It’s not particularly difficult to create item listings on eBay, especially if you use listing tools and its vast collection of designer templates.
However, as many sellers have learned, being listed doesn’t automatically equate to having a listing noticed. Every product on eBay has dozens or even hundreds of listings, but there is only one “first page” of search results.
Here’s how to make sure your listings appear high in eBay search results and are clicked once they are displayed to customers.
Utilize the item details and the eBay catalogue.
With eBay’s continued push toward product-centric shopping, products that use the eBay catalogue and have numerous item specifics fields are far more likely to show up in shopper searches than those that don’t.
Make sure to use a UPC or ISBN code or, in the absence of those, simple keywords to search for an eBay catalogue match as you list a product.
Spend some extra time filling out item specifics fields after finding and choosing a matching catalogue entry. This will improve your search ranking and will help eBay shoppers include your items when they refine their searches.
Include Several Excellent Photographs
The photographs you submit to illustrate your goods are examined by eBay’s search engine—not just how many there are, but also how they portray the item you’re selling. According to eBay’s advice, you should:
- More than one or two pictures
- Present your goods in a variety of lighting
- Make sure your product occupies a sizable section of the frame.
- Present your merchandise against a spotless, bright background.
- Take out any extra debris or other objects from the picture.
- Upload pictures of thousands of pixels in height and width.
- Do not add more text or line art to your image.
You can see what eBay is essentially looking for: images that appear to be taken with a professional camera for product photography rather than with a smartphone in a cluttered reception area or office. Examine the product images on the websites of major retailers, then make an effort to match them in terms of appearance, caliber, and quantity.
Set Your Item’s Price Competitively
Price is an element in eBay’s search ranking algorithm, albeit not the most important one. The further from average pricing you are, the less likely eBay search will promote your item.
The presence of a large “lowest price” space on eBay’s new product pages suggests that pricing lower than everyone else will continue to be a big benefit, even though direction for the site’s product-centric pages isn’t yet accessible.
When you combine these two factors, you should realise that you should always offer the lowest price, price in the same range as the competition the rest of the time, and when you are unable to do so, make up the difference by really dominating with the other listing strategies covered in this article.
Create Tight, Rich Title and Description Text that Uses Relevant Keywords
As you design titles and descriptions, keep in mind that eBay’s search technology works hard to match shopper searches to pertinent keywords while also being intelligent enough to distinguish between nice, human-friendly titles and noise that attempts to “trick” the search system.
- In each listing title, specify the brand, model, and product category (“Nikon D300 DSLR Camera”).
- Include the most pertinent additional information, such as size, capacity, colour, version, and year of release.
- Use keyword phrases and sentences that reflect how real people would put these words and sentences together in your title and description.
- Avoid using “marketing” and all-caps terms (such as “NEW,” “LOOK,” “MUST-SEE,” and “FRESH”) to avoid potential penalties.
If eBay has a whole separate listing form section or tool specifically dedicated to the information you’re trying to convey, like item condition, markdowns, shipping times, and so on, it’s a good rule of thumb to leave those words out because eBay’s search algorithm is likely to not value them in your title or description text and may even penalise you for them.
Your listings are more likely to rank highly in eBay search the more of these best practises you are able to implement. Of course, most sellers find it difficult to satisfy all of them, but if you can satisfy two or three of them—free, quick shipping probably being the most crucial—you’ll give yourself a significant advantage.
Making the most of customer excitement and sales is the Key to Ranking Well
All of the reasons we’ve discussed here ultimately lead to eBay’s overall search approach.
Keep in mind that, despite not being in the business of assisting you in making sales, eBay is undoubtedly not “neutral” about doing so. The vendors and listings that are most likely to consummate the deal and satisfy the buyer will be highlighted in an effort to attract as many customers to make as many purchases as possible.
You’ve got the fundamental mindset down if you can internalise the notion that eBay’s search system aims to draw customers in, make sure they easily and quickly find what they want to buy, and provide them with an experience that encourages them to return again.
