Aligning Product Pages with Customer Needs

As a Director of E-Commerce, I used to think the key to product details page (PDP) performance was keeping the product name and add-to-cart button always visible, like if people saw it enough, they’d feel safe clicking it. And honestly? I wasn’t wrong. Visibility matters. But only after trust is built. And that trust has to start the second the page loads. Because for most people, the PDP is their first interaction with your brand. 60% of traffic lands on product pages. Not your homepage. Not your campaign hub. Not the beautifully branded story page your CMO is in love with. The PDP is where people show up quietly asking a question: "Is this the thing that will help me and solve my problems?" Help me feel more confident. Help me sleep better. Help me look the way I want to feel. Help me feel seen. And too often, we greet them with a checklist. - Bullet points we didn’t write for them - Specs we didn’t explain - Photos that are boring We build for compliance, not connection. And then we wonder why the bounce rate is brutal. I only started to get it once I started listening. We added one simple survey to the PDP: "What problem will this product solve for you?" And the answers were so raw. A woman looking for a gift to repair a relationship. A man trying to manage pain without another doctor visit. Someone just wanting to feel better in their own skin. They weren’t looking for a feature. They were looking for hope. So we rebuilt the page: - Leading with the why, not the what - Reflecting their words, not ours - Images that show how the product is used (to solve problems) It wasn’t perfect. It didn’t please every internal team. But it made the customer feel understood. And that’s what moved the numbers. This works for the most mundane products like underwear and the most luxurious goods like a Birkin If your PDP isn’t making customers feel something, it’s not going to move them. It’s just another dead end in a long scroll of missed opportunities. What problems do your products solve for your customers?

The biggest mistake I see eCommerce stores make with their product and category pages? Treating them like placeholders instead of revenue drivers. Here’s what I mean. Most stores set up category pages as nothing more than product grids. A handful of items, maybe a short intro paragraph, and that’s it. Product pages often get the same treatment: a couple of lines of copy, some images, and a price tag. But here’s the problem: neither customers nor Google are satisfied with that. Shoppers come with questions: Which material is best? What’s the difference between styles? How do I choose the right fit? Who is this product best for? If your pages don’t answer these questions, they leave to find a competitor who does. And Google? It rewards pages that provide depth, clarity, and authority. A thin product grid won’t win against a competitor offering guides, FAQs, reviews, and comparisons. But there’s one more mistake that’s just as critical: not building backlinks to these money pages. Most brands put effort into blog backlinks but ignore the pages that actually drive conversions. When you point authority to your product and category pages, rankings climb faster and the revenue impact is immediate. I’ve seen the shift firsthand. When a store adds buyer-focused content, FAQs, authentic customer language, and then builds backlinks to those same pages, two things happen: → Rankings improve because Google sees both authority and completeness → Conversions increase because customers feel understood, not just sold to The result? Category and product pages that were once invisible start driving serious revenue. The lesson: these aren’t “boring” supporting pages. They are your biggest growth levers. Optimize them, strengthen them with backlinks, and you’ll transform them into ranking machines and conversion engines.

Track customer UX metrics during design to improve business results. Relying only on analytics to guide your design decisions is a missed opportunity to truly understand your customers. Analytics only show what customers did, not why they did it. Tracking customer interactions throughout the product lifecycle helps businesses measure and understand how customers engage with their products before and after launch. The goal is to ensure the design meets customer needs and achieves desired outcomes before building. By dividing the process into three key stages—customer understanding (attitudinal metrics), customer behavior (behavioral metrics), and customer activity (performance metrics)—you get a clearer picture of customer needs and how your design addresses them. → Customer Understanding In the pre-market phase, gathering insights about how well customers get your product’s value guides your design decisions. Attitudinal metrics collected through surveys or interviews help gauge preferences, needs, and expectations. The goal is to understand how potential customers feel about the product concept. → Customer Behavior Tracking how customers interact with prototype screens or products shows whether the design is effective. Behavioral metrics like click-through rates and session times provide insights into how users engage with the design. This phase bridges the pre-market and post-market stages and helps identify any friction points in the design. →  Customer Activity After launch, post-market performance metrics like task completion and error rates measure how customers use the product in real-world scenarios. These insights help determine if the product meets its goals and how well it supports user needs. Designers should take a data-informed approach by collecting and analyzing data at each stage to make sure the product continues evolving to meet customer needs and business goals. #productdesign #productdiscovery #userresearch #uxresearch

