How to Optimize a Product Page for Better Search Visibility

If you sell products online, your product pages give search engines information about what you sell and give potential customers another way to find those products through search. 

But before you start adding keywords to a product page, you need to figure out which keywords actually belong there.

That means understanding what people are searching for, what Google is already showing for those searches, and how closely those results match the product you're trying to optimize.

In the short video below, I'm using a real product from sustainable online store Mudd House Mercantile to show how I use Google and the Keywords Everywhere browser extension to quickly research keywords and optimize a product page title tag and meta description.

What Is a Title Tag?

A title tag is the title associated with a webpage that can appear as the clickable headline in Google's search results.

It also helps search engines understand what the page is about.

For a product page, your title tag should clearly describe the product using language your potential customers are actually using when they search.

That's an important distinction.

What you call your product and what customers search for aren't always the same thing.

You may have given a product a creative name that works perfectly for your brand, but someone who has never heard of your business isn't necessarily searching for that name.

They're searching for the product they want.

What Is a Meta Description?

A meta description is the short description that may appear underneath your title in Google's search results.

It gives you more room to explain what's on the page and give someone a reason to click.

For an e-commerce product page, that might include the product type, material, style, use, features or another detail that helps someone understand what you're selling.

Google may sometimes choose different text from your page to display instead, but that doesn't mean you should ignore your meta description.

Write it to clearly describe the page and help the right person decide if it's worth visiting.

Why You Should Research Keywords Before Optimizing

You can guess what people type into Google when looking for your product.

Or you can look at the data.

Keyword research helps you discover the actual words and phrases people use when searching.

That doesn't mean you need an expensive SEO platform.

For someone new to keyword research, Keywords Everywhere is one of the tools I like because it's a browser extension. You can see keyword information while you're already using Google.

It can help you explore things such as:

Search volume, related keywords, longer keyword phrases and competition.

That information gives you a starting point for deciding which search terms may make sense for your product page.

Search Intent Is Just as Important as the Keyword

Finding a keyword with search volume doesn't automatically mean you've found the right keyword.

You also need to understand search intent, or what someone appears to want when they type that phrase into Google.

There's a simple way to investigate it:

Google the keyword.

Look at the first page of results. If you're optimizing a product page, what does Google show?

• Are you seeing individual products similar to yours?
• E-commerce category pages?
• Articles?
• Videos?
• Definitions?

If you're trying to optimize a product page and nearly every result is an informational article, Google may interpret that search as someone looking to learn rather than buy.

That phrase might be better suited for a blog post.

Look at What's Already Ranking on Page One

Don't just look at the type of pages Google returns. Look at the actual products.

Do they resemble the product you're trying to optimize?

Let's say you believe you've found the perfect keyword because it gets thousands of searches every month.

You search it on Google and discover that nearly every product on the first page is substantially different from yours. That's information you shouldn't ignore. Google is giving you clues about how it interprets that search. Try another variation and look again.

When you begin seeing products similar to yours, you're getting closer to matching the search with the right product.

You can also look at the language those ranking pages use in their titles and descriptions.

You're not looking to copy them.

You're trying to understand how products like yours are being described and what Google currently considers relevant to that search.

The Highest Search Volume Isn't Always the Best Keyword

One of the easiest mistakes to make with keyword research is automatically choosing the keyword with the biggest number next to it. More searches sound better. But imagine you have two options:

• Keyword A: 20,000 searches per month
• Keyword B: 500 searches per month

Keyword A might be broad, highly competitive and searched by people looking for many different things. Keyword B might describe your exact product. Those 500 searches could potentially be far more valuable to your business.

I would rather have a smaller group of people looking for exactly what I sell than a huge group of people who probably aren't.

Why Long Tail Keywords Can Be Worth Targeting

Long tail keywords are longer, more specific searches.

For example: salt and pepper shakers is broad. Someone might instead search: ceramic salt and pepper shaker set

That search tells us considerably more about what the person wants. They're not looking for just any salt and pepper shakers. They've narrowed their search to a particular material and product type.

Longer searches will often have lower search volume than broad keywords. They may also have less competition and much stronger relevance to your particular product.

For smaller e-commerce businesses competing against large retailers, that can make them especially worth investigating.

Keyword Relevance Comes Before Search Volume

There's another rule I wouldn't compromise on: The keyword has to accurately describe your product.

If 10,000 people search for ceramic salt and pepper shakers but yours are made from wood, you don't have a ceramic salt and pepper shaker page. That isn't your keyword.

Don't change the description of your product just because you've found a phrase with attractive search volume. Instead, keep researching until you find the intersection between:

What you're actually selling + what people are searching for + what Google is showing for that search. That's the sweet spot.

Now Optimize Your Title Tag and Meta Description

Once you've identified a relevant primary keyword and useful variations or modifiers, you can start applying what you've learned to the page.

• Your title tag should clearly identify the product and naturally incorporate the primary keyword you're targeting.
• Your meta description gives you additional room to describe the product, incorporate a relevant variation or modifier when appropriate, and give someone a reason to click.

Neither needs to be stuffed with keywords. You're trying to make the subject of the page clear to search engines and useful to the person looking at the search results.

Want to Learn More About Keywords Everywhere? 

I use Keywords Everywhere throughout the video because it's one of the easiest keyword research tools I've found for beginners. It works directly in your browser and lets you see search volume, related keywords, long tail searches and other useful information while you're searching Google.

If you'd like to learn more about how it works and how you can use it for your own keyword research, read Keywords Everywhere Makes Search Volume Simple.

Then go into:

Try This With One Product on Your Website

That placement works because the main article stays focused on optimizing the product page, while someone who wants to understand the tool has somewhere else to go. It also gives you a relevant internal link between the two SEO articles. 

Do they make it clear what you're selling?

If not, you've found a simple place to start improving your product page.

Want Help Applying This to Your Business?  

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Think about what one new customer is worth to your business. If one customer is worth $249 or more, the bigger expense may be the leads and sales you're already losing because your marketing isn't working the way it should.

You don't need another course. You need someone helping you apply the right marketing to your business.

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