Around 75% of consumers click on products from the first impression the product listing gives.
Amazon | eBay | e-Commerce & Catalogue Listing Images for Sellers: The Ultimate Guide You’ll Need
How well your brand is positioned on platforms depends on two main factors – product differentiation and the listing outlook. For any brand, the product listing is its prime real estate, weighing heavily on its overall performance.
First, let’s understand the fundamental elements of a well crafted listing and the directed purpose:
Images. Showcases the value proposition of the product
Content. Informs the shoppers on the product and feeds the algorithm data for it to display the listing on relevant keywords
Reviews & Ratings. Social proof allowing shoppers to verify the brand reputation
Our brains produce emotional responses to visual aids much faster than information. Here is a powerful statistic from a Google survey conducted on online shoppers;
Although reviews, ratings, and content are important for consumers decision making process, it is the images that connect them to the product. It sparks an impulsive decision before their logical brain takes over.
In this blog, we will be covering industry secrets accumulated from over the years.
Basic Requirements For Listing Images
You will need to familiarise yourself with the basic requirements for listing new images or updating old ones on third party platforms such as Amazon and eBay, amazon for example does not take your image down as non-compliant.
Below is a simple, all-in-one cheat sheet to follow Product Images Guideline that covers most platforms, entailing certain requirements you must meet.
Make a good first impression
As with shoppers in brick-and-mortar stores, online buyers — and customers — make an immediate value judgment based on the look and aesthetic of your product. Regardless of whether or not that’s a fair assessment of your product’s quality, it means you need to have clear, high-quality photos that accurately represent your product offering.
On Amazon, this is especially true because retail buyers on the platform are often looking for products that will attract customer interest both in stores and online, and your product image is the first thing they see about your brand, prominently displayed on their buyer dashboard. If your images aren’t high-quality and don’t accurately showcase your product, buyers are more likely to make a quick decision to pass over your brand.
Tell your brand story
Your product images are a major part of your overall brand presence, especially online. While factors like your website, social media presence, product design, and, of course, the actual quality of your products contribute a great deal to your brand’s perception, your product images are also a significant piece of how your brand is perceived by consumers and buyers.
The sales connection
Because your product images are what buyers and consumers will base their initial impressions of your products on, it’s easy to see how your product images are therefore directly tied to your sales. If consumers aren’t impressed by your product images right off the bat, they will likely choose not to purchase your product; similarly, if buyers aren’t impressed by your product images, they will likely choose not to pursue your brand.
Additionally, some buyers may want to use your product images for their own websites, especially buyers from e-retailers, so high-quality images are only an added plus, while lower-quality images can make buyers second guess your brand or choose to go in a different direction.
What makes a good product image
Based on the brands that are most successful on on most online platforms, we have found that the most effective and eye-catching product images share these characteristics:
The product is shown against a completely white background
The product is close up and takes up most of the image (not too much empty space)
The image is very clear and high quality
Keep in mind that it’s important to showcase your product as it would appear in stores. This means that if your product would be packaged when sold in stores, then your image should be of your product in its packaging.
What to avoid
In general, you don’t want your product images to have any distracting features or a busy background, as these will look less professional and can make it difficult to see the product. These are some characteristics you want to avoid when taking your product images:
Grainy, low-pixel photos
Dark or shadowy images
Photos where the product only takes up ½ or less of the total image
Any words, logos, or watermarks in your image
Images where the product is sideways or upside down
Images of anything other than your product (e.g. image of cow when selling milk)
Images of your product without its packaging if it is sold in packaging
Reduce product returns with right product images
Product images also help in managing customer expectations.
These can help customers to understand the size, colour, and overall appearance of the product, which can help them to make informed decisions about whether the product is right for them.
You can also include close-up shots of important features, images of the product in use, and images of the product from different angles.
By providing a comprehensive set of images, you can help customers to feel more confident in their purchase decisions.
Minimising dissatisfaction and returns due to mismatched expectations
One of the biggest challenges faced by e-commerce businesses is dealing with dissatisfaction and returns due to mismatched expectations.
To minimise dissatisfaction and returns, it is important to provide accurate and detailed product information, including high-quality images from multiple angles. This can help customers to understand the size, colour, and overall appearance of the product, and make an informed decision about whether it is right for them.
It is also important to ensure that the product description and images are consistent with the actual product. This means avoiding the use of misleading language and ensuring that the images accurately reflect the product.
Supporting product descriptions
Written product information, such as product descriptions and specifications, can provide customers with additional details about the product that may not be immediately apparent from the images alone. When used in conjunction with images, written product information can complement and enhance the visual representation of the product.
Show a lifestyle photo where the product in use such as images of a person wearing or using the product.
This can help customers to envision themselves using the product and to imagine how it could improve their lives. Demonstrate product features, benefits, and usage to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and ultimately lead to higher conversion rates and business success.
Tips for creating high-quality product images
Investing in the right equipment or hiring a professional photographer can make a significant difference in your ecommerce business. To achieve a detail shot for different types of products, you can hire a professional who has access to high-quality cameras, lighting equipment, and editing software to ensure that your ecommerce product images are crisp, clear, and accurately represent the product.
Before you go with the tips for taking good quality photos, you need to understand the importance of good images. It will capture the product details as well as capture the benefits of the product through visuals.
A/B testing product images
A/B testing involves comparing two versions of a webpage or product page to determine which version performs better. Many ecommerce stores test different aspects such as image size, placement, angle, and even the use of models or lifestyle images versus plain product shots.
By analysing key metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and bounce rates, you can determine which image presentation is more effective in engaging your target audience and driving sales. you can also use A/B testing to uncover new insights about your target audience and their preferences.
To ensure the accuracy of your results, it is important to only test one element at a time and to test for a sufficient amount of time to account for any seasonal or external factors that may influence your results. Through careful analysis and testing, you can make informed decisions about your product picture strategy and continually improve your e-commerce success.
Products not getting approved?
In order to have your products approved onto platforms, you may need to submit an image of your published product in its packaging so buyers have an idea of what your product would look like on their shelves. The image of your product should be clearly legible, right-side up, and be on a clean white background with no edited texts on or around the product.
If for any reason you believe your products meet the above requirements but are not being approved, or need help in crafting high quality listing/products images please feel free to reach out and see how we can help you clicking here.