If you’re looking for a way to boost conversions on Amazon, it might be time to consider adding text overlays to your product images. Adding this extra layer of information to some of your product images helps you compensate visually for what might be lost in the minutia of a product description. When combined with images, text can reinforce your unique sales proposition and help customers better understand your product. Including carefully chosen text in your images can help turn shoppers into buyers.
The value of text in product images
Almost any product can benefit from text overlays in images. While the written product description has SEO benefits and can provide a big-picture view, text enhanced product images enable shoppers to quickly understand your product’s features and attributes.
Remember that buyers on Amazon have to rely on words and visuals to convey the full experience of the product. They can’t pick it up, try it on, taste, smell or feel it. By combining text and images, you give them a more multi-dimensional experience.
You can use text to: highlight features, showcase your unique sales proposition, or explain how a product works.
A quick note about images on an Amazon product display page. In this article we’re primarily talking about how such content can be used for the product images that show above the fold in the main product area. Amazon has specific guidelines about the main image (thumbnail), including that it must be on a white background and have the product outside of its packaging. Be sure to follow Amazon’s guidelines!
Highlight features
Highlight features by adding text to a basic image of your product. Be sure that the text works harmoniously with the image, matching it in style and quality. Try to limit your features to no more than 4 or 5 to avoid overwhelming your shopper and cluttering the image. 
Above: The text in this image combines with lines and circles to highlight important product features.
When deciding which features to highlight ask yourself, “What is valuable about my product, but difficult to convey in images alone?”
Unique Sales Proposition
For some products, their unique value can be difficult to convey through images alone. By adding text, you can help shoppers visualize how a product fits into their life or solves their problems.
Above: This image uses a simple text overlay to compare the seller’s product with a competitor’s.
Show shoppers how they might use your product or the differences between your product and competitor’s, to help them quickly grasp your unique sales proposition.
Keep it simple. Including too much text can make the image less effective. If you need more than a few words to make your point, you might be better off including that information in the description.
Instructions
If customers can’t immediately understand how a product works, they might choose not to purchase. Including a simple instructional image can make your product seem more accessible and easier to use, which makes shoppers more likely to buy.
Above: Simple step by step instructions help shoppers quickly understand how to use your product.
If you can’t simplify the operation of your product down to a few easy to illustrate steps, this type of product image might not be right for you. Also, if your product is something that most people know how to use, you don’t get much added value from an instructional image. On the other hand, if you regularly get complaints, questions, or returns from customers who are struggling to use your product, an instructional image could be an easy solution.
Meet Amazon image standards
Some sellers have expressed confusion over what can and cannot be included in Amazon product images. The best way to know if your image meets Amazon’s standards is to check the product image requirements. There’s a lot to digest there, so here’s the simplified version:
The first image buyers see must be a high-quality image of your product on a white background. No text or other items are allowed. Subsequent images may include other products or objects, props, people backgrounds, demonstrative graphics or text.
In short, you can use text in images as long as you first display a image of the product standing alone on a white background.
Keep in mind that all images on Amazon should be a minimum 1000 px. Any text you add should be easy to read whether the shopper is viewing the product slideshow or using the zoom function.
Best practices for using text in product images
You’ll get the best results if you follow some simple best practice when adding text to your product images on Amazon.
-
Simplicity is key. Whether you’re highlighting features, showcasing your sales proposition, or explaining how your product works, each image should convey a single idea. Use the fewest number of words to convey your point.
-
Mix it up. While text in product images can be helpful, this tactic should be used thoughtfully. Just as you include a mix of product, detail and lifestyle images in your listings, you should also include a mix of text-annotated and non-text-annotated images.
-
Maintain quality. Ensure that your text is easy to read and does not blur or pixelate when the shopper zooms in. All text should be easy to read at the display resolution and clearly articulate the points you’re trying to make.
-
Harmonize the style. Make the style consistent with the style of your product. If you’re selling a children’s toy, colorful words in a playful font work well, but sharp black text might be better for a leather briefcase.
- Have a clear purpose. Think about how your text works with your whole listing. What new information can you bring forward? What features are you highlighting? Each image, and each bit of text within that image, should have a specific purpose.