SEO Question - unique content

[japancool]

I don't want to use the "standard" descriptions for my products that everyone else uses (which are all copied from one particular site). So I hit on this brilliant idea of taking their descriptions, running it through Google Translate into Japanese (or some other language), and then translating the result back to English. Here's one example of the result:

Original:
Those Gunpla fans rejoice, Bandai has released the Tallgeese I EW version! Includes gimmicks in the thrusters and the head camera and includes that massive rifle and shield that Tallgeese wields with ease.

End result:
For all Gunpla fans, Bandai has released the Tallgeese I EW version! Thrusters and head cameras are amongst the included gimmicks, and a huge rifle and shield that the Tallgeese can easily use.

My question is - is this sufficiently different that Google will think it's unique content? Or is it smarter than that?

 

[Mark T Jones]

I don't know

but I quite fancy a gimmick in my thruster!

 

[japancool]

I don't know

but I quite fancy a gimmick in my thruster!

We charge extra for that.

 

[Paul Norman]

I don't know

but I quite fancy a gimmick in my thruster!

Where is your sense of adventure?

 

[Darren_Ssc]

.

My question is - is this sufficiently different that Google will think it's unique content? Or is it smarter than that?

Sorry to break it to you but this not exactly an original idea.

However, if it means your descriptions are unique and make some sort of sense then google is not that smart and they will stand more chance of being indexed. This doesn't necessarily mean you'll rank much higher than you did before though.

A more intelligent way to do it would be to not to try and be unique with every single product but to pick a few that are really worth ranking for (most popular, highest margin, least competition, etc) and really try to add some value with high quality descriptions and content.

I should warn you that you are not going to see results in ten minutes though. It may take you a tear or two to realise this is a good strategy and not just a boring waste of time.

 

[WebshopMechanic]

Google will not reward your for plagiarised content and it's a waste of your time.

Invest time in writing unique descriptions that are targeted to your audience. You will see the benefits, both from an SEO and a conversion perspective.

If you really invest the time (or money via a copywriter), you can literally wipe the floor with your competitors.

I know it's tedious but most of your competitors just won't bother. The businesses that put in the effort at a granular level can get some serious results.

Just my thoughts.

Matt

 

[japancool]

Google will not reward your for plagiarised content and it's a waste of your time.

Invest time in writing unique descriptions that are targeted to your audience. You will see the benefits, both from an SEO and a conversion perspective.

If you really invest the time (or money via a copywriter), you can literally wipe the floor with your competitors.

I know it's tedious but most of your competitors just won't bother. The businesses that put in the effort at a granular level can get some serious results.

Just my thoughts.

Matt

Unfortunately, with over four hundred different products, I can't afford the time nor a copywriter. It's not worth it for the amount it would cost.

You are right that my competitors don't bother. They use the standard description (the first one, in this instance), which is given to them by our mutual wholesale suppliers, or don't have descriptions at all. Conversion isn't a factor in this instance, because most of the customers know what they are buying, or look to certain bloggers or specific community sites for reviews.

I, unfortunately, don't have that kind of resource.

Don't get me wrong - I agree with what you're saying as regards SEO and website ranking. It's just a case of cost/benefit.

 

[gpietersz]

I very much doubt it would work. Google systems can identify synonyms and can probably identify simple rewriting like this - they have been fighting article spinning for a decade or more.

It may even be damaging if the end result is text that (Google thinks) is hard to read or looks like the output of an automated process.

 

[wayzgoose]

Unfortunately, with over four hundred different products, I can't afford the time

I've got over 6000 products. Just do a couple a night and you'd be done within a year.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

I very much doubt it would work. Google systems can identify synonyms and can probably identify simple rewriting like this - they have been fighting article spinning for a decade or more.

It may even be damaging if the end result is text that (Google thinks) is hard to read or looks like the output of an automated process.

Can't find the link for you (hey, conspiracy right there for you!) but someone won an seo contest not long ago with pure ipsum lorem text on every page.

That said, this is a typical example of a an seo query where OP asks a reasonable question but when confronted with reasonable answers he/she owns up to the fact that he/she just can't be ar**d to make an effort.

 

[japancool]

That said, this is a typical example of a an seo query where OP asks a reasonable question but when confronted with reasonable answers he/she owns up to the fact that he/she just can't be ar**d to make an effort.

No, I have to decide where my time is best spent, and this is not it.

 

[Alan]

No, I have to decide where my time is best spent, and this is not it.

