>> I
get frequent emails from my newsletter readers wondering
why their eBay auctions aren't working.
You might have the most brilliant auction description
page with a fantastic set of pictures offering a superb
item at an incredible price. But the page counter shows
after seven days of your auction that it’s only been
seen by 3 people. Has that happened to any of your
auctions?
If it has, I always start at the same point. The auction
title.
In 99% of cases, the reason for low viewing figures is
that your auction title isn't smart enough.
Here are a few facts. At the end of this small list
you’ll understand the secret power of eBay auction
titles:
a) 79 million times each day buyers use eBay's search
box to locate items in which they are interested.
b) eBay's standard search system takes the search words
keyed in, and compares them with the titles in its
database of 10 million auctions. (Note it doesn’t
compare them with sub-titles, nor auction descriptions)
c) If an auction title doesn't contain the words keyed
into the search box, the auction won’t get returned in
the search list. And that’s another of the 79 million
searches you’ve missed out on!
d) If an auction isn't returned in a search list, it
can’t be clicked on to have the auction description
viewed.
So, the whole of eBay's default search system relies on
matching keywords with auction titles. And that’s the
secret power of auction titles. If your title contains
words which the buyer searches upon, your auction will
be returned time and again in search return lists.
Actually, that’s not quite everything. Let’s say you
want to create a new auction. Your auction title has
three functions:
1) To contain keywords. (Number one on this list for the
reason you now know!)
2) To persuade buyers to click through to your auction
description page
3) To convey what the item is
To decide on the keywords to use, you have to think like
a buyer. What words would be used by a person interested
in searching for an item like yours? At this stage, just
list them. Don't put the words into a sentence yet.
Spend as long as you like on this exercise. The more
effective you are with this, the less likely you are to
have one of those sleepy auctions that rarely gets a
visitor.
Having listed as many keywords as you can think of, you
have to decide which are the strongest. Remember, you
only have 55 precious characters for your auction title.
Taking your best keywords, you now create your auction
title. It's not an English exam, so it doesn't matter if
it doesn't scan like a sentence.
You can add a power word or two if you've space. By this
I mean words like stunning, limited edition, unique,
rare, new, one-off, exclusive, distinctive, dramatic
etc. These are words which can influence buyers to click
through to your auction description. They won’t be
searched on by buyers, so use them sparingly. For the
same reason, I don’t advocate the use of "clever" words
like l@@k or w0w!
Finally, do the words in your title convey what the item
is? If so, that's it. You've created a powerful and
compelling auction title. And your title will appear
more often in search return lists. And, as you know,
that’s the key!
If you can get your auction to appear more frequently in
search return lists, more buyers will view your auction
description page. The more people that visit your
auction description page, the more likely you are to
make a sale at an acceptable price.
Now you know the secret power, why not create a new
title today for one of your auctions? If you do, believe
me you’ll get your fair share of the 79 million eBay
daily searchers.
Good luck in all your eBay selling.
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