Short answer: a product description that sells answers the questions a shopper would ask in the shop: what is it, what is it made of, will it fit, how do I look after it, and is it for me. Put the most important facts in the first two sentences, list the details so they’re easy to scan, and write it in your own words for every product. Below is a template you can copy, with examples.
The template
- Opening, one or two sentences. What it is and the one thing that makes someone want it, with a fact rather than an adjective. “A washed linen pillow cover that’s soft from day one” beats “Our amazing premium pillow”.
- Key details, as a short list. Material, size or dimensions, colours or variants, and fit or compatibility. These are the facts people filter and search by.
- Use and care. How to use it, how to wash or maintain it.
- What’s included, and what isn’t. “Insert not included” prevents a return.
- Who it’s for, or when to use it. One line that helps the right shopper recognise it as theirs.
Five short parts. Most products need 80 to 200 words to cover them well.
Example: from rough notes to a description
Here is a real product we used for a demo, starting from the kind of notes most of us actually write:
linen pillow cover 45x45cm, washed linen so its soft and a bit textured. hidden zip on the side. colours sand, sage and charcoal. fits a 45cm insert (not included). machine wash 30, tumble dry low
And the full description ProductReady drafted from those notes:
This linen pillow cover has a soft feel and is a bit textured from the washed linen.
The Driftfield cover measures 45×45cm and has a hidden zip on the side.
- It comes in sand, sage, and charcoal.
- It fits a 45cm insert, which is not included.
- Machine wash at 30 and tumble dry on low.
Apart from the brand, which came from the product’s own vendor field, nothing was added that wasn’t in the notes. It’s simply in the right order: what it is and how it feels, then size and the zip, then the details as a list.
From the same notes it also wrote a separate SEO title, “Linen Pillow Cover, Washed Linen, Hidden Zip - Driftfield” (57 characters), and a meta description: “This linen pillow cover is made from soft, slightly textured washed linen and has a hidden side zip. It fits a 45cm insert, which is not included.” (146 characters).
Two more examples
| Product | Typical description | Using the template |
|---|---|---|
| Running socks | Premium quality socks for runners. Comfortable and stylish! | Cushioned merino running socks with a seamless toe, made for long runs. Arch support keeps them in place, and merino stays breathable when it’s warm. Sizes S to XL, sold in packs of three. Machine wash at 30. |
| Ceramic mug | Beautiful handmade mug. Perfect gift! | A hand-glazed stoneware mug that holds 350ml, with a wide handle that’s easy to hold. Each glaze varies slightly, so no two mugs are identical. Dishwasher and microwave safe. |
Your description is read by more than shoppers
- Google Shopping uses your product description in your feed. Merchant Center allows up to 5,000 characters, but asks you to put the most important details in the first 160 to 500 characters, and to leave out promotional text such as prices, sale dates, shipping or your company name.
- Google Search builds the snippet under your result mainly from the content on the page, so a clear opening helps there too.
- AI assistants are a new reader. Shopify says its Catalog gives AI shopping channels such as ChatGPT and Copilot your product’s title, description and other details. The AI channel decides the final ranking and wording, so a clear, factual description is the part you control.
Mistakes to avoid
- Pasting the supplier’s description. The same text is probably on many other stores, and it rarely answers your customers’ questions.
- Adjectives instead of facts. “Premium”, “amazing” and “high quality” tell a shopper nothing. A material, a size or a number does.
- Keyword stuffing. Repeating “linen pillow cover” five times makes the text harder to read and doesn’t make it more relevant.
- Claims you can’t back up. Health, eco or safety claims need to be true and specific. Google’s Shopping policies require that the information you give about a product is accurate.
- One description everywhere. Your store page, your SEO title and meta description and your Shopping feed each have their own limits. Our guides to product title length and meta description length cover those.
Doing it for every product
The example above was written by ProductReady from the notes shown. For a new product you add a working title and a few notes; for existing products it starts from the details you already have. It writes the product title and description, the SEO title and meta description, the Google Shopping title and description and an AI summary. You preview every field before anything goes live, apply in one click and can undo from version history.
To check the length of what you’ve written, use our free Shopify title & meta description checker.
Sources
- Google Merchant Center Help, Description [description]
- Google Search Central, Control your snippets in search results
- Shopify, What is Shopify Catalog
- Google Merchant Center Help, Misrepresentation policy