Selling on eBay is not easy. There are hundreds of tasks and improvements you can do every day. But what are the most important ones? We have carefully picked the best 5 strategies that will start to expand your eBay business from day one. Apply these steps now and you can thank us later!
Use keywords in your title and description that buyers would use
You can only use up to 80 characters, so make them count. Make sure to maximize the character count without spamming. When building the title, take your time and stick to the facts:
- Type of Item– Start with a few words which describe your product best and that buyers will most likely search for. “eBay suggestions” will give you a clue of what customers are mostly searching for. Type a word in the search bar and review the suggestions.
In this example, if you are selling a black chair you can see some of the most used by customers keywords. You can use “black leather chair”, or “black office chair”, as long as it describes your item.
• Brand – If the brand name is well known you can use it but check the VeRO list(www.vero.ebay.com) first as there are some brands you don’t have a permission to sell by default. If the brand is not a well known one it won’t help with your ranking as nobody will search for it, so don’t waste your valuable characters.
• Color/Size/Model/Features – Write as many descriptive words as possible but only if they are important. For example, if you are selling a chair there is a good chance that buyers would like to know the color and material, therefore search by keywords like: black, white, leather, wood, metal, etc. But if you are selling an internal replacement part for a fridge then you don’t need to specify all that. In this case the most important is the brand and model compatibility as the buyer won’t even see the part, once installed.
• Long Tail and Similar Keywords – Once you have your “core” keywords you can add some more common ones that are still describing either your product or where you can use it. Let’s use the example with the black chair. Words like “furniture”, “living room”, “office” can draw you even more traffic as somebody might search for “living room chair”, “office chair” or you can even appear in search results for “leather furniture”. Also “chair” might be searched as “stool” or “seat” and you want to include this type of similar keywords to your title and description too.
The listing can also showcase some of the benefits of the product through the use of a subtitle. Depending on the price and category this will cost you a few dollars a month but we recommend using it on your top selling listings.
List daily and maintain your live listings
eBay loves active sellers… but active on a regular basis. Sure, you may want to list 20-30 or more products at once and then take a break for a few days, but a better approach is to list a few items every day. This will improve your appearance in searches tremendously.
If you can’t devote time on a daily basis to listings, you can stockpile them when you do have time, using the “Save and continue” button at the bottom of each listing, and then “Complete” it in the future. Or you can schedule your listings to go live on a date and hour of your choice. This is very convenient and will cost you only 0.12$ per listing.
You will be surprised by how making this one change will impact your sales.
Most people forget to check their items, once listed, and this is a mistake. You have to know what is your competition and you should act accordingly, otherwise you lose your sales and your ranking. Take your time and check your competitors once in awhile so you can adjust your listing’s price, title, pictures or description.
Don’t leave your items without supervision, especially the top selling ones. If a listing ends without a sale, make a research of the niche and competition before relisting again. You will often find out something to optimize and give your product a second chance.
Save time with automation tools
If you have an eBay business you know that the work is never ending. There is always something you can improve, tweak, check, etc. That’s why using tools for automation is so important. You need to “outsource” as much low quality work as possible, so you can concentrate on the things that really matter and will grow your business.
There are tons of automation tools that may help you with literally anything but let’s prioritize and have a look at a few of the most important ones.
Aren’t you tired of everyday copying and pasting tracking numbers from your suppliers to eBay? Trackerbot will do it automatically so you don’t have to. Tracking numbers are synced within seconds after becoming available and it works 24/7. Definitely a must have tool in your arsenal, saving you time day after day. Check all its features and get your 30 day free trial (full disclosure, I am the creator of TrackerBot).
Tracking your inventory becomes nearly impossible when you have hundreds of products so you definitely need an automation for that. Quantity Manager maintains the quantity of all your listings so you don’t need to do it manually, every time you sell. This is very useful as you can set the quantity to 1 or 2 and your products might get the “almost gone” or “only 1 left” sign, which will boost your ranking and chances of a purchase. If sold – QM will return the quantity to the default one you have chosen.
Another tool a dropshipper can’t do without is a repricing software. Retailer’s prices and availability are constantly changing and checking this manually is not an option. Skugrid is a great tool that will track all your items and change prices and quantities(and do much more) when needed. You will never run out of stock or sell at loss. Get your 7 day free trial from the link.
Communication with buyers
Your good reputation and services will grow your business beyond your imagination! The faster you respond to a potential customer on eBay the more likely they will buy from you. It will also help with your detailed seller ratings. This will help increase your buyer engagement on the listing once they buy the product and will give you a boost in search.
It is equally important that your reply is clear and proper. Take your time and build a list of carefully argumented templates that will help you reply faster. Always greet your clients and contact by their first name. Do not use “Yes” or “No” answers, even if it sound enough to you. Thank them for choosing your services and offer a discount on the next purchase.
Unique and high-quality pictures
Great photos can definitely help you sell more. The first thing a buyer sees is the main photo, before even checking the title and the price. A great main photo can drastically increase chances that the buyer will open your listing, therefore place an order. Often, there are a lot of sellers competing to sell a particular item and you should be really creative in every way possible to stand out from the crowd. One of the best ways to attract customer’s attention is your unique, high quality main photo.
Tell me, which one of these listings for the same product would you open first?
The answer is clear!
With these 5 strategies, you will see your sales grow in no time. Let us know what you think and how it went in the comments below!
