Boost Traffic with eSEO
Basic Introduction
eBay Search engine optimisation (eSEO) is the key to getting greater visibility on eBay.
By including the right words, phrases, and information in your product listing, more buyers will find your items when they’re looking for it.
eSEO means using the best techniques to optimize how your listings appear in eBay’s search, the better you optimise your listings the higher they will appear in eBay search.
As of 2021 your eBay listings may also be indexed by external search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
Use keywords
Put yourself in the shoes of the customer and consider the terms they are likely to use in a search engine to find what you’re selling. Once you’ve identified three to five of these keywords, include them organically into the title and description of your listing.
Unique Identifiers
One of the most important things you can do to make sure your listings are found by search engines is to include unique identifiers like Universal Product Codes (UPCs), European Article Numbers (EANs), International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs), and Manufacturer’s Part Number in your listings.
Unique identifiers is information used by eBay and search engines to connect buyers to the products they’re looking for and to give them the information they need to make their purchase.
Read more on Unique Identifiers directly on eBay.
Product Title
The title of your item is a critical component in natural search. Include the most significant keywords or keyword phrases in the title of your listing, with the most important keyword appearing first and the least important keyword appearing at the end. Additionally, you should utilize all available characters.
Avoid using the terms ‘wow’ or ‘look’ in your title; consumers will not put these terms into search engines.
Impactful Content
Describe your item in as much detail as possible in around 200 words. Your most significant keywords should comprise between 5% and 7% of the description. For example, in a 200-word description, you should use those keywords 10 to 14 times. Due to the fact that search engines only scan a limited amount of text on each page, inserting additional and irrelevant descriptions is not necessary.
Keep in mind that “less is more,” so stay focused on the product and avoid overcrowding the listing; for example, avoid utilising a variety of fonts, font sizes, and font colours… this does not look good and can turn buyers away.
Don’t spam keywords
Utilize keywords as organically as possible; avoid keyword stuffing! Ascertain that the keywords you employ are relevant to the specific goods you are offering. As an example of what not to do, if you are selling a pair of ‘Mens Nike Shoes,’ avoid adding keywords such as ‘Womens Jackets’ or ‘Basketballs,’ on those listings as these are unrelated to the product you are selling; while you may attract more visitors to your listings, you will almost certainly experience a higher bounce rate (people leaving without purchasing). Additionally, keep in mind that keyword spam is both irritating to customers and a violation of eBay rules.
Read more on Keyword Spamming directly on eBay.
Don’t Hide Text
If you’re using a custom eBay listing template, avoid adding invisible text or attempting to fool search engines with more keywords. Several frequent pitfalls to avoid include the following:
- Having the text the same (or similar) colour as the background
- Changing the font size to ‘0’
- Using CSS to hide with ‘display:none’ , ‘z-index’ etc
Search engines are now smart enough to know and can result in your listings being penalised.
Include links
eBay’s link policy is subject to change at any moment; but, as of today (May 1st 2022), you are permitted to include links in your description to other items, your eBay Store, and product videos. The anchor text should be relevant to the destination. For instance, link words such as “Visit my Store” or “See other items” are more effective than “Click here.”
Read more on eBay’s Link Policy directly on eBay.
Use Image ALT tags
If you write your own HTML for listings (a custom template design), be sure to include ALT tags, which are keywords that accompany and describe images online. This is another opportunity to optimize keywords or keyword phrases when they’re relevant to the image.
