Let’s say you’re shopping for an extension cord. Sounds easy enough, right? But when you begin your online search, you soon realize there are hundreds of different extension cords out there. There are indoor cords, outdoor cords, black cords, yellow cords, as well as various lengths and wire gauges. Where do you begin? Well, if you’re shopping on a site that offers navigation and filtering features, you can simply click on the detailed specifications, or attributes, to narrow your search to the exact product you want. But, if you’re on a site that only offers basic attribute information like color or length, you may find it’s more time-consuming and frustrating to find your product.
Unfortunately, many buyers run into the second scenario more times than not because businesses don’t provide customers all the relevant information available about their products. Attributes define the uniqueness of a product, provide differentiation from similar products and, many times, can make or break an online sale. If customers can’t determine by your attribute information if your product is exactly what they’re looking for, then they’re more apt to go elsewhere to make their purchase.
For B2B companies, attributes play an even bigger role in eCommerce success since, typically, B2B products have lots of variations with many specifications and intricate details. That’s why buyers need to know about all the important aspects of your products, such as its physical and chemical properties, specific measurements and compatibility with other products.
Attributes are key components that do more than just describe a product:
- They help customers compare like products by their differentiators
- They make on-site search and filtering possible
- They help increase SEO
The power to compare
By showing customers the different options for your products, they’re able to perform an apples-to-apples comparison of the same products by different manufacturers or brands. Not only do attribute-rich products give customers the ability to accurately compare items, they also give them the power to make a truly informed decision. Buyers will chalk this up to a great customer experience with you.
Internal site search benefits
Once customers are on your site, make sure they stay there by providing multiple ways to find the product they want. First, make sure your site offers an intuitive search bar that gives them the option to search by attribute keywords, product name, brand or even part number. In other words, your site needs to be able to point customers to the exact product they want, regardless of how they search for it.
Then, give them the ability to narrow their search with helpful filtering functionality. With the proper attributes populated, customers can filter by specific specifications like length, amperage or grade to find what they’re looking for more quickly and easily.
A boost to SEO
Robust content is the number-one driver of your search engine rankings. With better rankings you get better online visibility and relevance. To help increase your SEO, incorporate product attributes into your product titles and descriptions. Especially if you offer a number of similar products, you don’t to use one general description because customers will have to click through or scroll down a lengthy search results list before finding the actual product they want. Instead, clearly describe the product in the title by including specific attributes like color, size and wire gauge.
Bad product title: Non-Insulated Pin Terminal
Good product title: Non-Insulated Butted-Seam Pin Terminal, AVPT-001, Red, 16 to 14 AWG, 1000/Carton
Product attributes can make a significant impact on your eCommerce – from better visibility and increased sales to a great customer experience – so go above and beyond the manufacturer-provided specs and pull all the relevant information you can about your products. If you feel your current data could use a boost, consider having an assessment done by Unilog. As part of our attribute enrichment services, we run a report to determine your attribute fill rates for all your products and then, based on our findings, we extract and fill in any gaps. One of our clients, Airgas, Inc., reached out to us for help with their product data.