Do I have to write unique content for each product?

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

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  Richard Anderson: Hi guys
  
  Back for one more question
  
  So I'm messing about with wordpress and I've installed the wordpress seo by yoast and also woo commerce. So I know the list that you should have a minimum of 300 words per post. But when it comes to products, do I have to write unique content for each product and have it over 300 words? When your putting up 1000 products it can seem a bit much to have a minimum of 300 words per product description?
  
  Is there something I'm missing or am I right in the above?
  
  Cheers
  
  Richie
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  Ian Wortley: I wouldn't worry too much about arbitrary minimum word counts Richie. I'm working with an online ink retailer at the moment with over 17,000 products. There is only so much you can say about an ink cartridge (that's different to 18,999 other ink cartridges)! ;
  
  I think the point is to differentiate yourself from competitors by having more and more relevant information on the same products (assuming that you are not going to be selling absolutely unique products).
  
  With things like tech specs you can't make it unique (and you need to keep them all in), but you can say who a product is suited for, your experience of a product etc. What would you tell somebody who was interested in the product if you were face to face? That's what you should write. ;
  
  Always think from the point of view of the consumer: What do they need to know, how can I help them make a choice between similar products, what will make them buy now rather than browse on to another site? What will make them come back to this site if they do browse to another site. What can I do to make their experience on my site better than that of my competitor? Think of your own online shopping experiences. What makes you buy on a site, and more importantly, what makes you hold back from putting in your credit card details?
  
  Sorry, that's a little off track. Basically what I'm saying is that if your products are put in with a little more than basic information (particularly in comparison with competitors) you're on a winner with users and Google.
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  Tim Capper: This is your chance to sell your product. Sell it to the customer. Sell it in your own way. Think how you would sell it if this customer had walked into your store. 
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  Ian Wortley: Yes, that's a bit more succinct +Tim Capper ;!
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  Jim Munro: ^^^ + 10, +Tim Capper ; . :)
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  Richard Anderson: +Tim Capper ; ha thanks Tim that actually does make sense. All though this client sells stove glass, parts etc. Only so much one can try and sell the glass. I don't wanna be in over my head, like I have set expectations as you would to a customer. I will give you an example, his competitors are stoveglass(dot)ie (i know, dont get me started on this website) and thestoveshop(dot)com Im guessing age is a factor and what I am doing is, for his website I am throwing up about 50 new products a day. They are literally over 1000 products im putting up and I guess I just want to make sure they all get indexed
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  Jim Munro: +Richard Anderson ;- please disable the links with (dot). I hate having to be so obsessive about this but it's our only defence against linkdroppers.
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  Richard Anderson: +Jim Munro ;Done :)
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  Jim Munro: Thank you, mate. :)
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  Richard Anderson: So just to recap - if I am to optimise a store I simply write a few words that describe the product beyond the basic few words?
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  Silvia Bicskei: Also, take a bit of time to microformat your product pages, check out the schema dot org page for guidlines. It's not only the user who has to find you, but the bots have to understand what your page is about for optimal indexing.
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  Tim Capper: Your client also needs to put in the work with the descriptions. No one knows their business better. And as silvia above mentions. Mark up your product pages properly
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  Tony McCreath: And don't forget your category pages. They hit customer at a different phase in the purchasing process and the good thing is there are fewer of them to write content for. The final bonus is that products come and go while categories are more long term.