What to include and how long the name should be
A product name, together with its image, is often the first thing a customer encounters on the path to purchase, so creating the right name deserves proper time and planning.
First of all, you need to think about what you want to convey to your customer, what the name should include, and how long it should be.
A name that's too short may contain too little information and fail to attract the user, while one that's too long will overwhelm them. As is often the case, the solution turns out to be a happy medium: the right balance between the length of the name and the density of the information it contains.
Here's a list of the information that should be included in a product name:
- Product type: basic information that places the product in a given category (e.g. “Ring”, “Shoes”)
- Product brand: if the items you sell come from a specific manufacturer, it's important to include it in the product name (e.g. “Nike”, “Audi”)
- Model: together with the brand, it gives the user a lot of information about a recognisable product (e.g. “Superstar”, “Octavia”)
- Feature: further describes the product and lets the user narrow down their search (e.g. “size 43”, “plastic”)
- Descriptive features: help the user better picture the product being sold and focus on what interests them (e.g. “with a Christmas tree pattern”, “with hanging fringes”)
Keep in mind that for less recognisable products, the brand and model may not give the user as much information as they would for more popular ones. Sometimes it's therefore worth focusing on the product's features, which will help the user get to know and picture it better.
Keywords
Besides their obvious job of attracting and informing customers, product names also matter a great deal for SEO. They're most often used as the titles of product pages, so it's a very important practice to include keywords in them. Given the content and structure of titles, “long tail” phrases work best: longer, more precise phrasings that reach a more specific audience.
Examples
To better illustrate how names are built, let's look at a few examples:
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Buty na wysokim obcasie Italy Bella [36] (high-heeled shoes, Italy Bella [36]): a product name designed this way contains all the key information while staying concise. It also includes the long-tail keyword “buty na wysokim obcasie” (high-heeled shoes), which gets about 720 searches a month.
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Skórzana kurtka z ćwiekami na ramionach marki American Dream [L] (studded-shoulder leather jacket, American Dream brand [L]): in this example, the product had no model. In such a case, it's worth weaving in an additional feature that helps categorise the product better. In addition, “kurtka z ćwiekami” (studded jacket) is a phrase searched roughly 480 times a month.
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Hybrydowy lakier do paznokci świecący w ciemności Naily (glow-in-the-dark hybrid nail polish, Naily): here, “lakier do paznokci” (nail polish) can be treated as the product type. The long-tail phrase in the name, “lakier do paznokci świecący w ciemności” (glow-in-the-dark nail polish), gets about 140 searches a month.
Product names created by specialists
If you're not sure whether your store has set up product naming correctly, our marketing agency can carry out an SEO audit for you: a thorough analysis of the site with tips to help you optimise it better for search engines. JustIdea, an interactive agency, is always at your service.
