While many success factors look the same on Walmart.com compared to other marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay, there are some important differences to highlight which should be considered before launching a new product or business in the fast-growing marketplace.

One of the first things any seller should focus on when launching a product on Walmart is ensuring their product detail pages are set up for success (even before looking at advertising and enhancing logistics). 

In part one of Direct Agent’s Walmart Growth Series, we highlight key areas that will help you put your best page forward when launching on Walmart.com:

Optimized SEO

Just like other marketplaces, Walmart rewards products with optimized SEO and quality images, but there is less data readily available to help sellers optimize their pages. Here, we offer a few insights and important tips to best optimize your product pages:


PRODUCT TITLE: 

  • Character limit: 50-75 characters
  • Walmart’s formula for a successful title: 

Brand + Item Name + Model Name (if applicable) + Style (if applicable) + Key Attribute + Pack Count (if applicable) + Size (if applicable).

While you may want to add in multiple high-volume keywords for ranking purposes, Walmart suggests against this and instead steers sellers towards keeping product titles concise while only including need-to-know information. Let’s look at an example: 

BRAND: ABC

PRODUCT: Men’s T-Shirt

COLOR: Blue

SIZE: Medium

FABRIC TYPE: 80% Cotton 20% Polyester 

COUNT: 3-Pack

Title: ABC Men’s Cotton T-Shirt, Soft Blended Cotton Blue Shirt, Size Medium – 3 Pack

The above title is easy to read and the consumer knows exactly what they are getting. It may be appealing to expand the title and tell the consumer they are buying a t-shirt in 3 different ways or tell them the exact breakdown of fabric in the title but Walmart doesn’t seem to reward this in the same way Amazon might. When searching for “Mens Cotton T-Shirt” the top listings follow the same pattern of being straight-forward and concise: 

DESCRIPTION: 

The description is where you have an opportunity to expand on keywords you weren’t able to include in your title. Walmart rewards users for having a well-thought-out and detailed description. Unlike Amazon, the description has to be at least 150 words.


Some tips from Walmart directly: 

  • Include the Product Name, Brand, and keywords describing the item’s features and benefits and related words that customers are likely to search for.
  • Write copy that is specific and informative, not fluffy or generic. Show expertise, knowledge, and authority with facts and tips.
  • If the product has a variant, include all available options in the description so buyers know what is available.

Let’s go back to our T-Shirt example. Below is a description that tells the consumer a bit about our Brand, and the Product and uses variations of keywords to reach a larger audience. 


Description:

With Summer right around the corner, you are probably looking to freshen up your wardrobe! Look no further, ABC offers comfortable, soft, and ultra-light-weight t-shirts for men and women at an incredible value. Made of 80% cotton and 20% polyester our blended cotton line of men’s shirts is breathable and quickly absorbs perspiration allowing heat to escape the body and keep you cool as temps heat up, making this a perfect gym shirt

With a slim-fit design and classic crew neck style, this short sleeve shirt is also perfect for everyday wear when you want to keep your look casual, or as an under-shirt for a button-up or jacket when attending a special event. All of our shirts are double-stitched for long-lasting wear allowing you to always look your best. 

ABC shirts are offered in four colors including black, grey, blue and white t-shirts, and range in sizes from Small to 3XL. Explore our full line today which includes long sleeve shirts.


KEY FEATURES:  

The Key features section appears directly below the description and allows you to quickly tell the consumer the most important information about your product. 

Walmart suggests: 

  • Use short phrases or keywords in bullet points format only.
  • No more than 80 characters (space included) per bullet point.
  • Include 3-10 of the most important benefits and features of your item.
  • Put the most important features first.

For our Blue T-Shirt, we would highlight the fabric, pack size, and maybe one or two extra benefits to drive conversions: 


Key Features: 

  • FABRIC TYPE: 80% Cotton 20% Polyester
  • COUNT: 3 Pack of Men’s Short Sleeve Shirts
  • STYLE: Men’s Blue Short Sleeved T-Shirt – Size Medium
  • SEASON: Perfect Shirt for Summer – Breathable and Cooling Material


ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR SEO:

Finding the right keywords: 

There are numerous first and third-party tools available for search term analysis for Google and Amazon but Walmart isn’t offering much help here as of yet. 

To find the right keywords we suggest using tools you would normally use for Google and Amazon such as Google Trends or Helium10 and applying the results to your Walmart SEO. We also suggest doing competitive research on the Walmart SERP to understand what keywords top competitors are using to rank for various terms. 

Once you have your keyword list, you can dive in and start writing your Title, Description, and Key Features. 


HTML:

One huge benefit of Walmart for sellers is the ability to use HTML in the Product Description and Key Features to ensure your product page looks clean and is easy to read. Put your description into paragraphs so that it doesn’t run together, and use bold text to make your key features stand out. 


Not sure how to write in HTML? There are a ton of free tools online that can help including WordtoHTML.

Below is an example of HTML and the end result: 


INPUT:


<p>HTML helps your product pages on Walmart look fresh and makes your description and key features easy to read for the consumer.</p>


<p><strong>Use HTML to create paragraphs and bold text.</strong></p>


OUTPUT:


HTML helps your product pages on Walmart look fresh and makes your description and key features easy to read for the consumer.


Use HTML to create paragraphs and bold text.

Direct Agents has a team of SEO experts who help our clients grow their business on Walmart. We specialize in optimizing product pages based on each Marketplace’s algorithm and defined inputs while staying true to the Brand’s voice. If you are looking for help getting your business started on Walmart reach out below. 

Lookout for more helpful Walmart tips and tricks in our next two blog posts and learn how Direct Agents can help your business grow on Walmart.

 


– Emily Lease, Sr. eCommerce Strategist