eBay saw approximately 175 million active buyers worldwide in the first quarter of last year, making it a rare online marketplace. Achieving even a small portion of this figure would be deemed a significant accomplishment.
The process of establishing a store is relatively straightforward, but to enhance your sales on eBay, it is crucial to pay attention to the specifics. In order to boost your sales on eBay, having a grasp of the factors that contribute to certain stores gaining prominence is essential. The functioning of eBay’s search engine plays a significant role in this regard.
eBay employs a search engine that aids customers in locating items that are highly pertinent to their search. Similar to Google’s search algorithm, the exact formula remains undisclosed to prevent manipulation. Nevertheless, a few proven techniques capable of affecting ratings and boosting conversion are publicly acknowledged.
Increase your eBay sales today by following these tips that will help push your store to the top of the search results.
1. List new items every day
Stores that consistently introduce new products receive benefits, as the algorithm gives preference to sellers who frequently list new items. Consequently, regularly updating your listings will aid in boosting your sales on eBay. Furthermore, newly listed items appear first when buyers choose the “Time: Newly Listed” filter during their search on eBay.
If you are unable to list every day, you can make use of the scheduling feature to plan items for those specific days when you anticipate being busy.
If you are unable to add new products to the list daily, there is a solution. Close some current listings that you have already prepared and release them at a later time. You can make slight adjustments to these listings, such as changing a word in the title or editing the description slightly, to ensure they are not identical to the previous ones. The crucial aspect is to have fresh content as frequently as possible.
The use of an RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication, or Rich Site Summary) is also beneficial in this situation. eBay promptly shares details about the site’s listings with Google through RSS. However, a clever method to increase the visibility of your products in search results is to refresh the feed by toggling it off and then back on.
In order to prevent unintentionally using duplicate listings, it is important to remember to go to your ended items and delete the original one.
2. Try an eBay promoted listings campaign
Promoted listings on eBay offer a convenient and efficient method to boost your eBay sales. By providing excellent targeting choices to showcase your listings to relevant buyers, promoted listings attract 36% more views compared to organic listings!
The costs of eBay’s promoted listings are attractive to sellers because they do not require an upfront pay-per-click payment and instead involve giving eBay a percentage of the sale. This is advantageous for reducing risk and trying out this new marketing strategy. However, it is important to note that the amount paid to eBay varies depending on the category of the sold item.
3. Use keywords to attract views
To think step by step, rephrase the given text without altering the meaning or adding/removing information: Usually, buyers on eBay tend to search for highly specific items. It is important to consider the words that individuals are probable to enter into a search engine when searching for the item you are selling. Additionally, ensure that you conduct research to identify common searches associated with your products.
Once you have identified three to five keywords, it is essential to incorporate them into your store description, custom categories, page titles, meta tags, and image alt tags. However, it is crucial to avoid keyword spamming, which entails using irrelevant words or details that do not pertain to your items, as this breaches eBay’s policy.
4. Ship fast and free (whenever possible)
Before offering free shipping on eBay, ensure that you have verified the cost so that it becomes an effective method for boosting sales.
Take a look at the options provided by your country’s postal service. Typically, you can send small and light items at a set price, which speeds up eCommerce shipping. By including this cost, you can cover the expense of shipping without requiring additional fees for shipping.
To ensure prompt delivery, it is important to have a system in place that allows customers to track their purchases and verify that they are in transit. One way to achieve this is by designating specific time slots each day or week for shipping products. It may also be beneficial to explore eBay’s shipping options to determine the various services offered through the platform.
5. Remove negative reviews
To build a positive rating, it is crucial to not only accumulate numerous five-star reviews but also to decrease the number of negative ones.
Similar to the previous points, offering prompt and efficient customer service greatly contributes to providing assistance. Nevertheless, there may arise instances when you receive a negative review – this is simply a natural aspect of online retail. It could be a result of an incorrect order being sent, perhaps an item got damaged during shipping, or the customer might have accidentally left the review on the wrong product!
If you are facing a bad review, there’s no need to worry. In certain situations, you have the option to eliminate negative feedback on eBay or resolve the issue to persuade the customer to remove it themselves. By managing to decrease your negative feedback, you will be amazed at how much it can boost your eBay sales.
6. Understand how eBay’s search algorithm is different and unique
Every time you conduct an online search, you are utilizing a specific search algorithm created by a company. Google’s search algorithm, for instance, is called PageRank, named after Larry Page. Similarly, Amazon uses A10 and eBay uses Cassini as their proprietary search algorithms. The Cassini search algorithm is complex and involves various factors that need to be understood. One significant aspect is the utilization of keywords, and consequently, our following tip will focus on this specific aspect.
