Eight Essential eBay Marketing Tips: The Basics

When it comes to selling online one of the most important area any business needs to focus upon is their online marketing.
eBay is no different. In this article we are going to go back to basics and look at some of the fundamentals of eBay marketing.
Even the most seasoned eBay business may have over looked more than one of the following points.

1) Your User ID (eBay Name):
Make your User ID relevant to what you sell. That way the buyer can see that you specialize in the product that you sell. To change your eBay name click on the following:http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/account/changing-user-id.html

2) Open an “About Me Page”:
A really simple one this but according to eBay less than 4% of users have created one.This will help you to build a brand and reassure buyers by letting them know a little about who they are dealing with. Most importantly it will help you build trust.

3) Keywords in Your Item Title:
The most important opportunity that exists is getting your Item Title to work for you to maximum effect as ‘well over’ 75% of users find items on eBay.co.uk by using search. Make use of ‘keywords’and recognised eBay shortcuts – not meaningless words like “l@@k” and “h@t”. You only get 55 characters for your item title –use them wisely. If you need to use more then there is always the subtitle that can be employed. Don’t make your item titles deliberately misleading –if you do you risk suspension. BIG HINT – use eBay Pulse to see what buyers are searching for

4) Item specifics
Make it easy for sellers and buyers to use standardized information to connect. Give buyers an easy, fast way to search for your item. Make the basic facts about your item clear and accessible on your listing. When you fill in the Item Specifics fields, buyers browsing your item’s category will get a handy menu to help them search for items by the values you selected.

5) eBay Features
eBay offers a range of ‘value add’ features designed to enhance your listing. Typically, they will have an uplift effect on your listing, but this effect varies by category and product. Also, features are not short cuts to success. They enhance and further improve your listing, rather than remove the need for initial effort. Items with gallery typically see a 12% uplift in final value, but in the clothing category this can be up to 78% or more

6) Which picture enhances the listing?
It’s even more important to take good pictures with rare, unique or high value items. Avoid using catalogue images, as buyers still like to see what they are actually buying –furthermore you might not have permission to use the image. Put your picture ‘above the fold’to create a good visual impact. Make sure your picture enhances rather than damages your listing. Avoid a confusing background or an out of focus shot –you will only end up making more work for yourself! Never steal someone else’s picture –and prevent ‘picture theft’by using Picture Manager to ‘watermark’your image

7) Promote Yourself with an eBay Shop
Your ‘eBay Shop’ provides a feature that allows you to populate a text box with relevant words, allowing search engines to find or ‘index’ your eBay shop within it’s own search results. This is possibly the most ‘powerful’ feature of your shop. Rather than a straight list, some users prefer to use the words in context, however search engines are only concerned with the words.

8) Design
Selling on eBay requires a buyer to trust you –therefore you are selling –and thus marketing –TRUST! Since they cannot meet you or enter your shop, often the judgement is made from your overall listing, feedback etc. Ebay design is a vital part of this.