What is the best way to go about product comparison text?

[laurenf]

Our website is in the midst of a massive content enrichment project - we're moving from mostly catalog content to optimized web content. Our catalog and copy teams are hoping to include more product comparisons on the web (e.g. "unlike composite basketballs, rubber one's are more X..."), which can certainly provide useful information to our shoppers! However, from an SEO standpoint, we seem to have confused search engines when doing this in the past (i.e. the example above is currently ranked for a "composite basketball" term, not a rubber one).

So... What is the best way to provide useful product comparisons without confusing search engines?

[RobertFisher]

Lauren,

I don't think I would be concerned based solely on the basketball issue. My first guess with the outdoor vs. indoor basketballs or rubber vs. composite is that for whatever reason, there is less competition for the composite search or you have in some way out SEO'd one over the other. For me, the consumer, I like comparisons that are straightforward and abhor lengthy narrative.

Why not have your narrative be about your product for sale and use an ordered list of some type for the comparison. So on left side vertical you would have many pebbles, rougher to touch, indoor, outdoor, both, etc. then have each of them at the top with a column underneath. Simple checkmarks show which is best for what. By having your narrative be about the product you are selling, you don't confuse others or the search engines.

Also, I am assuming you are using product markup for your items?

Hope that is helpful.