Selling on eBay is getting tougher by the day, thanks to its rising popularity. This surge in the competition is definitely hard on the sellers. Competing with millions of others to gain customer traction and fetch valuable conversions is nothing less than a daunting task. One thing that many sellers overlook is optimizing their product listings, which is why they have such a hard time ranking high and getting conversions. The eBay search engine, commonly termed as the Cassini, is responsible for ranking your listings and is much like Google’s search engine. So that means, you’ll have to capture Cassini’s attention if you want to rank higher in the search results. And no, that doesn’t mean merely stuffing your content with keywords.
Also, with eBay’s July saving series, the platform is already getting a pretty decent amount of traffic. And optimization is necessary to make your eBay listings rank and get the most out of it. The famous eBay’s Crash Sale, which is a part of this series, will take place on July 15 and is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to grab your fair share of the pie.
Now that’s yet another reason for you to take listing optimization seriously. To make sure it’s done right, you need to understand the eBay’s search engine.
Here’s what Cassini is majorly looking for:
- Your listing matches the buyers’ queries
- All the information included is relevant
- Your listing is not just about selling, but educating the buyer about your product, which basically means including as many details as possible
For eBay listing optimization to work in your favor, you’ll have to make sure that your listing qualifies for all the aforementioned qualities.
There are mainly two types of eBay SEO :
1. Product specific SEO: This type of SEO is mainly about the keywords and their correct usage, much like the traditional SEO practices (like the ones followed for Google rankings).
2. Seller specific SEO: This is more biased towards the value that your store provides to the customers. For example, optimizing your product page for quick response time and collecting positive customer feedback.
Many eBay retailers make this mistake of unknowingly sticking to just one type of SEO. But the fact is that in order to make things work perfectly, you need to strike a balance between the two.
Now, that is only possible if you get a couple of things right in your eBay listings. Here’s what you can do to:
# Before getting started, the first and foremost requirement is KEYWORDS. You’ll need to find out a relevant set of keywords. You can use a keyword research tool or hire an SEO specialist to help you come up with the targeted set of keywords for your listings. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to list a set of LSI keywords as well. They’ll come in handy. You’ll see.
1. Let’s begin with the product title
A winning title makes all the difference. The title of your listings describes what your product is. It can be a mere product name like – “Footloose 21X45 Sport Shoes”. Or it can be a descriptive title that gives a clear gist of the product like – “Footloose 21X457 Lace up Grey-Blue Sport Shoes, Lightweight, For Running and Gym”.
A buyer must be able to make an instant decision just by looking at your product title. It needs to be descriptive as well as optimized for the search engine at the same time.
- Including high search volume keywords in your product title is an effective way to grab Cassini’s attention and hence rank higher in the search results.
- Your title needs to comply with eBay’s rules as well. For example, the ideal title length is 80 characters.
- Focus on your primary targeted keyword. Using a long-tail keyword or an LSI keyword alongside is also a great move to shoot your rankings further up.
FYI: That 2nd one above is a perfect 80!
2. Craft an interesting product description
Now, this is a place where you are allowed to be creative. Description doesn’t just mean specifying a product’s features. A little creativity and innovation never hurt anyone. Instead of simply writing 5-6 bullet points, you can go for a storytelling approach. Or you can explain the benefits that each of your product’s features can bring to the user in a rather interesting way. For example, the fact that a sports shoe’s base is shock-resistant can be depicted in a much better way like – “The shock-resistant base of these shoes makes them ideal not only for running but also for the gym. So, the next time you feel uncomfortable in your shoes during those weighted squats and jump squats, you know what you need!”
A small emotional connect goes a long way. Don’t shy away from writing something humorous or of sentimental value.
So, you know what kind of content will actually appeal to your target audience. The next step is to get the Cassini to notice your listing. The best way to do that? Keywords! Including targeted keywords in the product description is a must. Now, including keywords doesn’t mean stuffing them all around your copy. Take a look at the example below, where “keyword stuffing” is the targeted keyword:
That’s exactly how NOT to use a keyword. So, the next time you write a keyword-focused description, make sure you include the keyword 1-2 times once after every 100 words, sensibly.
3. Use heading tags wisely
Heading tags are not only necessary to catch the attention of the readers but the search engine as well. Ideal eBay listing optimization calls for the use of targeted keywords in these headings so that it becomes easy for the search engine to understand your listing and figure out what all it is mainly about.
Unlike other tags, Htags aren’t suited for design. These can just be used to highlight and structure your listing content. Use H1 for the most important headings and go all the way to H6 which is the normal text. Alternate use of these heading tags along with keywords will increase the chances of your eBay listing getting ranked higher in the search results.
4. Go for image alt tags
eBay SEO is not just about optimizing and using keyword in the listing content/text. Your product images can also be optimized for SEO to level up your rankings. How? The answer is image alt tags.
You see, Cassini cannot read your product image and hence cannot understand it. The only way it will be able to recognize it is with the help of the alt tag, which you need to edit. Here’s the HTML code of an alt tag:
<img src=”picture.jpg” alt=” YOUR TARGETED KEYWORD ” title=”product name”/>
Now, this is the code where Cassini would be able to note your targeted keyword, and thus utilize it to move your listing’s ranking further up. Sounds like a great added advantage, doesn’t it?
5. Always fill in complete product details
There are a lot of product data fields in an eBay listing such as GTIN, Brand, UPC, ISBN (for books), ePID, etc. These fields must never be left empty. Hire an eBay virtual assistant if you’re not able to handle it all on your own, but get it done. Fields such as UPC and ISBN are unique identifiers for your product and help the search engine in identifying your product when a buyer searches for it. Moreover, complete product information helps in ensuring a good customer experience as well, thus increasing your chances of conversions. And that’s the ultimate goal, right?
eBay listing optimization is nothing less than an art. Balancing and structuring everything at the right time and the right place does require some effort, and of course, perfection. The aforementioned tips will help you do just that and much more.
Optimize your way to increased sales!
Let QuikTek Info Step In
Optimizing an eBay listing is no joke. Make sure you don’t mess it up. Let QuikTek Info come to your rescue and make your eBay listing a highly converting one. Outsource eBay optimization to our team of SEO professionals who have all the know-how of eBay’s Cassini. Just write to us at mail@quiktekinfo.com and we’ll get back to you at the earliest.
