How to Write Product Descriptions That Actually Sell

A product description has two jobs. It gets indexed by search algorithms — so it needs keywords. And it convinces someone who's already looking at your listing to add it to their cart — so it needs to speak to the buyer.

Most sellers only do one of these well. They either keyword-stuff a description until it reads like a spec sheet, or they write something warm and human but forget that the algorithm is reading too. The best product descriptions do both at once — and it's not as hard as it sounds.

The biggest mistake: writing for yourself, not the buyer

When sellers describe their products, they naturally talk about what they know: the material they sourced, the technique they use, the hours that went into it. That information might be interesting. But it's not what a buyer is asking when they look at your listing.

A buyer is asking one question: is this right for me?

They want to know what the product does for them — what it feels like, who it's for, what problem it solves, what it replaces. They want to see themselves using it. Features get a buyer's attention. Benefits get their money.

The “so what?” test

Take any feature in your current description and ask “so what?” until you get to the thing the buyer actually cares about.

“Made from 100% natural soy wax.”
So what?
“Burns cleaner than paraffin.”
So what?
“No black soot on your walls and no headache after an hour.”

That last sentence is worth writing down. The first one isn't. “Natural soy wax” is a material. “No headache after an hour” is a reason to buy.

Run every feature in your description through this test. Keep going until you hit something the buyer would feel — physically, financially, emotionally. That's what belongs in your copy.

Lead with desire, not product

Most descriptions open with what the product is. The ones that convert open with what the buyer wants.

Weak opener: “This is a hand-poured soy candle made with lavender essential oil.”
Strong opener: “For the person who needs an hour to themselves.”

The second sentence stops the right buyer mid-scroll. It names a feeling they have. They keep reading because you've already shown you understand what they're looking for.

This doesn't mean burying the product. After the hook, tell them what it is and why it delivers on the promise:

“For the person who needs an hour to themselves. A hand-poured soy candle in a weighted glass jar, scented with real dried lavender. Burns clean for 45 hours — no headache, no soot, just a long quiet burn that fills the room without overpowering it.”

That's three sentences. It hooks, explains, and sells — all without a single word like “beautiful” or “amazing.”

Write for mobile first

Most marketplace shopping happens on a phone. On mobile, buyers see 2–3 sentences of your description before they have to tap “read more.” Most don't.

That means your opening paragraph needs to work standalone. If someone only reads your first 50 words and nothing else, do they know what the product is, who it's for, and why it's worth buying?

Write the opening of your description as if it's the only thing a buyer will see. The rest is for the people who keep reading — and they'll convert at higher rates anyway.

Platform differences: what each one actually wants

The principles above apply everywhere. But the format and length requirements are different on every platform.

Etsy

The first 160 characters of your Etsy description appear as the search snippet in Google results — before a buyer even clicks. Make those 160 characters count. Lead with your primary keyword and a benefit. Save the longer storytelling for further down.

Etsy buyers respond to sensory and emotional language more than any other platform. They're often buying for themselves or as a gift. Describe how it feels, how it smells, what it looks like in the room. A phrase like “the kind of candle you light when the day needs to be over” lands on Etsy in a way it wouldn't on Amazon.

Aim for 300–500 characters. Short enough to read on mobile, long enough to cover the key angles.

Amazon

Amazon buyers are more purchase-intent driven. They've often already decided to buy the type of product — they're comparing options. Your description should resolve the remaining doubts: size, compatibility, quality, returns.

Amazon gives you 2,000 characters. Use them to support the bullet points — go deeper on the claims you made there. If a bullet says “burns 45 hours,” the description can explain how (soy wax, cotton wick, no additives that speed up burn rate).

The description is less prominent than the bullets on Amazon — most buyers won't reach it. But it gets indexed, so keyword inclusion matters. If you have Brand Registry, replace the description with A+ Content — it outperforms plain text significantly.

Shopify

On Shopify, you control two separate fields: the product description (shown on the product page) and the meta description (shown in Google search results). They serve different purposes.

The meta description should be 150–160 characters, keyword-included, and written to earn the click from a search result page. Think of it as an ad headline — it needs to compete with every other result on the page.

The product description can be longer and richer. Shopify supports HTML, so you can use headings, bullet lists, and bold text to break it up. Good Shopify descriptions cover: what it is (first paragraph), why it's worth buying (benefits), who it's for, and key specs or dimensions at the end.

eBay

eBay buyers want confidence, not persuasion. They scan descriptions for: condition, exact specifications, what's included, and shipping/returns information. Get to those facts fast.

Use short lines. No large blocks of paragraph text — they don't get read. State the condition clearly in the first line. List key specs as individual lines. Mention shipping timeframe and return policy. eBay's algorithm also reads description text for search ranking, so include your key search terms naturally.

An eBay description isn't the place for storytelling. It's the place for specifics that overcome the objections a buyer has before they commit.

Things to never write in a product description

Banned adjectives — “beautiful,” “amazing,” “stunning,” “lovely,” “perfect.” These say nothing specific and every competitor uses them. They signal to algorithms that your description is low-quality.
Passive openers — “This is a...” or “Introducing our new...” or “Meet the...” Weak, forgettable, and wasted real estate on mobile.
Claims you can't prove — “best quality,” “top rated,” “premium.” If you don't have evidence, don't say it. Buyers have seen these words on a thousand listings. They don't trust them.
Details that don't exist — don't invent specific details about a product you haven't given enough information about. Writing “ships in 24 hours” or “available in 8 colours” when those aren't true creates returns and disputes.
Your personal story when it's not relevant — “I started making these candles in my kitchen in 2018...” might work as an About page. It doesn't belong in a product description unless the origin story is genuinely part of the value proposition.

A structure that works across platforms

When in doubt, use this order:

Hook — name the desire or the person this is for. One sentence.
What it is — clear product statement with the primary keyword. One to two sentences.
Why it's worth it — two or three benefits, written as outcomes the buyer will experience, not features you're proud of.
Specs and details — size, material, what's included, care instructions. These go last because buyers who need them will look for them, and buyers who don't won't be put off by having to scroll past.

Total length: 150–400 words depending on platform. On mobile, less is almost always more.