Q: 'We use the manufacturer's product descriptions. Is rewriting them worth the effort?'

Q: 'We use the manufacturer's product descriptions. Is rewriting them worth the effort?'

Short answer: On competitive SKUs, yes — a rewrite test showed clear traffic gains.

The longer version: A power-tools retailer pulled descriptions straight from the manufacturer feed, identical to 200 other resellers. They rewrote 300 of their best-margin product pages: added real specs comparisons, 'who it's for', and answers to common pre-purchase questions, ~250 words each. They left a matched control group on the manufacturer copy. After 12 weeks, the rewritten set gained 41% more organic clicks and ranked for 3x more long-tail queries (the unique phrasing caught 'is X good for Y?' searches). The control group was flat. The work paid off most on mid-competition products, not the ultra-niche ones nobody searches.

Rule of thumb: Rewrite descriptions where competition is high and margin justifies it. Don't rewrite 10,000 pages — rewrite the 300 that matter.

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