Google Shopping description best practices

The description tells Google what the product is when the title runs out of room. It can hold up to 5,000 characters, but the first 160 to 500 carry the most weight. Google matches shopper searches against it, so a thin or duplicated description costs impressions.

How this app fills it

• By default the description is your Shopify product description with the HTML stripped to plain text.
• The Basic tab can switch the source to your SEO meta description or a custom expression.
• Any single product can override its description from the Products page.
• The Optimization page flags empty descriptions and descriptions that just repeat the title.

Dos

• Put the most important product facts in the first 160 characters.
• Cover the attributes shoppers filter by. Material, dimensions, compatibility and use cases all help matching.
• Write in plain sentences. Google reads it like a shopper would.
• Keep it accurate to the landing page.

Don'ts

• Don't leave it empty. Items with no description match far fewer searches.
• Don't paste the title again and call it done.
• No promotional text, links or details about your store. Google wants the product only.
• Don't dump a keyword list. Unreadable text gets ignored or disapproved.