In the fast-paced world of eCommerce, the way product data is presented can be the difference between success and missed opportunities. Lucas, our digital scientist, breaks down the power of comprehensive product data, including downloadable datasheets hosted on your own server instead of third-party platforms. He also reveals how we streamlined the process of updating hundreds of product listings in just minutes.
Why is Product Data and Downloadable Resources Important to Conversions?
Implementing rich product data and structured schema isn’t just about refining product listings, it’s about unlocking untapped potential on platforms like Google Merchant Center. The more detailed the product information, the more search engines can extract, rank, and prioritise listings, leading to higher visibility, increased traffic, and ultimately, more sales.
The particular client we’re referencing today operates in a highly technical industry, where customers often struggle to understand complex products. We greatly understand the importance for clear, accessible resources, including detailed specifications, user manuals, and datasheets, to support informed purchasing decisions, among other benefits. By making this information easily available, businesses can:
•Boost customer confidence, leading to higher conversions
•Reduce costly returns, preventing incorrect purchases due to missing data
•Improve user experience, ensuring seamless installation and operation
By presenting products professionally with detailed documentation, we build trust and credibility within the community, giving customers confidence in the product's quality and capabilities. Additionally, these resources help reduce general questions and support queries, as customers can find the answers they need independently; this allows our client to focus on higher-priority tasks, improving overall productivity and reducing the need for additional support staff to handle easily solvable queries. Less overhead equals greater opportunity to invest in growth to the bottom line.
Optimising a single product listing may have a small impact, but applying this across thousands of products can transform your entire business. Addressing this one issue at scale has the potential to drive significant growth, increasing sales and visibility almost overnight.
Good fundamental image and resource use leads to strong significant growth as shown in this GSC chart.
It’s Importance to SEO and Growth
From an SEO standpoint, adding rich datasheets gives your site an edge over competitors who lack this level of detail. Search engines favour valuable, well-structured content, leading to higher rankings and more organic traffic. Additionally, hosting datasheets on your own server prevents loss of link equity and crawl budget. When search engines index product pages, keeping them within your domain ensures authority stays with your site, rather than being redirected to third-party platforms, which can dilute your SEO performance. This is a powerful yet often overlooked SEO strategy, one that we’ll explore further in a future post.
Updating Hundreds of Products in Minutes
To ensure every product had its own dedicated datasheet storage, we first exported the full product database, using part numbers as unique identifiers. These part numbers became the names of individual folders, creating a structured directory ready for automation.
We sourced the latest datasheets directly from the manufacturer’s website and placed them in their respective folders. Once organised, we enabled public access, generating unique URLs for each product’s datasheets, ensuring instant availability.
Rather than manually linking each datasheet to its product page, we designed a branded button in Adobe Illustrator that seamlessly fits the website’s aesthetics. Clicking this button would direct users to the relevant datasheet folder.
Manually adding these buttons to every product page would have been an enormous task. Instead, we leveraged a spreadsheet-driven approach, completing the process in under five minutes. Using VLOOKUP and SUBSTITUTE formulas, we mapped each product’s part number to its corresponding datasheet URL and inserted it into the product descriptions automatically.
Want to see how we made this happen? Watch our demonstration video showcasing the entire Excel automation process.
How Can We Impact Thousands of Your Product Listings and the Growth of Your Business?
If your business faces similar challenges in organising and presenting product information effectively, we're here to help. we specialise in creating tailored solutions that enhance user experience, improve efficiency, and ultimately drive sales.
Contact us today to discuss how our Pixel Perfect team can support your business with smart, scalable solutions that meet your unique needs.