Use SEO to increase product exposure on eBay

Search engine optimization, or SEO, has always been a key element of digital marketing strategies. However, the inherent competition in the industry and the complexity of inventory management often make it difficult for online retailers to find new ways to increase exposure and optimize product listings.

This brings you to the question of how to implement SEO on eBay. Over the years, eBay has made numerous improvements to its search functionality with a focus on enhancing the buyer experience and simplifying item comparisons to help shoppers find the products they want more efficiently. The best match algorithm takes into account multiple components that vary depending on the listing format and the category selected by the shopper. Therefore, there is no way or possibility for you to control any single element to push your listing to the top of eBay search results.

However, when developing your SEO strategy for eBay, it helps to take a few key concepts seriously.

Item title, subtitle, and description

According to eBay's optimization guidelines, item titles can contain up to 80 characters. You should use these characters to describe the details of what you want to convey, such as product name, color, material, size, and any other specific attributes to help you describe your company's products in a clear, concise and professional manner.

eBay also allows you to use a subtitle, which gives you an additional 55 characters to describe your product. You can add keywords or item attributes that are not included in the product title, and provide additional information about the product's benefits, such as free shipping, warranty, or other promotions.

When creating your listing, do not use all capital letters, special characters such as punctuation or asterisks, and words that are not related to your product (such as 'wow' or 'l@@k'). You should also avoid using false or misleading wording. This will negatively affect your listing performance and customer feedback.

As for the listing description, please consider using at least 200 words to describe your product and list the most important keyword phrases at the beginning and end. You should treat your listing as a mini webpage hosted on eBay and make sure to use optimal keyword density and relevant formatting (e.g., title, bold, adjust the font size for important titles and keywords, etc.). Many successful sellers implement the "80/20 rule", that is, 80% of the content is used to introduce the product and 20% is used for promotion.

If eBay does not allow dynamic content in your product descriptions, it is important that you avoid using Flash or JavaScript code because eBay will remove this content and it will also affect the display of other normal content on mobile devices.

Item Attributes and eBay Categories

Item attributes largely determine how your products are listed and presented to shoppers. Item attributes can include information such as brand, size, color, material or style, which will be displayed at the top of your item listing description and in the side navigation bar of eBay item category pages so that buyers can easily find the items they are looking for.

Consider using the Item Attribute Lookup tool to find and use as many recommended item attributes as possible, as well as the attributes that best describe your company's items.

Once you have provided all the necessary information about your company's products, it is important to list them in the appropriate place. Choosing the right eBay category can help ensure that your company's products appear in relevant product searches and are more easily discovered by consumers.

Product Identifiers

Using product identifiers can make your products more discoverable to buyers searching for related products on eBay, thereby increasing your visibility on eBay and search engines like Google. If you don't currently provide UPC, EAN, ISBN, or MPN/brand information and don't plan to do so in the short term, you should know that providing this information can help you increase sales and visibility even if your product category doesn't require it.

Your eBay Store

Your eBay store can provide customized web pages with information about your business, products, product categories, shipping options and other details, so you can not only showcase your company's various products, but also provide information about other aspects of your company.

You will find eBay Stores in many different styles and formats, but one thing that always remains the same is that you must have a valid eBay Store name, URL, and Store description. You also need to make sure you use eBay Shop Categories.

You can place internal links to your company store, search filters, product listings, and even specific promotions on your About Me page. If you are using images, remember to use alt tags, which greatly simplifies the image indexing process.

Mobile Optimization

Mobile commerce is becoming increasingly important for eBay sellers. More than 60% of eBay transactions worldwide are “triggered” by mobile. This growth trend creates new opportunities for sellers to sell products to mobile consumers, but also brings new challenges.

It is important to create clear and concise product descriptions and simply formatted product titles so that they display correctly on all platforms. If you are using a listing template, make sure it is 100% responsive and compatible with Android and iOS devices. Low-quality images or text that do not display clearly on screens of all sizes will not only "drive away" buyers, but also affect your visibility.

Planning, implementation and optimization

As with any other SEO strategy, you must take the time to research, plan, and evaluate all the essential elements to improve the quality of your company's listings. Using other resources such as eBay's product listing analysis tool or Google Keyword Planner will help you create strong web content and study the behavior of online shoppers. Remember, since shopping trends, shopping behaviors, and search engine algorithms are always evolving, using tools to create sound web content will be an ongoing process.

Please be patient and don’t expect to see quantifiable results in the short term. Selling on eBay is a great opportunity for you to enter a new market, so the above points are worth your time to learn and practice!