1. Part I. eBay Title Bar
1. Great Title Bar
2. Good Title Bars
3. Not so Good Title Bars
4. Worst Title Bar... Ever
2. Quick Tips Checklist for your Title Bar
3. eBay Auction Description Text
4. Traffic to Your Auctions from the Internet
5. Tried and True Traditional Marketing Methods

1. Part II. Web Pages Getting Started
   1. Research
   2. List Your Goals
   3. Pick Your Words
   4. Warning
2. Your Search Engine Strategy and Marketing Objectives
3. Final Tips and Thoughts

The single most important factor for getting traffic to an auction on eBay centers on the 50 character Title Bar, the only text the search engine sees in a standard eBay search.  You have exactly fifty characters to describe your item with words that customers are likely to type into a search bar. Choose your title words carefully, don’t waste any characters!

Andale, an eBay partner, provides free counters that not only measure the hits to your auctions but then compares the number to all other similar auctions in the same category.  Through a color coded system (green represents above average, black is status quo and red is below average) and although not 100% reliable the free Andale counters are an excellent research tool for devising the best title bar words.

Do two things well and your hit counters will always be in the green. First, describe your item with the top search words, the ones that are most often entered when searching for your item. Second, make sure the title stands out from the field using a few simple techniques.  We should also add that an eye-catching gallery image is a must.

Consider the following examples of good and not so good title bars from the eBay Digital Camera category.   eBay reported the following four search terms ranked in order of popularity for camera category searches when this article was prepared:

1.      Digital

2.      Camera

3.      Kodak

4.      Olympus

Great Title Bar:

Kodak DX6490 4MP 30x Zoom 16MB Digital Camera + DOCK!

This title bar is a perfect example of doing everything right.  The best set of relevant keywords, Kodak 4MP Digital Camera.  The use of capitalization to emphasize a word, DOCK!, makes this title bar standout from other listings.  This example makes use of all fifty allotted characters.

Good Title Bars:

Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera 3.2 Megapix

To improve this title bar the seller could have added the searched for MP suffix to the 3.2 and then used the eight unused characters to add the plural form of a very important search word, cameras.

 FUJI CAMERAS 2800 DIGITAL CAMERA 2.1 MP 6X SEAL

A good title bar that makes use of common search words. The seller should not have used all caps but could have made the title stand out by capitalizing one or two keywords.  The title makes use of almost all of the allotted characters.

KONICA MINOLTA DIMAGE Z2 4 MP DIGITAL CAMERA NIB NR

A great title bar reduced to good because of all caps. Use of the NR (No Reserve) and NIB (New in Box) shorthand tags allows for efficient use all the allotted characters.

Not so Good Title Bars:

     Nikon 5700 Digital Camera 8x Zoom 5MP 5700   

Lots of wasted space.  Eight unused characters and 5700 repeated twice for a total of twelve wasted characters, almost 25% of the allotted title characters!

      Never Used Fuji F-401 Digital Camera F401

Again, didn’t use all the space and wasted ten characters on the words “never used”.  A better use of these characters may have included megapixel and       flash card information or added the plural “cameras”, often searched word forms.

Worst Title Bar... Ever:

     Olympus C-750 10x Zoom NIMH KIT C-750Z C750

An attempt to attract people searching for a C750 model camera through the use of multiple forms of the model (C-750, C750 and C-750Z). A good idea since the search engine sees them as a different word; but, left out the two most important search terms, “Digital Camera” is not in the title and seven of your allotted fifty characters were ignored and wasted similer to intellegence on lawyers!

Quick Tips Checklist for your Title Bar:

1.      Research and use the most searched keywords that apply to your item

2.      Add bold words and caps that make your item stand out

3.      Make sure your gallery photo is eye-catching, some red is good.

4.      Use the singular and plural forms describing your item if space allows.

eBay Auction Description Text

The auction description text should include as much detail as possible.  Good advertising copy defines all the features and specifics of the item you are offering.  Include easy to read details of your policies and procedures for payment options, shipping methods and cost, returns and any additional information your customers may require.  Make your description keyword rich by using words that are popular and related but don’t necessarily describe the item.  For example, I am offering a Minolta Digital Camera so I include a line comparing it to my Kodak Film Camera.  My auction will get additional traffic from searches of descriptions using the popular search terms Kodak and Film.  Add a brief explanation of what the high bidder should expect after-the–auction concerning e-mail contact, payment and shipping.

