Amazon Descriptions

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   Suzanne Dayposted 9 years ago

   Hi everyone! Is there a way to put descriptions (other than a title) in Amazon capsules? I've seen a few around on hubs and don't have the foggiest how to do it. Would love to learn how....

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      Camille Harrisposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yup!
      
      You should click "Choose a specific product" and then click the "Add description" link. Hope this helps!!
      
      
      

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         Suzanne Dayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         OMG how silly do I feel? I didn't see it because I always pick keywords rather than specific product. Thanks for that, will be using it!

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            Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Don't feel silly, I didn't know either Suzanne. I saw that most squids had been doing it, but I had no idea. But do you have to know the Amazon URL or ISBN for a product? Do you have to actually visit Amazon to find a product so you can include that?

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               Susan Zutautasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Jodah,
               If you go to Amazon and click on the product you want in your hub just copy the URL and use it for your ASIN spot.

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                  Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Ok thanks Susan and Glenn. Thanks.

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               Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               You need to use the ISBN or ASIN number to indicate a specific product. Then you can include your own description for that product.

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                  Suzanne Dayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Yep, tried and tested. Just get the ASIN and it works!

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                     Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Products are referenced with ASIN numbers. Books have ISBN numbers.

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                        DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                        I believe there is an exception on books.  If I am not mistaken, I think I saw that e-books have an AISN number instead of an ISBN number.

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                           Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                           It's not an exemption. Printed books have ISBN numbers. But you are right about Kindle books, they have ASIN numbers.

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               CatherineGiordanoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks for your question.  I did not know about the description link either.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               If you're not doing that already, you're probably doing it wrong anyway!
               
               Amazon products never sell unless they're very, very specific to the subject of your Hub, so you should always be visiting Amazon to suss out the absolute best you can find before you create a capsule.

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            lisavollrathposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I'm right there with you. I never noticed that description link before. I've been adding an extra text capsule below my Amazon products, to describe them. Off to edit a few hubs...

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            Shades-of-truthposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I agree, don't feel silly. It took me really looking over the capsule to figure it out. We had a lot to learn in a very short time!

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      The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Suzanne,
      I click on "Add Keyword(s)" and type in description of item.

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         Suzanne Dayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Hi, yes I saw that, but you have to choose Specific Product and not Keywords to have the option.

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         Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Examiner-1, You can't add a description if you use keywords. Descriptions apply to specific products. Keywords are too nonspecific. That's why there is no description field when using keywords.

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            The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            They have helped me. Say I choose Keywords in a Hub I wrote on 'wild birds', any kind of book shows up, say a hardware book. So when I type 'Wild Birds' in Description wild bird books then shows up when I Preview Amazon Result.

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               Suzanne Dayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               What you need to do is choose Amazon capsule, then specific product. Copy and paste an ASIN or IBSN number into this field by visiting Amazon, scrolling down the page to where you can get the ASIN or IBSN number (usually on the left, below the product description). Then back in Hubpages, click on the right hand side description box within the Amazon capsule and add in your own description to make it more interesting. Then click preview Amazon results and done.

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                  The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank you Suzanne.

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                  Maffew Jamesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  You don't actually need to copy the product number. The ASIN number is part of the URL, and if you paste the complete URL into the 'specific product' field, it will strip out everything except the ASIN and produce the item for you.

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                     DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     OHhhhhhh...now THAT's a trick I did not know, and will be very helpful, as I've been having trouble with my mouse, and getting things to highlight so I can copy them.

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               Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Examiner-1,
               
               You are confusing using a description as your keywords vs. typing a description that displays in your hub. 
               
               More importantly, if you use keywords to select a product, you never know what product appears. It may be one thing when you look at it, and another day it's something else that doesn't quite match your hub's subject matter. If that happens, Google may consider your hub to be spam (* see link below).  The latest rules consider a hub to be spam if it contains affiliate products that don't closely relate to the subject.
               