Then don't bother at all use the stock descriptions that meet the user needs and concentrate on the important stuff.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

No, I have to decide where my time is best spent, and this is not it.

Given your initial question, I doubt you're qualified to make that judgement?

 

[japancool]

Given your initial question, I doubt you're qualified to make that judgement?

That's not for you to judge.

 

[Uke]

A genuine chance to differentiate yourself from your competitors, rank better for the products your selling and increase conversion rates... and you’re not going to bother.

Seriously, it’s not that much work (especially if you concentrate on say 50 or so products to start with.

 

[japancool]

A genuine chance to differentiate yourself from your competitors, rank better for the products your selling and increase conversion rates... and you’re not going to bother.

Seriously, it’s not that much work (especially if you concentrate on say 50 or so products to start with.

The actual product descriptions don't matter to customers. They already know about the items that they're looking to buy. As for ranking better for products, that's not how people use sites in this industry. They don't search for a specific item on Google and buy it based on the results, they go to one of four retailers, or else ebay or Amazon, see what they have, and buy if the retailer has something they like the look of.

A one paragraph description tells them nothing. If they're looking into a product, they want to know how it builds, how articulated it is, what gimmicks it has etc. etc. There are bloggers and others who do video reviews of these things, and that's where people look for their information about a product, not on the site that's selling them.

Sure, I could include all that information, but I have neither the time nor the resources to build each and every product I carry and do a review of them.

There are far more effective things I can do to differentiate myself from my competitors than spending the time to do this right now. It's a low-priority item.

 

[wayzgoose]

A one paragraph description tells them nothing. If they're looking into a product, they want to know how it builds, how articulated it is, what gimmicks it has etc. etc. There are bloggers and others who do video reviews of these things, and that's where people look for their information about a product, not on the site that's selling them.

Think you've answered your own question there. Customers look elsewhere because none of the suppliers provide the information. There's your opportunity.

 

[japancool]

Think you've answered your own question there. Customers look elsewhere because none of the suppliers provide the information. There's your opportunity.

I can't provide the same level of in-depth commentary and review as a vlogger. I simply don't have the time or resources. Nor do I necessarily want to set myself up as a competitor to them, since some of them are my best referrers.

It's a close-knit niche community.

 

[thetiger2015]

I can't provide the same level of in-depth commentary and review as a vlogger. I simply don't have the time or resources. Nor do I necessarily want to set myself up as a competitor to them, since some of them are my best referrers.

It's a close-knit niche community.

What exactly do you wish to achieve with the product descriptions? What is the purpose to deviate from the manufacturer cut and paste?

If it's just to be a little different or for 'unique content' for the Google bot, then what you've done is probably fine, as it will contain the important information and is different to the original but not too much.

or, do you want to improve conversion rates on the product pages?

or, do you want to improve your on site SEO, to try and improve your position in SERPs?

or, do you want to try and do all of the above?

 

[AllUpHere]

They are kids toys; nobody cares what it says in the description. As the OP already knows, his customers choose what they want based on something they have seen on one of their favourite YouTube channels or blogs. They then have a look around and see who has what they want In stock. If they find it, as long as the price isn't stupid, they'll buy.

From an SEO point of view it's a bit of a gift, but if the OP hasn't got the time to change the product descriptions the matter is a bit 'academic'.

I wouldn't use the translation method to change anything.

The key to making money with such things is cross selling and up selling, not in spending months on SEO. If you do find the budget to take the business up a gear, writing for the visitors and not Google is the way to go. Getting every visitor to buy an additional item would be a good goal. If they'll spend 50 quid, they'll spend 100 quid. You just need to show them how.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

That's not for you to judge.

No, good luck with it.

 

[japancool]

They are kids toys; nobody cares what it says in the description.

Most of our customers are in the 25-60 range. But yes, big kids...

You're absolutely right about customer behaviour. We want to sell them the tools to build their kit, the parts to customise them, maybe another model kit from the same TV series. Or if we don't have what they want, then we need to have a sufficient range of stock to induce them to buy something else.

And it's about building brand loyalty as well. We spent years building our brand. Customers come to us because of our reputation for accessibility and customer service, as well as price and range. That's where I think my time is best spent.

 

[japancool]

If it's just to be a little different or for 'unique content' for the Google bot, then what you've done is probably fine, as it will contain the important information and is different to the original but not too much.