7. Be generous in uploading images
To optimize your search results, aim to include at least 8 images on each listing. You can have up to 12 free images per listing, so try to get as close to that number as possible. Even if you believe your listing doesn’t require 8-12 images, having them is beneficial for search visibility.
To maximize your chances of achieving a high search ranking on eBay, it is recommended that you directly upload the images to the platform. In case you are utilizing a third-party listing creation service, ensure to verify and upload the images to eBay as well, as they might be positioned in the listing description section.
8. Offer excellent customer service
If a seller’s customer service is satisfactory and helpful, customers are inclined to trust the seller and continue purchasing from them. By promptly responding to customer queries, resolving problems, and offering friendly and useful support, the seller can establish a solid reputation, resulting in positive reviews and recommendations through word-of-mouth.
Encouraging customer loyalty and promoting the seller over rivals is a result of this. Furthermore, the overall shopping experience can be improved and customer satisfaction can be heightened, while the chances of negative feedback or returns are reduced, through efficient customer support.
9. Fill out every aspect of the listing
As you create listings, you will come across checkboxes with checkmarks indicating your progress. These checkboxes represent descriptors such as brand, size, color, style, etc. It may be tempting to skip certain checkboxes if you have already included that information in the product title.
Regardless of whether it may seem repetitive, eBay requires the completion of these forms, as they emphasize their significance. Additionally, if there is a product descriptor that is not included in the provided options, it should be manually added if deemed relevant.
10. Customize your listings to stand apart
In the past, personal listings in newspapers lacked personalization as everything was written using the same font type and size. However, dating sites and eBay listings have evolved to allow the addition of pictures and videos, providing a better sense of the person or item being showcased.
Instead of simply blending in with other listings, enhance your store’s visibility by personalizing it. Adding your store’s logo is essential, and you can also include a newsletter subscription link, a product category navigation bar, and even a billboard to promote exclusive promotions and offers.
11. Make sure your products are in the correct categories
It may appear to be a simple matter, but neglecting to list your products in appropriate categories could result in a loss of sales. Moreover, if your goal is to expand globally, this limitation could severely hinder your progress.
If you have 100 customers within your country, consider the significant portion of customers you could potentially lose by selling in the wrong category in each additional country you sell to.
12. Achieve top rated seller status
In order to increase sales and draw in more customers, attaining a Top Rated seller status on eBay proves to be advantageous. Meeting eBay’s performance standards is a requirement to become a Top Rated seller, and these standards consist of:
- maintaining a minimum of 98% positive feedback
- a maximum 0.5% rate of unresolved cases
- a minimum sales volume of at least $1,000 over the past 12 months.
eBay’s search algorithm gives preference to Top Rated sellers, thus increasing the visibility of your listings in search results. This enhances the possibility of potential buyers selecting your product over your competitors.
If you are a Top-Rated seller, you will gain exclusive access to promotions that have the potential to enhance brand and product awareness.
In addition, you have the opportunity to qualify for eBay’s Top Rated Plus program, which is a recognition given to sellers who have earned the privilege of displaying the Top Rated badge and are eligible for improved visibility in search results.
13. Entice buyers with promotions
In order to capture the attention of online buyers and maintain it on your listing, it is essential to take advantage of the numerous tools available for searching and comparing costs. Running promotions serves as one of the most effective methods for enhancing visibility and boosting sales.
14. Reset your RSS feed
Really Simple Syndication, known as RSS, is a method by which a script delivers content or information simultaneously to a large number of individuals, such as receiving real-time news or sports updates on your phone.
On eBay, you are not required to personally send anything, as eBay will handle sending the RSS feed to Google. However, in order to cater to Cassini’s preference for fresh content, a possible adjustment you can make within the system, if you have an eBay store, is to refresh your RSS feed by turning it off then on again.
15. Go over content with a fine-toothed comb
If you have spelling and grammar errors, losing out on a sale can be very frustrating. You can use Grammarly to check for errors, but it is also important to regularly review your listings to ensure they are grammatically correct.
Ensuring the ideal balance of description is another key aspect of well-crafted listings. If you provide insufficient information, potential buyers will lack the necessary details to make an informed choice. Conversely, an excessive amount of information might cause them to lose interest. It is important to note that even Cassini, the search algorithm, dislikes excessively lengthy listings.
To ensure consistency, use a single color (black) for the font, choose a size that is easily legible on mobile devices, and align the text to the left.
