We talk a lot about eBay listing optimisation here at Frooition. The fact is, if you’re not keeping on top of all those listing best practices that eBay regularly shares with everyone via its seller updates, is it any wonder your eBay sales have fallen off of a cliff recently?
Promoted listings are another thing that fuels many of our conversations with our sellers. Sure, the subject divides opinion, but if you are not willing to give it a go, you’ll lose sales to those competitors who are eager to invest a little extra in promotion.
With these two topics top of mind for many eBay sellers, it’s understandable that we are regularly asked if one strategy is more important than the other. More often than not, this question comes from a seller hoping they can quickly throw a bit of money at a listing instead of investing a lot more time and effort optimising their listings.
Our answer is always the same:
Optimisation always wins the game
There is no point in paying to promote an eBay listing that is not fully optimized. It would be like running a marathon after a training program that revolved around sitting on the sofa eating chips. It’s an approach that is foolhardy at best and dangerous at most.
It’s important to note that although eBay’s promotional listings algorithm is a well-kept secret, it should be rather obvious that they will always prioritise listings optimised for conversions.
When your eBay listings are less-than-optimised, you’ll always find yourself fighting a losing battle against competitors who take their time to read eBay’s regular seller updates and ensure their listings conform to best practices. Inevitably, this means you will pay more than you ever should to promote your listing to gain any additional visibility. Alternatively, there’s a real risk that your listings will remain buried deep (essentially hidden) in search results.
Finally, it would help to put yourself in your customers’ shoes. If your listing lacks the information they need to make a quick buying decision (quality images, detailed descriptions, MPNs, free and speedy shipping options, etc.), why should they buy from you?
Taking your first step towards eBay listing optimisation
If a problem isn’t addressed, throwing money at that problem will never fix it. You might get lucky now and again, but luck isn’t a legitimate and scalable business strategy.
Of course, optimisation will always appear to be the more difficult route but it will always pay off in the long run.
As for promoted listings, that’s just the next step in the optimisation process.
Don’t know where to start on your journey to eBay optimisation? Book a free 15-minute consultation with one of our eBay optimisation experts, and we’ll set you on the right path.