Not so much for the Google bot, but for customers so they don't think "Oh, he's just swiped the content from the supplier". The translation method isn't sufficiently different for that, I don't think.

Any improvements in SEO or conversion rates is a bonus, but I don't expect a great deal. Like I said, people don't search Google for the products, they go to the known retailers and search on their sites. SEO is concentrated around the generic search terms for the genre.

However, I have had a better idea. I'll translate the original Japanese description, edit it for readability and use that. It's still not high on my priority list though - I'll get round to doing it as and when I have the time.

 

[antropy]

There are far more effective things I can do to differentiate myself from my competitors than spending the time to do this right now

You and Google are going to fall out big time. I don't want you coming back to this forum in 6 months time when you are on page 10 moaning that you are getting no traffic! Alex

 

[antropy]

people don't search Google for the products

You really don't have a clue do you? Alex

 

[japancool]

You really don't have a clue do you? Alex

Actually, yes, I do. I'm pretty sure I'm a better judge of my customers' behaviour than you.

 

[japancool]

You and Google are going to fall out big time. I don't want you coming back to this forum in 6 months time when you are on page 10 moaning that you are getting no traffic! Alex

Hasn't happened in the last 7 years, so I'll take that bet up with you.

 

[gpietersz]

My question is - is this sufficiently different that Google will think it's unique content? Or is it smarter than that?

Not so much for the Google bot, but for customers so they don't think "Oh, he's just swiped the content from the supplier".

Which do you want to do?

 

[japancool]

Which do you want to do?

The original question was one for my own curiosity. If it had been sufficiently different, that would have been a bonus.

As it is, it's not enough to make a human reader think it hasn't been simply lifted from the standard description, which rather defeats the main purpose of it.

 

[antropy]

Hasn't happened in the last 7 years, so I'll take that bet up with you.

You have come on here to ask questions but when people have replied you have been very defensive and clearly not looking to change what you are doing? So why come on here and ask questions in the first place? Very strange? Alex

 

[japancool]

You have come on here to ask questions but when people have replied you have been very defensive and clearly not looking to change what you are doing? So why come on here and ask questions in the first place? Very strange? Alex

I asked a very specific question, and people are insisting on giving me "advice" I didn't ask for and don't need, advice based on a fundamental lack of understanding on consumer behaviour in this particular niche market.

I asked whether the resulting text would be different enough for Google to regard as unique. That's all. Not "should I spend a load of time writing unique descriptions for my content".

 

[antropy]

people are insisting on giving me "advice" I didn't ask for and don't need

It is called being helpful and indeed the correct answer is writing unique content as that will get your ranked well with Google but yes please do continue to bury your head in the sand. Alex

 

[Paul Norman]

The thing about forums is that people will, once a question is asked, add further advice around the topic.

That has value for people who read forums. Let me remind us all that lots of people read these threads other than the participants.

The merit of this thread is that the advice given is sound advice, and that will have value for people who read it. So well done to all those who have taken the trouble to add both the answer to the initial question, and some general, correct, additional comments on the topic.

 

[japancool]

It is called being helpful and indeed the correct answer is writing unique content as that will get your ranked well with Google but yes please do continue to bury your head in the sand. Alex

I get it, I really do. You take umbrage at the fact that someone has the temerity to suggest that maybe, just maybe, your area of expertise might not be the be all and end all of being successful in e-commerce, and that if I don't do what you suggest right now, all my traffic will disappear.

Well, at least I didn't feel the need to start off with puerile insults to make my point.

 

[japancool]

The thing about forums is that people will, once a question is asked, add further advice around the topic.

That has value for people who read forums. Let me remind us all that lots of people read these threads other than the participants.

The merit of this thread is that the advice given is sound advice, and that will have value for people who read it. So well done to all those who have taken the trouble to add both the answer to the initial question, and some general, correct, additional comments on the topic.

Which is fair enough. But equally, no one should be slinging insults if their advice is not taken up on. As I explained before, there are things I can spend my time on which will bring better returns right now.

Consumer behaviour in different markets is different. It's like takeaways - people wanting a takeaway don't Google for an Indian, they'll go to Just-Eat or their favourite takeaway site. At once there, they don't really read what madras or a sweet & sour is, they already know. Just-Eat concentrates its marketing elsewhere.

You could say - well, that's because Just-Eat are already well known. I'd say the same in my particular niche, but marketing has to be concentrated in becoming more so, and persuading customers to use me not someone else, and writing descriptions isn't the best way to do it. It will have some effect but it's a minor factor at best.

