How to Enhance Your Amazon Product Posts

If you’re starting with a basic Amazon website, it probably has product descriptions and illustrations, and maybe a review or two with each post.

That basic post is pulled directly from Amazon’s site, if you’re using a plugin like WP Amaz-One or WP Dollar.

Though I’ve had surprising success with sites that include just that information, I like to enhance some of my product posts with additional content.

Here are some post enhancement tips you may find useful.

Add your opinions, or others’

Visit the Amazon page for the product.  Skim two of the top reviews and two of the most negative reviews.

With that information, you have a good idea of the pros and cons of the product.

Summarize them in your own words, before the product description.  Then, say something like, “Here’s the official description of the product,” and let the auto-generated Amazon content follow it.

Add another graphic

If you have enough unique, added content at the top of the post, you can add another graphic.

Studies suggest that it shouldn’t be another photo of the product.  Instead, it should be a picture that’s related to it, or how a person might feel when they own the product (happy), or something like that.

If all else fails, a cute baby animal photo always works.

Most of my images come from Stock.xchng.  They’re free.  I use the Advanced Search, entering my keyword and then selecting “Restricted OK > No.”  I click on the thumbnail of the photo that appeals to me, and then save the next image that appears, not the huge one you’d see at the next click.

There are many other websites with free photos and illustrations.  Be sure to read their terms of use.  Just because a photo is at Flickr and it has a Creative Commons license, doesn’t mean you can use it any way you’d like to.  (Usually, Flickr photos require at least a copyright symbol and the name of the photographer.)

Link to another, related product or post

Since you’re starting with Amazon’s own content, it’s not unique.  It will help you at search engines and attract visitors, if you add as much original and unique content as you can.

Maybe you’d like to link to another post at your website, talking about a related product.  (Get ideas from Amazon’s own page for the initial product.  Check where Amazon says something like, “People who bought this product also purchased…”)

Then, give a brief summary of why your visitor should also look at that post.

For example, if I were reviewing a book about ghost photography, I might want to create a post about a good digital camera that takes great photos in low-light conditions.

At the book review, I might say, “If you’re hoping to take great ghost photos, here’s a camera I recommend.”  Then, I’d link to my review post about that camera, or I’d link directly to the Amazon page for that camera.

Create related posts with curated content

I’m a big fan of curated content.  It can be the key to great content, hiding in plain site.

Basically, you’re finding great links to related subjects, sharing a small part of the article at each link, and making sure your reader can visit that link easily.

Then, you explain why you’ve included it, so your post is content-rich and original, not just a bunch of links.  (Well, a few sites like Drudge Report have been successful listing only links, or minimal added content, like Fark.)

One of my favorite, geeky articles about what makes curated content work is this one by Robin Good.  I actually printed that and put it in one of the how-to notebooks on top of my desk.

If your website features books or movies, you could create a curated article with a relevant interview (printed, audio or YouTube) linked in your post or even included in it.

To make it easy to find relevant content to include, I add Content Buddy to most of my websites. (That plus the Amaz-One plugin are a dynamic duo, and good reasons to buy websites from me, since both are usually included in my sites.)

However, I’m also a fan of desktop curation software called CurationSoft.  (I have the pro version, but you can try the free version to see how it works.) Though I’ve successfully used Content Buddy (and include it in most of the sites I sell), CurationSoft is the curation software I actually use.  For my purposes, it’s a little more robust than Content Buddy… but the latter is fine when you’re deciding whether to include curated content at your website.

What to do with curated content

If you’re adding just a single blurb/link, you can include it above or below the Amazon product description.

Otherwise, I like to create a separate post with the curated content.  Not only is it a magnet to attract (and keep) readers, you can use that post to link to your Amazon product post, and vice versa.  This gives your site more depth.

Once you develop the habit of adding curated content, it’s a breeze to assemble.  Or, if you’re someone (like me) who loves “ooh, shiny!” trivia and information, it can be fun.  However, there can be a learning curve.  Have patience!

(If all else fails, ask me to create some curated content for your specific niche.  That’s on my to-do list for my new-for-2012 PLR site.)

Naked works, too!

Remember, you don’t have to enhance or embellish any of your Amazon product posts.

From what I’ve seen, a steady stream of related product posts — with no additions at all — can rank well and generate traffic and sales.

However, to make your site memorable and bookmark-worthy, with a low bounce rate, it’s smart to enhancing some of your Amazon product posts.

Whether you add your own opinions, extra photos, YouTube videos, or curated content, there are plenty of easy and relevant ways to expand and enhance your Amazon product posts.

Give it a try.  See what happens.  You may have more fun with your websites, and earn more money at the same time.