While the Top-Down view focuses on the usability of a website as it relates to Findability, the bottom-up view focuses on Data Quality as it relates to Findability.

Perhaps the biggest factor in the findability of an e-commerce website is the quality and structure of its underlying product data. Product Data is the oxygen of e-commerce. Even with state-of-the-art search & navigation technology, poor data quality will leave products difficult to find, and more risky to buy (with subpar product information, the buyer is less confident).

The second aspect of our findability review touches on several data related questions. Here are the 4 most important ones:

1. Does each of your products have a unique description?

 It is often the case when shopping online that a list of products will have descriptions that are indistinguishable. Whether you call them product names (as we do) or descriptions, they have to sufficiently distinguish themselves from each other, or there is risk of confusion.

2. Do the product descriptions contain the right amount of information?

 There is a balance to be struck between a short description that leaves stuff out, and a long description with extraneous information. The initial description on a product list page needs to be just enticing enough to click, no more, no less. Too little information and you run the risk of #1, too much information and the meaningful bits quickly get buried.

3. Are product descriptions standardized?

 Humans are a pattern seeking species. If your product listing reflects a standard pattern, shoppers will more quickly feel comfortable browsing your store. e.g. Always having the brand at the beginning, and the size at the end, etc. gives people visual anchors on which to effectively scan product listings. Likewise inconsistent capitalization, abbreviations, etc. will only cause confusion and risk losing a sale.

4. Do your products have images? Are they correct?

 One big thing holding people back from shopping online at all is the inability to use all 5 of their senses. But for many products, seeing is believing. If you don’t have an image or the right image for a product, you run the risk of losing a sale.

Many websites struggle to excel when graded on the top-down approach to findability. But what is often not emphasized enough is the importance of a bottom-up, data quality solution to help fill out the top-down experience.  FindWAtt’s unique approach to cleaning, structuring, and enhancing product information from any category domain addresses all of these issues, giving retailers the best chance to succeed online.