so this is interesting! - descriptions

[Wildart]

out of curiosity I looked up a featured designer's product to see what their description was like, well there was none! simple a repeated title in the description. so why are we bothering with  elaborate descriptions then? If this store can make headlines and sales without added work, why should we bother? really! thoughts?

[Windy]

What is the creation date for that product? I find that many older products secured a position in the early days of Zazzle ---maybe descriptions were not important then. Maybe they are not important now either!

[Wildart]

its not on the last or middle pages of her designs in this category so it's not old.. There are a TON of products in each category, maybe that's a secret too

[Windy]

There is a creation date visible on the product page. Can you see what that date is? 

[Connie]

I've wondered the same thing! I've started scaling down my descriptions, although it's too soon to tell if it'll affect sales. I think Google looks at the descriptions and titles, and they don't like the same thing repeated in both, but for the big sellers that have a lot of traction on Zazzle, maybe they don't worry about their stuff getting found on Google.

[Wildart]

That s a good point, maybe we shouldn't worry too much about Google either!  I do have the time, I am retired, but I seriously wonder if I should bother at all. I wish I could see where my sales come from, Google or Zazz... I definitely am not paying for the priveledge of finding out tho!

[PacifierCity]

Without knowing the store, the designers Pro level, or why they were chosen as a featured designer, it is hard to draw conclusions about the value of the descriptions you see.  It is also possible that the particular designer has a following on a variety of socials...

Thoughts that I have... Why was this designer chosen to be a featured artist?  My understanding is that Zazzle usually chooses certain designs to be featured because of promotions they are running.  The designer does not have to be a high level designer.  They need to have products and perhaps a collection with many items that meet the criteria for the promotion.

If you were to search for this designer in the marketplace, how many products appear in the first few pages?  It is also important to consider how old the products are.  Are they brand new and on page 1, 2 or 3?  Did you know that if you sell something it jumps way up in the marketplace for a short period of time.  Depending on the product, 1 sale can put that product on the first 3 pages.  As other items sell, that product will move further and further back unless it sells again.  If the item sold were in a very saturated market, like wedding invites, it may only move up to "showing up in the first 15 pages of the MP."   Now a product that has been around for 10+ years and has sold 100's or 1000's times will enjoy a high ranking in the MP.  Due to its high ranking, it has probably been promoted 1000's of times over the years and "lives" on multiple socials, blogs and websites across the internet.  It would have also been promoted several times by Z.  So it has some staying power... as long as it keeps selling.

The most important part of welling online is getting found.  If you have a great promotional network, the having poor descriptions may not matter that much.  If you don't, then descriptions are an important part of getting found.  You don't need a novel in your description, but simply copy pasting the title of your product into the description is probably not the best option.  As bots do crawl your product pages, the words in the description are important for being found by search engines. 

As always, it is up to you, but I'd put some serious thought into the value of your product descriptions.

PC

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[Wildart]

thank you PC, the level is bronze,same as me. you are prob right re the promo as it was very matchymatchy(gorgoeus, don't get me wrong!!) I do put a lot of effort into the description, it was just a surprise to see the duplication, which I did right at the beginning of being here on Zazz. I was promoting on Pinterest, but after finding almost NO views I stopped, since I was getting more out of having a personal rather than business account there. So I will continue with descriptions, using different but not necessarily MANY words.

[waterart]

I thought I read somewhere that Zazzle ignores descriptions and only looks at the title and tags, the descriptions were for search engines.

[shellifitz]

That is true.  I think though that it's a good idea to at least add a brief description with repeated keywords in it to help get views outside of the Z MP, but you don't have to write a novel. 

[Wildart]

whew that's a relief LOL,, I HATE writing long things.. 🙂 🙂

[TAngelone]

Spot on Shelli!

[LMGildersleeve]

For what it is worth, the designer was probably picked because their designs fit their promotions. I've often seen products chosen for Editor's Picks that have little to no description, templates that don't work or less than 10 tags. It's all in the look of the product that catches Zazzle's eyes.

[JerryLambert]

I'm gold pro. My best selling product, once the best selling product on Zazzle (for like two days), is currently the 37th best selling product on Zazzle (not including zazzle_verified products). It has six words in the description, five if you omit "and". 

My two best selling products (orders, all time) both have five words in the description. My third best selling product has three words in the description. All three were published about two years ago. 

Going by quantity sold (invites) my best seller has seven words in the description. Second best has six words. 

My most viewed product has five words in the description. My second most viewed product has three words in the description. 

One of my older best selling products, published about twelve years ago, has nine words in the description. Another best seller, created about five years ago, has six words in the description. 

The fewer irrelevant words the better. Google sees repeated or irrelevant or non-organic words as "keyword stuffing" and it hurts your ranking. If you can accurately describe the design with three words then three words are all you need. Zazzle provides good metadata for the product. We only need to describe the design. 

I'm not saying that all designs can be described with half a dozen words or less. But simple designs can. And in my experience, simple sells. 

[BKMuir]

Yes Jerry - as you stated " If you can accurately describe the design with three words then three words are all you need. Zazzle provides good metadata for the product. We only need to describe the design. "

it is not about the number of words used to describe the product, it is about the accuracy of the words that describe what the buyer is looking for.

[igiftcenter]

Thank you for sharing this information, Jerry. This is really eye opening to me since I was taught that a long description is better than a short one.  This may change the entire way I write my descriptions. The only thing I'm not clear on is who determines what is relevant in a description... the search engines? Zazzle? More than likely an algorithm they each use. So if I'm making a medical letterhead with a medical symbol and I describe it's design will adding great for a Doctor, Nurse, Hospital be considered relevant? Or do you think that is considered tag stuffing? I'm just trying to learn.

[shellifitz]

For the record, when I mentioned repeated keywords I wasn't referring to keyword stuffing. 

Example of what I meant would be like this.  Say I have a hot pink flower design, It is titled Hot Pink Flower Design

then my description will also have these same keywords,  something like " A cute girly design with a hot pink flower" 

Then my tags might be  hot pink,flower design,for girls,cute and girly,   So I have repeated the most important keywords in all three places.   Not tag stuffing at all and relatively common practice on Zazzle. 

[Barbara]

Over time, I've cut down on my verbiage, trying to take a clue from retail sites of various sorts where they include the product type, an outstanding characteristic, and possible use. Often enough, you can see the descriptions in a search engine's listings. It's there that I notice my own reaction. If it's a long description, most of it is cut off and so doesn't quite capture my attention. The shorter descriptions that get down to brass tacks are the ones I'm more likely to click on. Am I doing the right thing? I've no idea, but it sure makes writing a description much easier.

[shellifitz]

One thing I thought of is to look at stores like "Zazzle Verified" and see how Zazzle actually does it.  If it is good for the goose it should be good for the gander. 

[Wildart]

ok dumb question here Shelli, how do I find that store, please? I just put it in the search bar and it only came up with products that have verified in them..

thank you

Gill

[shellifitz]

I also am having trouble finding it... I think that they changed the name to something else maybe?  a couple years ago you could find them easy by looking at the editors picks.  Don't know now. with all the computer generated faces as avatars it might just be impossible to tell who they are now. 

[JerryLambert]

https://www.zazzle.com/store/zazzle_verified

[Wildart]

thanks Jerry, taking a look now

[TAngelone]

Again so true Shelli, I actually laughed when I read: "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." That was brilliant and funny too! 

[igiftcenter]

I looked at the description for a mother's day card on the verified page. You might be shocked to learn that the entire description says: mother's day card   🙂