they’ve got coming up and  they’re probably wondering, how easy it will be to return if it doesn’t fit?

In these cases, it´s not enough to say “We have a returns policy” or a tab at the bottom of the page. It’s really important that you address these concerns early on, otherwise you risk losing people before they have even scrolled down on your page.

The next thing you’ll notice with this product page is that they have very high quality assets and very diverse imagery. From people using the actual product, before and after shots with testimonials, to some of the benefits the product gives. There are even product explanations of some of the technical specifications and how the product actually works.

The reason why this diversity is so important, is because different people respond better to different types of cues. Some people require more visual cues, whereas others prefer more emotional cues, where they can see things like case studies and the results obtained. Then there will be other people who want to understand the details of how does this work? What am I actually buying here? Whereas other people are more led by the lifestyle shots and seeing the product in action. There are also animated images so people can very quickly and easily see and understand how the product works.

Another thing Solar Wave do really well is that, as I scroll down the page, I can see social proof and the results that people have got form using it, but I can also see video clips of people using it. This is an extremely clever strategy, because it not only builds trust and credibility, but it’s also helping to create desire, because I’m seeing the product in action and I’m getting more confident in the product, therefore taking me closer to actually wanting to buy this for myself.

As we then come further down the page we see how Solawave uses a step-by step infographic on exactly how to use the product as part of your daily skincare routine. Stating how “easy” it is helps to address possible objections about whether the potential customer will understand how to use the product.

Something else you’ll notice is that, as we scroll down the page, the “add to cart” button has shifted from being further up the page, and re-appeared as a sticky button which remains fixed at the bottom of the page. That way people are never far away from being able to very easily just add this to their cart.

Some people might be ready to buy straight away, whereas other people might not have seen what they wanted to see yet. What Solar Wave are doing here is making sure that when people have the right information they need, they can very easily just click the “add to cart” button, making that entire process seamless and frictionless for somebody to buy.

So for example, maybe I’m wondering, “why do I need to use this?” And to answer this question I’ve got the “Four in one skincare treatments” section explaining all of the product´s benefits. And if I´m thinking, “but how does this actually work?” there´s the “science backed proven technologies claim” and the chance to learn more about the technology behind Solawave.

They’ve then got an FAQ section to answer those frequently asked questions. So you can see that what they’re doing here is addressing all of these potential objections and reasons that I might have for not buying this product. And this is one of the most important things to think about with any product page, regardless of what industry you’re in.

So it’s not so much about trying to sell people, or make it a really “salesy” page. It’s more about thinking of the reasons and the objections, the very valid concerns somebody might have for not buying your product.

Is it because they feel it’s like everything else out there in the market? Is it because they don’t understand how to use it? Is it because it’s not clear whether they’re going to be able to get it as quickly as they need to? Is it because they’re worried that it might not work for them and they’re not sure whether or not they can return it? Is it because of an allergy they have and maybe they have specific questions around that? So you want to make sure that all of these possible questions are covered on your product page.

In terms of the order in which you need to structure all of these elements, this is really just going to come down to testing and gathering data and insights from your customers. Speak to your customers when they buy your product and understand why they chose to buy. Understand what were their concerns before buying. If you can really take the time to get to know your customers you’ll start to understand those things that are preventing people from buying or what are the things that are actually leading them to buy.

You can also run AB testing on your website so you can split multiple versions of the page and experiment with different orders of information and then analyze the heat maps and session recordings using platforms like Lucky Orange, Hot Jar or Microsoft Clarity, to find out where you´re currently losing the most visitors.

And then swap out a particular element on that page for another one that retains more users and then leads to more conversions.

Let´s explore this further with another skin care product. Now, whilst this is a slightly different product, it’s a moisturizer as opposed to an actual device, the same principles apply.

Here you’ll notice with this one that there´s a huge lack of diversity in terms of the images. There are no lifestyle shots, no before and after shots. Nothing to show how my skin is going to look after using the cream.

Nothing to show how the cream even looks. How do I know if it’s of a high quality? I can’t even see the “add to cart” button without scrolling a long way down and there’s just a huge amount of text and options on this page. And all of similar font sizes too, so my eyes don’t naturally know where to look.

It feels like there’s just a huge lack of information, when compared to Solawave. The text isn´t broken up by images and then they’ve gone into the ingredients of the product. There´s a very short FAQ section on delivery and returns, but that’s about it.

There´s a question around returning the item, where they’re then driving people to a returns policy page. This is an absolute killer for conversions because I’m now having to go to another page on your website to read a policy, which nobody wants to do. Instead of just giving me a clear answer to the question, “can I return it within 30 days or not?”

Now I´m not saying that you should get rid of your policy pages, because naturally the terms and conditions are important from a legal perspective, but give me the answer, instead of making me leave your product page, because there’s a very good chance you’re just going to lose me after this.

On the Solar Wave page however, you’ll notice that they’ve only got four items in their menu header. Their shop is actually broken down very cleverly into sub menus to make it easier for navigation and remove distraction from this page. So striking a balance between the right type/amount of information and keeping it simple and not cluttered is essential.

Hopefully this has given you some ideas that you can try out on your own product pages, regardless of your niche or industry, and start seeing improvements in your conversions.