I've created 100s of product pages that (1) rank in Google and (2) convert traffic into customers. Here's the exact product page plan I follow: 1. URL - Include relevant keywords - Secure with an SSL Certificate 2. Structure - Clear, logical navigation - Use breadcrumbs for easy navigation 3. Product Name - Keyword-rich and concise (70 characters max) - Clear and specific 4. Product Summary - Bold main header conveying the main benefit - Snippet of customer reviews or ratings for social proof - Clear product availability information - Customer-centric copy highlighting how the product solves problems 5. Visuals - High-resolution images with multiple angles - Product demo videos showing real-life usage 6. Reassuring Elements - A satisfaction guarantee - Shipping and return information - Clear and transparent pricing 7. Call to Action (CTA) - Action-oriented: such as “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart” - Brightest colour on the page to draw the eye 8. Payment Options - Multiple payment options like buy-now-pay-later and payment plans - Multiple payment methods like PayPal, ApplePay, Amex, Visa 9. Featured In-Depth Reviews - Showcase in-depth reviews 10. Social Proof - Include logos of well-known customers, testimonials, or user-generated content to build trust and credibility 11. H2 Tags - Use H2 tags for subheadings to improve SEO and make the content easier to scan and read 12. Product Video - Create detailed product videos to highlight features, benefits, and use cases 13. Related Products - Cross-selling - Upselling 14. All Customer Reviews - Comprehensive review section with pros and cons to foster trust 15. Customer Q&As - Handle common objections 16. Product Specifications - Detailed specs 17. Footer - Social proof - Email sign-up form - Social media links - FAQ - Contact information - Privacy policy and terms and conditions Ready to transform your product pages? Get the full checklist for free: https://hubs.ly/Q02Jp0Mf0

How I use 7 SEO/CRO tips to increase product page profits. 7 examples to put 8-figures through PDPs: There's no secret or hack to a winning product page. We HAVE to test for incremental gains. CRO helps SEO. SEO helps CRO. Here's 7 product page tips: 1. Crush Product attributes: (Most DTC brands struggle with this) - Audit competitor product pages - Use data research tools for digging - Improve on ranking factors like titles & descriptions - Find and fill content gaps 2. Customer reviews built trust with DTC purchasing: (Increase conversions with reviews) - Encourage reviews for social proof - Show off your customer ratings - Google crawls reviews - Build credibility with authentic testimonials 3. Invest in high-quality digital assets: (Conversions are built on visuals) - Use and rank your photos & videos - Create engaging product videos - Optimise images for customers & search engines - Use visuals to create a "wow" effect 4. Use 101 sales psychology: (Create urgency, authority, proof) - Use urgency -> limited time offers - Create authority with influenced UGC - Display scarcity -> low stock warnings - Use social proof  -> popular items, reviews 5. Cut your jargon: (Focus on solutions, not hype) - Address customer problems directly - Offer clear product benefits - Avoid overhyped language or buzzwords - Use simple language -> like this post 6. Build in your value proposition: (Highlight unique product benefits) - Showcase how your product solves problems - Show your unique selling points - Align product benefits with customer needs - Focus on outcomes, not just features 7. Use segmented FAQs: (Answer key customer questions) - Address common customer concerns - Include product-specific FAQs - Reduce buyer friction with clear answers - Keep FAQs easy to find and click through SEO is ranking for transactions. That's it. Extra tip in the comments 👇 ----- No brand should have stagnant product pages. Brands have changed the game with product pages. Your brand needs to keep up with customer demands. 9-figure DTC brands spend big budgets on testing. Nothing is saying you can't take a little inspo 😉 Spending your marketing budget on acquiring customers is just one part of your marketing strategy.  You now have to work on increasing conversions 💳 What would you add to increase product page engagement? P.S. I like to visualise and map out systems. #Shopify | #SEO | #ecommerce