Imagine eBay as a brick and mortar store. Colors, textures, sounds, and scents overwhelm your senses. Your favorite book from childhood is neatly sitting amongst highly organized stacks of titles. Spring planters and cleaning tools are propped up in a rainbow of colors, jewelry shimmers in front of your longing eyes. The enormousness of such a store would be impossible and absurd. You could walk around the store for years roaming in and out of the other stores within eBay. Finding what you want, nevermind attempting to sell your goods, would be a ridiculous task.
Thankfully, the eBay Marketplace exists on a digital platform where code takes the place of physical properties. Currency is digital and listings are found with a click of a button or the tap of a key. It may be easier to find just the right thing on an online marketplace but it’s still necessary to include a system that lets buyers find more of what they are looking for. eBay implements this through their Best Match Algorithm. If you search for certain keywords the top listings will show up and the user can search amongst them. It seems rather obvious that making your listings more visible will amp up your sales but if you know how it does this you can begin to use it to your benefit.
The Best Match Algorithm takes into consideration quite a few factors but one of them is how closely your listing matches what the buyer is searching for. Your listing needs to resemble their keywords. Therefore, it is important to be precise when you are posting your merchandise. The algorithm will have a difficult time finding vaguely worded descriptions or misspelled titles. The best thing to do is to make sure that you are spelling your items correctly but also including alternate spellings (t-shirt vs tee shirt etc.). Make sure your listings include multiple good photos. Not only does this assist Best Match but also buyers are more likely to purchase items with clear and colorful pictures.
One technique high volume sellers use to increase their views is ensuring their listings are in the right category. It’s hard to find gardening items in the clothing category so you need to make sure it’s listed correctly. Part of creating accurate eBay product listings is using the right format. If you are selling collectibles or rare items or you aren’t sure what the value of your item is, you can list them under Auction. If you know the value of your items, are selling in multi-variations or need to get inventory moving quickly place them under fixed price or Buy It Now. People appreciate transparency and clarity. Accurate listings create an assurance that you are selling items worth their value.
Another factor that Best Match considers is the price of the item. If your products are listed at competitive prices, they raise your listing’s popularity. The more popular your items the more you will sell, the more you sell the better your rankings. Doing research on pricing is helpful but time consuming. Instead of inputting a variety of keywords and searching for competitors throughout the website, use repricing software. StreetPricer automatically searches through eBay and reprices your items to compete with other stores’ listings. This is a good way to increase your exposure, keep up with market trends and convince buyers to purchase your items. For rare or collectible items that require a fixed price, there is velocity-based repricing. This type of repricing is based on your sales history and inventory rather than how much a competitor is charging for their items. Accurate and value-based pricing can boost your sales while making it easier for buyers to find you on eBay.
The main thing to remember is presence equates to exposure and sales. If you build your presence, they will come.
