Write a listing description that ranks

Start your description with what's in the download, what it's for and who it's for. Search reads your description, but it ranks below the title and search keywords. Google can show its first paragraph.

What the description does

• It helps you match more searches. A buyer's words can match your description even when they aren't in your title or keywords. Those matches rank in the lowest group, so use the description to add detail, not to carry your main words. See How Esano search ranks your listings.
• It becomes the snippet. Esano builds the page's description for search engines from your title, your file types, your dimensions and the first paragraph of your description. See How Google finds your listings.
• It tells buyers what they get. Buyers decide from the description, the photos and the file list.

A description needs at least 20 characters to publish and can be up to 5,000. Separate paragraphs with a blank line.

What to put in it

• First paragraph: what the download contains, such as "12 hand-painted watercolor pumpkins as separate transparent PNG files". Mention the subject, the style and the main use.
• Details buyers ask about: the number of files, sizes, whether backgrounds are transparent, and which apps open the files.
• Who it's for: crafters making tumblers, teachers building worksheets, small shops printing stickers.
• Everything else after that: how to use the files, tips, and anything specific to this listing.

Fill in the structured fields too: Dimensions, DPI, Color space and Works with. Esano uses them to build a short question and answer section on your listing page, such as "What files are included with..." and "Which apps and devices does it work with?". See Add dimensions, DPI and color space to a listing.

Put terms and notices later

When Esano builds the snippet for search engines, it skips any paragraph that starts with "Please note", "Terms", "License", "Copyright", "Refund", "No physical" or "Digital download only". It uses the first paragraph that doesn't.

Put notices like these after the paragraphs that describe the product, and your snippet will describe the product instead.

Write each description from scratch

Near-identical descriptions rank poorly in search. A shared spec block is fine. The problem is a description that is the same text with only a theme name or subject list swapped. Write a first paragraph that is only about this listing, its subjects, style and use, then add the shared details after it.

Esano checks each description you save against your other listings and shows a notice when two are nearly the same. To clear it, see fix a "nearly the same" description notice.

For field limits and other editor steps, see listing title and description rules.