7 eCommerce Product Title Optimization Tactics (With Examples)

How many eCommerce sales come down to product title optimization? Imagine spending hours creating listings that don’t get clicked. Or maybe your titles get many visitors, but as soon as they read more details they leave the page.

This is not uncommon though.

Product pages get around 3.5% conversions and 7% add-to-carts, according to XP2. This means, ~90% of people ready to buy will abandon the page, even if you have amazing images and reviews.

One (of many) reasons for this is product title optimization.

If you do this right for hundreds of products, it quickly adds up to many easy sales without changing your product.

Most sellers don’t do it because CTR requires testing and keyword volumes change quickly.

It’s a lot of work.

But not anymore with product description generators. And this guide will show you 7 ways to optimize product titles at scale with AI (with examples).

Why are product titles important?

First things first, is product title optimization worth the time?

These are some ways it may affect the product’s success:

• Conversions are limited by click-through rate (CTR), meaning that descriptions get read because* of titles, images, and reviews.
• If your title isn’t consistent with the listing or is too clickbaity, you’ll get higher CTRs but far fewer sales for attracting the wrong people.
• Especially if you sell low-price products, as long as the title has all the vital info, many customers will buy on the spot without reading descriptions.

But that’s not all:

Different titles will put you on different search results. So you can discover new competitors to find out if you really stand out with your images and title.

It’s also high-value for AI generators because better titles will lead to better product descriptions—which improves conversions across all marketplaces.

And now that AI tools like Describely make product content effortless, there’s no reason not to seek these benefits. So how does it work?

What is product title optimization?

Product title optimization includes different practices to maximize CTR without hurting conversions or discoverability. Ideally, your title is the most specific and scannable out of the catalog, drawing attention on its own just like pictures and reviews.

Here are some conditions you would look for:

• You can instantly recognize the main feature or selling point without reading the full title
• It’s easy to read and doesn’t feel keyword-stuffed (even if it is)
• It includes all the main and opportunity keywords to increase impressions
• The title stands out among other page results, or at least it’s benefit-oriented (e.g., “12+ accessories” instead of typing every object).

When it comes to “bad” listings, keyword stuffing is the main issue. You do want to reach the character limit, but if it’s unreadable buyers will skip it, relying even more on pictures and reviews to get clicks.

We’ll show AI examples of how to do this right with every method. If you want to follow along, grab your Describely free trial here.

How do you optimize a product title? 7 Methods

Here are (probably) all possible ways to optimize titles, why they work, and how to do it with AI, starting with the fastest methods:

#1 Generate Better Titles Reusing Descriptions

AI generators create better results the more data you give them.

If you already have a description, even if it’s not optimized, using it on your prompt will create better titles than with the instructions alone.

If you don’t, you can still use this method (explained in a moment).

First, here’s how to reuse your description from the Describely Dashboard:

1. Select New Product or Generate Product, and then paste your description and a basic title (you could also select Connect Store to load it directly). We’ll use the example below:

1. For simplicity, we’ll use the default settings already optimized for eCommerce. Go to AI Product Editor, the Settings Icon, and select only Title:

1. Click Refine, and it will display the result in the chat where you can keep trying prompts for variations (like “retry” or “add more details”). If you like the result, click the three dots and Save Version.

Later to do this at scale, you can include successful prompts in a custom AI ruleset for bulk generation.

Now, if you don’t have the description:

1. You can generate it with just the main keyword and SKU using the Data Enrichment feature
2. Add more details in the title and generate new ones the same way without a description

#2 Arrange Features in the Best Order Consistently

Certain sequences are more likely to improve CTRs:

1. Main Keyword + Type/Material/Size + Main Feature + Benefits/Usage + Style Color
2. Brand + Material + Main Keyword + Main Feature + Benefits/Usage
3. Style/Color + Main Keyword + Size/Material + Main Feature + Brand

For example:

1. BBQ Gloves: 14 in Polyester Fireproof, 2 Pairs for Smoking, Grilling, Deep Frying (Black)
2. Brand Name Black Resin Watch 1000M Waterproof for Scuba Diving & Outdoors
3. Black Glass Rinser Stainless Steel Removable With Brush by Brand Name

Note that the optimal order for your store comes down to testing. Whatever it is, it matters more that it’s consistent across all products.

Let’s say you want a ruleset with version B:

1. From the same AI editor, next to the sending icon, click the red X to end the chat and configure
2. Click the Edit icon to change AI rules here:

4. Start a new ruleset or clone the existing one. Below we cloned the Default with a new Title Instruction:

5. Save and apply, click Refine again, and it will reflect the new structure for every product:

By putting key features early, customers are more likely to click on your product without browsing further.

#3 Stand out With Keyword Filters and Tones

Unless you’re selling only in your online store, product CTR is very relative to how others write their products.

It’s easier to stand out when you stay away from the general title pattern— and ideally combine it with original product design.

To apply this with AI it’s similar to the previous example:

1. Create a new AI ruleset or expand your current one with title instructions
2. To manipulate keywords, create prompts such as “don’t say [keyword list]” or “replace [keyword A] with [keyword B]”
3. Create a prompt that mentions the main feature earlier (e.g., the first bullet point)

Here are a few differentiation ideas to try:

• For non-essential keywords, replace overused adjectives with shorter synonyms (e.g. black with dark)
• If everyone is putting the brand name first, put your brand name at the end
• Unless you’re selling basic goods, mention a specific person or activity that fits your target customer. (e.g. watch for diving, military-style, for business, sports, survival tools…)

The second condition for differentiation is scannability.

