eBay Hacks, 2nd Edition

Use Keywords Effectively

Strategically place keywords in your title and description to increase your exposure without violating eBay’s keyword spamming rules.

The title is the single most important part of your auction, as it is the only basis for standard searches on eBay. You have 55 characters with which to simultaneously describe your item and include as many search keywords as possible, so don’t waste them.

Say you’re selling a camera, and you want to attract as many bidders as possible to your auction. To construct the best possible title, start by including the full manufacturer name, product name, and model number, like this:

Nikon F100

If you were to put only “Nikon” in the title, any searches for the model name (“F100” in this case) would fail to bring up your item. Next, state what the item actually is:

Nikon F100 35mm Camera

One of the more common mistakes sellers make is never stating what the item is in the title or even in the description. Think about it: without the word “camera” in the title, searches for “nikon camera” wouldn’t bring up your item.

Tip

eBay goes to great lengths to help sellers describe their auctions. If you’re not familiar with a certain category, check out eBay’s seller’s guide for the section. For instance, eBay’s Art Seller’s Guide (pages.ebay.com/artsellersguide) suggests that the word “art” is consistently one of the top five search terms.

Next, you’ll want to compensate for common variations by including them right in the title:

Nikon F100 F-100 35mm ...