We recently published a blog post highlighting how eBay listings with zero sales activity over the last 90 days may impact negatively on your entire product catalogue’s visibility in eBay search. We suggested that eBay sellers should therefore stop, optimise and relist any slow-moving items to protect their wider items’ visibility on the online marketplace. We also reported that it might not be a good idea to continuously run listings for some seasonal products (like Easter Eggs) in the hope of the occasional out-of-season sale.

The article created quite a stir in the community. Many sellers suggested that such a move would negatively impact their eBay sales history and potentially further damage their visibility.

So who was right?

Well, it turns out we both were.

Perhaps this needs some further explanation.

eBay Listing Best Practices

First things first – we don’t make any of this stuff up. Our advice regarding eBay listing best practices typically comes directly from eBay, which shares the information via its regular seller update, roadshow events, and webinars. This insight is then “stress-tested” by looking at data from our 5,000+ eBay sellers.

With this in mind, it was recently confirmed on an eBay webinar that stopping and relisting slow-moving items will impact your sales history.

However, when you take the time to optimise your listings before relisting, taking into account all the latest eBay listing best practices, the resulting “assist” afforded from that optimisation will outweigh any negative impact.

What Does an Optimised eBay Listing Look Like?

Optimised eBay listings include the following components:

• Compelling Titles: eBay recommends that you should include typical search phrases at the start of your title. If you are selling Christmas Stockings, the first two words of your title should be “Christmas Stocking .”eBay also recommends that you DO NOT use emojis in your title as these will harm search visibility on eBay and Google.
• Images: eBay recommends sellers use as many images as possible when listing items. Images should have a plain white background and not feature any watermarks, text, or graphic overlays, as these elements will again prove detrimental to search visibility on eBay and Google.
• Video: eBay suggests that video is an excellent conversion enhancer. Video can also be used to highlight any defects a product has. This approach is especially important when selling pre-loved and second-hand items as it will help reduce customer service issues and returns.
• Shipping: Fast and free always wins the game. eBay recently told us how over-cautious delivery schedules could negatively impact eBay search visibility.
• Promoted Listings: While you can pay to bump your listings up the eBay search rankings, eBay recommends it always makes sense to optimise your listings before paying for promoted listings.

These eBay optimisation tips are just the tip of the iceberg. eBay optimisation is an ongoing process and requires sellers to be at the top of their game. First, it helps if they understand how well their listings are performing in terms of listing optimisation.

Start Your eBay Optimisation Journey Here

Frooition’s eBay listing optimisation service helps sellers understand how to improve their listing strategy with clear, actionable goals. Alternatively, schedule a 15-minute discovery call with one of our eBay optimisation experts to learn more about eBay listing optimisation.