One of the best parts of the internet is that there’s truly a buyer for anything you can imagine. This is good news if your primary goal is to get more traffic on eBay.
Getting more traffic on eBay does not require a whole lot of creativity but it does require persistence and discipline.
Traffic can be so tough to understand that MANY eBay sellers use crosslister to automatically list their inventory to other marketplaces
If you’ve been struggling to find a way to hit those higher targets this article will probably be quite useful. We’ll explain why increasing eBay traffic to your listings is important, and how exactly you can do that.
Why should you want to get more traffic on eBay ?
The simple answer is money. Based purely on statistics and probability, the more people see your product the more likely you are to make a sale on eBay. If no one is seeing your eBay listing in the first place, then how will they know it’s the exact thing they’ve been missing in their life?
It’s the same concept of why big, and small, named brands run ads and promos. Hook people in, get them looking, and then someone is going to pull the trigger.
Tips on how to get more traffic on eBay
There’s a ton of ways you can get more traffic on eBay and increase the views to your store or listing. In this article, we’re going to go over 7 of them.
Use social media
While organic traffic to your eBay listings is great and should be celebrated, realistically that can be hard to come by. After all, your products are likely to be buried under several similar offerings. But, don’t despair! One great way to get those views up on eBay is by using social media accounts and communities!
Share those eBay listings on your Instagram story, post about it on niche Facebook groups, or pin about it on Pinterest.
The Pinterest one is a well-kept secret for getting more traffic on eBay. As a visual platform where linking the image to the source is common procedure it’s a smart way to do little work for a decent reward. All you need to do is post it with hashtags and users will take care of the rest for you. Since boards about certain niches already exist, you’re more likely to end up under the right target customers for your product.
Use keywords to get more traffic
As with any website that offers a search functionality, keywords are the way to the algorithm’s heart. This is true for marketplaces like Etsy, Depop and more.
Search engine optimization (also known as SEO) is not reserved just for Google.
The idea behind SEO is putting yourself in the buyer’s shoes and try to figure out what they would type in the search bar if they were looking for a product like yours. You can then use those keywords on your listing title and description. This way, you’ll increase your chances of showing up at the top of the results page on ebay.
Offer free shipping
In the times of Amazon, free shipping has become something customers expect. Offering free shipping will set you apart from those sellers who don’t right away. The good news is that you can actually have customers feel like they’re paying for free shipping when they’re really not. How? Build the cost into the price you’re charging them for the product.
Many eBay users are more likely to purchase a slightly more expensive item if the listing offers free shipping. It is a strange part of consumer psychology! Who doesn’t love free shipping ?
Get great reviews
Social proof is king in the times of internet shopping. Gone are the days when customers could see and touch the product first, make their own judgment on it, and not listen to other people’s opinions.
If you’re selling online, what people think of your product is almost more important than the product itself. You can take advantage of eBay’s product identifiers to help eBay connect what you are selling with other similar items and display reviews on the search page.
Additionally, you can build up positive reviews by offering great customer service, a properly packaged product, and competitive rates. Don’t forget to actually ask for said feedback after your customer has received their order! Some sellers will post a little thank you note in the package along with a kind request for a review.
Choose the right pictures
Investing in professional product photography for your listings is an often overlooked tip. Good lighting, a neutral background, and high quality resolution. If you can’t afford professional photography at first you can still get good lighting outside, neutral background with a clean posterboard, and good resolution with a phone camera.
Why does this matter? Good photos will help customers get a feel of what the item really looks like. If they can’t see it in person, pictures should be as good as the real deal.
Use your competition
In business, very little is truly original. While being original and different is great, the truth is that most businesses will take inspiration from each other.
We’re not saying to literally copy and paste what someone else is doing. But take some time to check out other sellers with similar products as you. Find the ones with the highest ratings and take note of what they’re doing differently.
Are they using specific keywords? Are their pictures from an angle you hadn’t thought about? Maybe their price point or shipping offerings are not what you thought would work, but people are buying from them. Then, take all that knowledge and apply it to your own listings.
Opt in to eBay managed payments
Ebay managed payments is a new “in-house” system created by eBay to handle transactions. We wrote an in depth guide to ebay managed payments. Why would this help increase your traffic ? Well eBay managed payments offers more payment options to buyers which increases your odds of selling.
List that weird item
This one is a bit more niche, so if you’re offering a product that most people wouldn’t find strange, it won’t work for you. However, if you’ve been holding on to something for fear that people won’t buy it we’d encourage you to try anyhow! Some of the weirdest listings on eBay include a grilled cheese with the Virgin Mary’s face on it (sold in 2004 for $28,000), an already chewed gum (granted, it was Britney Spears’, but still) for $14,000, and a human liver. That last one never made it to completion since it’s against the site rules to sell human parts, but the bid had reached $5.7 million dollars at its peak. Basically, one person’s trash is another one’s treasure so go ahead and list that half-damaged shoe sitting in your closet. You’d be surprised at what you can get for it.
Final thoughts
On platforms like eBay where the offers within the same category are in the thousands, people are not looking at the seller profile first. These massive marketplaces are all about the product, consequently, getting more traffic on eBay is about the product. The primary display of the product is in the listing.
Understanding how to wield the tips above is going to do wonders for your listing views. Focus on your listing and the product itself, and building a good seller profile or store will come after.
At the end of the day, however, keep in mind that eBay isn’t the only option out there. If you’ve been putting in the work, doing the research, and you’re still not seeing the results you want don’t be afraid to try something else. You can crosslist/crosspost to other marketplaces using free tools like Crosslister.
Your end goal is making money off what you’re selling and in business branching out is the best strategy you can take.