               * EDIT: I added this link about Google's spam guidelines.
               http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/125232#post2643452

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                  DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  I have  never used that.  I may be considered something of a minor control-freak, but I want to select what products to feature with my articles. 

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                     Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Good for you! That's the safer way anyway, because it's consistent.

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   bobtyndallposted 9 years ago

   Suzanne, you have to choose a specific item at Amazon. Go to Amazon and find what you want. Copy the url of the item and in the Amazon capsule, click pick a specific item. The space for the url comes up and at the end of it the is a description link. Click that and it shows below the url. You can enter your own description or copy the description from the Amazon item. Keep in mind the Amazon description counts towards your 50 word count when it applies to how many amazon capsules you can have.

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      Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      No!!! You are misguiding innocent people. Don't copy the description from Amazon. You'll get dinged for plagiarism.  Write your own in your own words.

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   Suzanne Dayposted 9 years ago

   Thank you to all for your very useful information!
   
   I would often use keyword related Amazon selection, as sometimes products come and go and it could be irriating going back to check on them and update. But I will keep in mind that Google thinks they may potentially be spam.
   
   It's also interesting how the description counts in the 50 word limit for products, and that you can paste the URL instead of ASIN to get the product.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I used to use keyword selection too - to the point where I'd find a product I liked, then tweak my keywords so that particular product would appear.   Like you, I felt that was the best way to ensure the capsule wouldn't wind up empty!
      
      I'm now a convert to the ASIN number, because I do like the look of the new full-width Amazon capsule with the description inside it.  Still a bit worried about the potential of the product disappearing but I do try to pick products that have been around for a while.

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         Suzanne Dayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         It definitely looks better with a description - it's a pity we can't have a description on the keyword ones.

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            Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I'll tell you why.  You write a description for specific items. But when you use keywords, you never know what is you get. It can change when you're not watching. If you were able to write a description for keywords and another item you don't expect gets shown, the reader will be totally confused. Is that what you want?

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               Suzanne Dayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Hi Glenn, I beg to differ. If I put "delica beads" into the keywords box, it doesn't matter whether people get a book about it or a packet of beads. I would write something along the lines of "Delica beads are hard to find, yet they are fantastic in all sorts of beading projects. Their uniform appearance makes them particularly good for peyote and brick stitch".
               
               I think it would be most applicable...

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  I think what Glenn is saying is that description wouldn't be enough to persuade the reader to click - it's too general.   If you really want to make a sale, you need to convince the reader of the value of that particular item before they click.

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                     Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Thank you Marisa. You said that well.

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                  Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Rather than arguing with you, see what Paul Edmondson says about this.
                  http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/125232

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                     Suzanne Dayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Yep, thanks for the read. But you started the "argument", I merely expressed an opinion and you jumped down my throat over it. But thanks for your input anyway and thank you to Marisa for clarifying. No hard feelings.

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                        Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                        I didn't mean to sound like I'm jumping down your throat. But just to keep the record straight, you started this thread. I'm simply answering your question with respect to how Google handles it. My only desire is to help avoid being tagged as a spammer under Google's latest algorithm by using general keywords that end up displaying unrelated products. Using any affiliate advertising is becoming very tricky lately and we all have to be careful. No hard feelings. Have a good weekend, I'm signing off now, it's late.

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                           Suzanne Dayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                           Have a good sleep!
                           
                           Thank you for your response. Although, I do have to point out that starting a thread and starting an argument are two completely different things.
                           
                           As a fellow hubber, I appreciate your advice and your time!

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               Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I have never noticed the Amazon items I have searched for using keywords 'change'. Even ads I have had on hubs for over a year. eBay items searched by keyword however change all the time, after an item is purchased. This may not be the case, but I have never noticed it happen on my hubs.

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  It all depends how you use keywords.  In the example Suzanna gave, she used a general search "delica beads" and didn't limit it to a particular category, hence she might get a book about the beads or the beads themselves.   I'd be more likely to limit that by category, and in that case it wouldn't change.

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                     Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Ok thanks.

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