Traffic to Your Auctions from the Internet

A website is a must to garner outside-of-eBay traffic. Your website may be nothing more than a simple homepage with an easy to find “click here link” to your auctions. If you already have a website you know the many advantages, if you do not then go through the simple steps to register and create a site. Although it is becoming more difficult, try to select a website name that generally describes your business and a name that most people can remember and spell.

Your website is a great place to publish a newsletter that potential customers will read.  The primary purpose of the newsletter is to plug your auctions so include search engine keywords and hyperlinks to your eBay auctions.

Tried and True Traditional Marketing Methods

Traditional marketing has proven to be extremely successful and lends itself well to integration into your virtual world business. The following suggestions will enhance your marketing efforts and work well with a limited start-up budget.

·        Include a Thank You note with each shipment that includes your seller ID, website address and your contact phone number.

·        Maintain a list of your customers e-mail addresses to send timely reminders of special events, sales and newly offered merchandise.

·        Pay-per-click ad words can be purchased from most of the major search engines.  Your ad will appear inconspicuously on the first page of search results with a link to your website or auctions.

Part II. Web Pages

Directing traffic to your website requires careful planning and a focused effort.  Realizing sales from the generated traffic will require even more research, planning, proper presentation, trust, ease of use and customer service.  The importance of search engines as the primary tool to drive customers to your business cannot be overstated.  Search engines have grown extremely complex and competition is fierce for even ‘low value’ key words.  Having your website on the first page of search results requires you to diligently follow a researched game plan while maintaining the flexibility to quickly respond to market changes.

1.      Research.  Spend the necessary time using search engines to gather all the information available about your product.  Check out other sellers with similar items, their pricing, sell-through rates and volume of sales to determine product demand.  You will increase your chances of success if your research can define a specialized market niche.   

2.      List Your Goals.  Determine where your traffic is likely to originate then create your web pages to organize the most important content to appear in a logical descending order.  List the time and money available for your project.  Remember, you can adjust your goals to match reality; however, having a clear vision of your goals early on is vitally important for your success. 

3.      Pick Your Words.  Before writing the texts for your new website list the five or six keywords and phrases best suited to your project.  Then use these words and phrases throughout your text.

4.      Warning.  Overuse of a word or phrase is seen by search engines as spamming.  A safe estimate according to most search engine watch sites and groups is in the range of 10-15 per page.

Your Search Engine Strategy and Marketing Objectives

The following list of questions should be addressed during the initial planning stages of your eBay auctions and website launch.

·        Who is my target audience?

·        How does my audience search for me?

·        How will this search generate traffic?

·        How will this traffic generate revenues?

·        How do I create branding for repeat business?

·        When should I reasonably expect to realize a profit?

Final Tips and Thoughts

There are numerous methods of researching keywords.   The methods we have used for best results are the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool, the Google Labs Set Tools and the detailed help available from Searchenginewatch.com and Selfpromotion.com. 

Once your project is launched you should continue to edit and proof read your content, revise and update your keywords and offer search engines daily content updating.  Remember, specifics and details are the name of the game. 

Utilize tracking software that allows you see where your hits originate, what search terms they entered to find you, how long they browsed your site and where they go!  There are several free web tracking programs that can do this.  Continue to revise your site to make navigating as easy and simple as possible for your customers.  They can’t buy it if they can’t find it!

Begin a program to link your site with existing high traffic websites.  Link your pages in a logical fashion using key words and phrases.  When appropriate, link to the specific content.  This directs customers to exactly what they are seeking and allows search engines to easily find the exact item entered into the search bar.

Finally, continue to do all the above steps, especially after you are successful.  The Internet moves at the speed of light and you will quickly lose your ranking if you become complacent. This is NOT a complete guide to this topic, rather it's an introduction to the world of words that is the life blood of the Internet.

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Last Modified: 08.12.05

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