It would be nice if people could simply respectfully disagree rather than slinging insults.

 

[Aleksander_Gramm]

It is a common mistake to rewrite a text to make it "unique". But it is the same set of 1 and 0 (or vectors) from the perspective of a machine. There is no "uniqueness" for human too. Let me explain.
It is the exact same text. Also we need to know that people and bots "scan text", not read it.

What is it that makes text unique compared to other texts?
It is a new value or rather, a "new" value of product. Even if people know enough about this product, you can find this value to describe it.
Also, don't forget about 'queries space' of your site. I hope you created it.

nobody cares what it says in the description and writing for the visitors and not Google
Excuse me @AllUpHere but that seems illogical, if somebody uses these phrases in the same context.

SEO is a part of a marketing. If you have a marketing strategy it is easy to do SEO. To create a marketing strategy and to do SEO you need to know your audience (their pains and needs), to segment it and to create selling points (don't use stupid USP-unique selling proposition stupid concept. it has never worked for many products).

In this case I'd make description like some kind of manga. The short-written story of a character.

Anyway, there is a question is it worth to spend time/money to rewrite descriptions? I don't know. I know exactly what you @japancool shouldn't write time to re-write descriptions in this way.
BTW I see some bugs https://prnt.sc/z2zluq

 

[japancool]

It is a common mistake to rewrite a text to make it "unique". But it is the same set of 1 and 0 (or vectors) from the perspective of a machine. There is no "uniqueness" for human too. Let me explain.
It is the exact same text. Also we need to know that people and bots "scan text", not read it.

What is it that makes text unique compared to other texts?
It is a new value or rather, a "new" value of product. Even if people know enough about this product, you can find this value to describe it.
Also, don't forget about 'queries space' of your site. I hope you created it.

nobody cares what it says in the description and writing for the visitors and not Google
Excuse me @AllUpHere but that seems illogical, if somebody uses these phrases in the same context.

SEO is a part of a marketing. If you have a marketing strategy it is easy to do SEO. To create a marketing strategy and to do SEO you need to know your audience (their pains and needs), to segment it and to create selling points (don't use stupid USP-unique selling proposition stupid concept. it has never worked for many products).

In this case I'd make description like some kind of manga. The short-written story of a character.

Anyway, there is a question is it worth to spend time/money to rewrite descriptions? I don't know. I know exactly what you @japancool shouldn't write time to re-write descriptions in this way.
BTW I see some bugs https://prnt.sc/z2zluq

Interesting, thanks for that. I'll have a look at that bug as well. Oddly, the product appears fine for me.

My users are after three things, in this order:
* Is it of my favourite robot from the TV show?
* Does it look cool?
* Does it build well?

Obviously, the first two things, they see from the pictures. The third thing is something you can't get across in a short description, and people will either already know, or trust that it does because it's a Bandai product, or will go to a review site for in-depth information.

So people generally don't care too much about the description - it's the pictures that are the most important factor in their decision to buy or not.

Here's the thing - I don't need to market the products. The manufacturer, and the TV shows do that for me. What I need to market is my brand and offering.

 

[wayzgoose]

* Does it build well?

And that's the bit where you could really get the prospective customer's attention. If I had a grandchild that had asked for one of your models, a good description explaining things would keep me on your site and lead me to a purchase. From the models I've looked at there were no descriptions at all. Knowing nothing about them, I would be unlikely to go off looking for reviews; I would be looking for a seller that explained things to me.

 

[japancool]

* Does it build well?

And that's the bit where you could really get the prospective customer's attention. If I had a grandchild that had asked for one of your models, a good description explaining things would keep me on your site and lead me to a purchase. From the models I've looked at there were no descriptions at all. Knowing nothing about them, I would be unlikely to go off looking for reviews; I would be looking for a seller that explained things to me.

I don't doubt you, but that's not my usual consumer behaviour.

As I said, the vast majority of people coming to the site already know how well they build, and trust the brand.

It's a bit like Lego. You already know how it works and how it builds, you just want to know if it looks good.

 

[Aleksander_Gramm]

Here's the thing - I don't need to market the products. The manufacturer, and the TV shows do that for me. What I need to market is my brand and offering.

I got it. May be it makes sense to focus on selling points of your site/business. Many years ago I worked in a distribution business. There was no difference between companies. So we needed to create some additional services that didn't cost the company a penny.
That's why I love marketing and SEO. It makes to use a brain to get some results.