Generate product meta-titles and meta-descriptions in bulk

If you’re running an online store with hundreds or thousands of products, the thought of manually creating a meta-title and meta-description for each item can be overwhelming.

Yet, these two are important elements in SEO optimization of your product pages. Both are visible in the search results and can affect the click-through-rate (CTR) of the organic listings.

So can you create effective meta-descriptions and titles for your entire product catalog in a fast and budget friendly way?

Yes, and there even two ways to do so.

Two ways to create product meta-titles and meta-descriptions in bulk

Option 1: Use generic templates

In this case, you create generic meta-title and meta-description templates that suit all the products in your store.

It’s the most popular approach for large stores and marketplaces, and some smaller businesses too.

Let’s look at some real example of templated meta-titles and meta-descriptions at Wayfair:

Meta-title template:

[Product Brand] + [Product H1] + [Separator] + "Wayfair"

Here are some of the examples:

Meta-description template:

"You'll love the" + [Product H1] + " at Wayfair - Great Deals on all Furniture products with Free Shipping on most stuff, even the big stuff."

Take a look at the results:

This approach has both advantages and disadvantages.

Generic templates approach Pros:

• Free, quick and easy to implement
• Consistent across all products
• Can be automated within most CMS
• Requires minimal ongoing maintenance
• Cost-effective for large catalogs

Generic templates approach Cons:

• Lacks uniqueness for individual products
• May not highlight specific product features
• Could result in lower click-through rates
• Might be seen as less engaging by search engines
• Misses opportunities for secondary targeted keywords

So what if you want to make your product meta-information unique and highlight each item’s specific features?

That’s where AI comes in handy.

Option 2: Use AI to generate unique meta-titles and meta-descriptions

When using AI, we can create optimized and unique meta-titles and meta-descriptions for each product in minutes.

Just follow this step-by-step guide.

What you’ll need:

• OpenAI API key ($)
• GPT for Sheets add-on ($)
• Primary and main secondary keywords for each product
• Screaming Frog ($)*

*You might not need Screaming Frog if you already have product descriptions in spreadsheets.

1. Prepare your spreadsheet

Extract product data from your site using Screaming Frog and set up a sheet with these columns:

• Product URL
• Product description
• Product name
• Products’ primary and secondary keywords
• Meta-title
• Meta-title length
• Meta-description
• Meta-description length

2. Set up GPT for Sheets

Add the “GPT for Sheets and Docs” add-on and connect your API key.

3. Add product info

Fill in the URLs, product descriptions, product names, and product’s primary and secondary keywords.

4. Generate meta-titles

Use this formula in the meta-title column:

=GPT(CONCATENATE("please create a short meta-title for the product named ",C2,", use the keywords ", D2))

Check the results and copy the formula for other products if you’re happy.

Otherwise, you can edit the formula to get a different result.

5. Create meta-descriptions

Use a similar approach for meta-descriptions:

Copy=GPT(CONCATENATE("please create a concise meta-description between 22 words and 25 words for the product named ",C2,", use the keywords", D2, ", and highlight the most important product features based on the product description ", B2))

Copy the formula for the remaining products when you’re satisfied with the output.

6. Copy the results and paste them back as plain text values.

If you leave the formulas in place, every time you open the spreadsheet, it’ll regenerate all the content.

This not only wastes your API credits but could also change your carefully reviewed meta information.

7. Pro tips to improve the output even more:

• Adjust the tone by adding “use a [casual, formal, inspirational, etc.] writing style” to the prompt to match your brand voice;
• Include your USP in meta-descriptions if you have one (for example, “free shipping”);
• Use a free GPT script for Google Sheets (check out Jonathan Boshoff’s video tutorial).

Now, when you use this approach, there are several important things to keep in mind:

1. Give clear instructions to minimize errors in the generated meta-information;
2. Always review and edit the generated text if necessary (LLMs can make mistakes);
3. LLMs are not good at counting characters in the text, so if your meta-titles and meta-descriptions have to be under a certain character number, you might need to manually adjust character counts;
4. For a large product catalog, you need to work in batches (generate meta-information for ~50 products at a time)
5. You might also need to create different products for different product types
6. If you’re not happy with a result, regenerate that specific item or edit prompt.

Let’s review the advantages and disadvantages.

Generating meta-information with AI Pros:

• Creates unique content for each product
• Highlights specific product features
• Potentially improves click-through rates
• Can incorporate secondary keywords more effectively

Generating meta-information with AI Cons:

• Involves ongoing costs (API usage, GPT for Sheets subscription, Screaming frog licence)
• Requires initial setup and prompt fine-tuning
• May produce inconsistent results without proper prompts
• Requires manual edit to achieve certain character count
• Takes more time than the templated option
• Needs quality checks

Comparing the templated and generated meta-information

Now let’s compare the templated and generated meta-titles and meta-descriptions side by side.

And you could decide for yourself which looks more attractive in the SERP results:

Summary

Creating meta-titles and meta-descriptions for hundreds or thousands of products doesn’t have to be a headache.

We’ve explored two efficient approaches: generic templates and AI-generated texts.

Generic templates offer a quick, consistent solution that’s easy to implement. They’re great for large catalogs and tight budgets. But they lack that personal touch and might not maximize your click-through rates.

On the other hand, AI-generated meta information brings uniqueness to each product. It’s often more engaging and can highlight specific features, potentially improving your CTR. However, it requires some setup and ongoing management.

So, the choice depends on your resources and goals:

If you’re managing a massive catalog with limited time and budget, generic templates might be your best bet. But if you’re aiming for even better SEO performance and have the capacity to oversee the process, AI-generated content could give you an edge.

Here’s a thought: why not combine both?

Use templates as a fallback and gradually introduce AI-generated content for your top-performing or most important products. This way, you get the best of both worlds – efficiency and uniqueness where it matters most.

Remember, whichever path you choose, the key is consistency and regular review. Keep an eye on your performance metrics and be ready to adjust your strategy as needed.