How can I find technical information about my products?

Accurate technical product information is essential for any e-commerce business. Accurate data not only enhances the customer experience and reduces returns, but also optimizes SEO and visibility on marketplaces and search engines. However, collecting this information can be a challenge, especially for large catalogs or specialized products.

In this article, we'll look at the best ways to find and structure technical information about your products.

Consult manufacturers' technical data sheets

One of the most reliable sources of technical information is the manufacturer itself. Most brands provide detailed documentation in various forms:

• Official brand websites: manufacturers' product pages often contain complete technical data sheets.
• PDFs and user manuals: these documents contain precise specifications on materials, dimensions, certifications and operating instructions.
• Suppliers and wholesalers: if you work on a B2B basis, your suppliers can also provide you with detailed information on their references.

Best practices:

• Regularly check technical document updates.
• Rephrase information to avoid duplicate content and optimize SEO (see our tips onoptimizing product titles and descriptions).
• Cross-check information from several official sources to detect any inconsistencies.

Use product databases and online catalogs

Some sectors have centralized databases that can be used to retrieve reliable data sheets:

• GS1: centralizes standardized product sheets with precise information.
• Icecat: provides enriched product descriptions and specifications on millions of references.
• Google Manufacturer Center: enables brands to share official information about their products to improve their display in Google Shopping.

Best practices:

• Check that data is up-to-date and consistent.
• Use these bases as a starting point, then enrich the files with personalized content to differentiate yourself (as explained in how to enrich product information to boost sales).

Monitor competing marketplaces

Marketplaces such as Amazon, Cdiscount or eBay are excellent sources of inspiration. By comparing competitors' product sheets, you can :

• Identify missing technical data.
• Identify the elements that improve conversion.

Best practices:

• Observe the best-ranked sheets to draw inspiration from best practices.
• Don't copy descriptions to avoid duplicate content problems, as mentioned in our article on correcting product data to improve conversion rates.

Automate information gathering with web scraping

For sites with a large catalog, web scraping can be an effective solution for retrieving technical information on a large scale. This involves automatically extracting data from websites (manufacturers, marketplaces, competitors).

Best practices:

• Respect website terms of use.
• Clean and verify extracted data to ensure accuracy.
• Combine scraping with manual or automated controls, as described in How to automate data sourcing.

Standardize and structure the information collected

Once the data has been collected, it is essential to organize it so that it is easy to read and use:

• Use a consistent format for dimensions, weights, materials, certifications, etc.
• Integrate structured tags (schema.org) to improve SEO visibility.
• Centralize information via a PIM or an in-house database, a point also raised in How to improve the quality of product data.

Conclusion

Finding and structuring accurate technical information is a strategic lever for ensuring the quality of product data sheets in e-commerce. By combining several reliable sources (manufacturers, databases, marketplaces) and automating certain tasks, you can improve data accuracy while saving time. A well-informed catalog boosts conversions, reduces product returns and improves search engine and marketplace ranking.

To find out more about auditing and continuously optimizing your catalog, see why catalog auditing is essential for an e-commerce site.