Luxury Features

Why Better PDP Imagery Means Better Conversions & Search Rankings

You've probably invested in SEO strategies and digital marketing to bring consumers to your site. But now that you're in the highly competitive e-commerce space, how do you make your product detail pages (PDPs) really stand out while still reaching business goals?
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Shoppers want to feel confident about their purchase decisions, so brands need to provide clear, comprehensive product information all in one place. Yet research from Baymard Institute shows that only 18% of the 141 top-grossing e-commerce sites in the U.S. and Europe have what they considered "good" or "acceptable" PDP UX performance.

The Eight Elements of Successful E-Commerce Product Detail Pages

Below are common elements that brands should include to create a successful product detail page. These may differ based on your product, but no matter the industry, PDPs should be informative, clear, appealing, and concise while telling the shopper everything they need to know about your brand.

1. Product Title

2. Product Description

3. Product Images

4. Size/ Quantity/ Servings Information

5. Materials/ Ingredients

6. Cost

7. Shipping/ Return/ Delivery Information

8. User-Generated Content

A descriptive title offers a lot of information up front, so the customer knows what they're getting right away. It can include size, flavor, scent, color, etc.

A clear and detailed product description should highlight uses, benefits, and important features like "Won't stain clothing," "Gluten free," and so on. Make sure you're also utilizing the best SEO words and phrases. Don't be afraid to stand out by using humor to tell your brand story if appropriate. It helps to establish brand personality.

Research from Salsify found that 87% of shoppers place a high value on product descriptions as a key factor for making purchase decisions.

In e-commerce, visual content is a top driver of purchases since shoppers cannot interact with the product in any other way. So make sure your photography and graphics are as attractive as possible. 71% of shoppers will make their purchasing decision based solely upon visual draw.

A Google/Ipsos study found that 83% of U.S. shoppers who visited a store in the past week used online search before going to the store.

Make sure images are clear, consistent, and show a range of product views. 360-degree views of your product, or at least front and back views, are never a bad idea.

Infusing your PDP with high-quality, story-rich images can increase conversion rates by 30%. This includes lifestyle visuals for your various audience segments featuring the product as a natural fit into their lives.

Avoid unnecessary returns by ensuring that size/quantity/servings information is clearly displayed.

From skincare to frozen foods, consumers care more than ever about what's in their products. Make sure all materials or ingredients are clearly written.

Like visual appeal, cost is a major factor for purchasing decisions, Make sure the product cost is clear and prominent, and includes any extra fees such as shipping.

Consumers want to know when their items will arrive—and what to do if they're not satisfied with the purchase. Easy return info is always a motivator for purchase.

This includes customer reviews/photos, product Q&As, and lifestyle imagery. Again, imagery and copy should give an appealing, factual, and brief overall brand presentation.

💡Tip: Currently, 42% of all e-commerce is mobile e-commerce, and purchasing by mobile is only going to go up. By 2025, mobile commerce is expected to reach $728.28 billion! Make sure your product detail pages are mobile-friendly, so customers can seamlessly shop and you can tap into this incredible potential.

Case Study:
Ellio's Pizza

Ellio's Frozen Pizza is a brand that's been popular in the Northeastern U.S. since 1963. It has nine product offerings and is loved by customers who know the brand, but ranked low on Walmart's e-commerce search results pages.

As you might suspect, Walmart leads the charge in innovating shopping at scale, and the mega-retailer has looked to behavioral science and consumer data to inform its ever-evolving online experience. Landing in Walmart stores is a big win for any CPG brand, but once you arrive, new challenges present themselves. How do you stand out and gain credibility among the better-known names already in Walmart's frozen pizza section? This was the problem Ellio's had to face head-on.

When Ellio's came to View Imaging, one of our first recommendations was to create a series of visual assets that could be used for multiple SKUs yet be tailored to different retailers. We also strategically suggested using visuals that could cross-promote their entire product line. We additionally suggested the addition of rich media, something Ellio's had never leveraged before on a retailer product detail page. By both repurposing and adding new creative avenues, we increased efficiency and streamlined the PDP content creation process. We also helped to contain costs and increase exposure for multiple product lines simultaneously.

Check out the "Before and After" PDP presentation and pay special attention to the variety of visuals in the "After" section that sell the product features, have stronger visual appeal, and help to define Ellio's customers.

Before

After

View Imaging elevated Ellio's e-commerce product photography and graphics, introduced rich media, and polished their copy to not only better sell products, but also give Ellio's a much more prominent brand personality that resonated with moms, kids, and college students. While doing so, we also followed Walmart's complex style guide to a T.

Every Picture
Tells a Story

Rich Media & Videos Add Special Appeal

When you review the story-rich imagery in this case study, notice how each one tells a slightly different story. One utilizes product callouts. Another features a countertop baking oven to reinforce easy preparation. Yet another shows multiple e-commerce product detail choices, and all of them look visually delicious. In other words, every single product from the lineup tells a complete brand story.

Using rich media or videos helps to bring products to life with the added dimensions of movement and sound—and the more your product can come to life in a product detail page (PDP), the better.

The Result

Within three weeks of View's product detail page optimization, Ellio's Pizza rose from page nine to page ONE for unbranded organic search, despite competing with big-name brands on the digital shelf. Plus, every unique Ellio's product hit the top of page one for branded product searches.

What's more, Ellio's is now in a position to grow without the growing pains. View Imaging continues to maintain a library of marketplace and asset-type guidelines and specifications across multiple retailers including Walmart, Sam's, Instacart, ShopRite, Target, and Kroger to ensure our studio can easily version existing assets, and Ellio's Frozen Pizza can enjoy hot sales wherever it's sold in the expanding mobile e-commerce market.

What View did for Ellio's, we'd love to do for you! Schedule a call and let's talk through your current challenges.