#4 Include Your Brand Voice and Format for Bulk Generation

Scannable titles are easy to read, so they get more attention than products packed with keywords for SEO. Once you know how to stand out, simplify your title and update your ruleset with ideas like these:

• Separate the title sections with symbols (e.g. – | 🙂
• Move longer keywords to the end of the title
• Put key details next to the main keyword in short form (e.g. Black quartz watch 44mm 3ATM…)
• Instead of listing every component, write “5-in-1” or “+5 accessories”

To stand out even more, Describely can come up with custom product names based on your brand voice. Here’s how:

1. First, copy the description if you had it already
2. From the dashboard in the bottom left menu, click on Account
3. Go to Business Hub and Brand Voice to add your own or discover it with the description sample

1. Paste the description and click Detect to define it in three words. You can edit and expand before saving, but the shorter it is, the more reliable.
2. Now, go back to your custom AI ruleset, select the new brand voice from the Tones dropdown, and click Save.
3. For the naming example, we will also add the title prompt below:

4. Now, if you click Refine again, it creates a title like this:

“Sleek Eclipse Jet Hardside Travel Spinner with Ultimate Mobility for Effortless Traveling in Style and Comfort”

+Optional: End with “by Brand Name”

And we started with:

“Elegant Classic Black Hardside Travel Spinner with 360-degree Mobility for Effortless Traveling”

#5 Switch AI Rules for the Right Marketplace

Just like CTR can be affected by other listings, other marketplaces have different optimization best practices. For example:

• Meta descriptions also affect CTR if you do Shopify, WooCommerce, or Google Shopping product title optimization.
• Amazon is more keyword-dependent and not as flexible with the format

As you expand your catalog to different marketplaces, you can save specific rulesets for each of these.

Let’s say you want to add all your Shopify products for Amazon product title optimization:

1. Write down the guidelines and add them to Describely as a new AI ruleset
2. From the dashboard, click Import Products and follow the steps to connect your Shopify store
3. Once all products are loaded in Describely, click Bulk Actions, Bulk Generate, and select the new “Amazon Default Ruleset”

1. Start Bulk Generate, and within seconds, you will have all the new titles for every product (or if you want, full product descriptions).
2. Click Approve All or Scroll through the results to approve or edit individually
3. Once finished, select all products, Bulk Actions, and Bulk Export to upload to Amazon

The Amazon integration will be available soon. Until then, you can export as a CSV file that Amazon recognizes to load your new product list just as easily.

#6 Optimize for Opportunity Keywords

Even though it’s recommended to update listings every 6-12 months, sellers usually do it just once. Especially if you handle thousands of products, it’s too much work that might not be noticeable. With AI however, it’s easier and finally feasible.

This means you can revisit your keyword research and instantly apply it so that your products always have the best SEO opportunity as the main keyword.

If you use other software for keywords, there are different ways to add them to Describely:

• From the AI Product Editor, click refine and add the list in the chat. “Include the keywords: (…)”
• If you want to exclude keywords for all products, there’s an instruction for that when you create custom AI rulesets.

You can also use the Describely SEO Tools tab for keyword discovery:

1. Type your main keyword and press the arrow to generate and preview keyword ideas
2. Back in the AI Product Editor, click refine for the Keyword dropdown to show up above the chat
3. All keywords generated before will appear in the dropdown for you to include

Try different keywords in the SEO tab to generate different lists.

#7 A/B Test More Titles Per Product Without Effort

If you want to be 110% sure you’re getting the best CTR, A/B testing is the way. It’s commonly overlooked if you sell on marketplaces like Amazon with strict listing rules. But anywhere else, you can freely test different listings for the same product inventory.

Once you find the best-performing titles, simply update the main product page.

And what better way to generate variations than with AI?

Here are some ideas to get the most out of this:

• Create an AI ruleset for a specific opportunity or trend (e.g. Christmas-themed) to switch every season
• Try different AI rulesets to create 2-3 different title versions per product to appear for different keywords, and then run them for smaller segments or at different times.
• Try similar Describely variations to test a different audience and intent (e.g., multi-use hammer for outdoor sports, hammer tool gifts for men, industrial hammer, hammer for garage…)

And of course, you can generate and publish these in bulk.

Once you find the best version, you can optimize the page further by following the product description best practices.

How to optimize product titles at scale using AI

Product title optimization can be summarized in customization, research, and simplification.

Ideally, you start with enough product information to create titles that are specific and original.

Then, you apply different prompts to make it easy to read and stand out—while maintaining SEO conditions and consistency with the product page.

And then, leverage AI to quickly optimize 1000s of products and adapt to any marketplace.

If you’re looking for the optimal way to optimize products, look for AI tools that support customization, AI rules, SEO features, and marketplace integrations.

Describely is the only AI platform that automates not only the product content, but also the eCommerce workflow itself. Click here to start your free trial and cut hours of product work down to a few clicks.