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Understand eBay best match
by
DieselJones
Understand eBay best match to propel product listings to the pages that matter.
EBay best match is the algorithm by which eBay ranks product listings to decide the order in which to display them to prospective buyers. Since its introduction it has found many fans and critics. But irrespective of which side they are on, all eBay users have to live with it. So it is best for sellers to understand and then take advantage of it to make sure that their listings have a chance of being viewed by prospective buyers. Here we take a look at some of the factors that sellers should keep in mind to rank favorably in the buyer s search results.
EBay and its sellers make money when products are sold. However attractive, informative or well worded a listing might be, it will not be given priority if it does not meet the criteria which according to eBay are likely to result in a sale. Thus the algorithm is designed to make sure that listings which have the characteristics and follow the practices that are most liked by buyers and eBay will rank higher in the search results. So it is all about understanding what those characteristics and practices are.
Best match under the hood:
The exact method of the best match algorithm is not really known. But some of the criteria that it uses are known. Here is the list of critical aspects of a listing that will decide how best match ranks it:
1. Time available before the listing ends.
2. Seller s rating scores and buyer s feedback.
3. Shipping options and costs.
4. Whether the seller is a Power Seller or not.
5. Number and quality of the pictures used in the listing.
6. How well is the listing title framed and what keywords does it contain.
7. Ability of the listing to encourage buyers to view and bid on the item.
From the above list it is obvious that not everything is under a seller s control. For example the seller has no control over when the listing will end or the Power Seller status. The other aspects are definitely in the seller s control. Since best match algorithm is designed to encourage traits that allow a sale to take place, it is in the seller s interest to conform to those traits because the seller is also on eBay to make a sale. The best ways to achieve this is explained below:
Low shipping cost:
It is never advisable to reduce item price and compensate by a high shipping cost. The best match penalizes such listings. It is better to do the opposite, that is adding shipping cost to the price of the item and offer free shipping. Online shoppers consider shipping as an overhead and so prefer listings with free or very low shipping.
Shipping and payment options:
Listings which give multiple shipping and payment options rank higher on the search results page. Offering gifting options also seems to enhance the rankings.
Item location:
Best match tries to rank products which are located nearer to the person doing the search higher. So it is best to keep the item location near to where prospective buyers are concentrated or in a central place if buyers are distributed all over the country.
Listing title:
Listings with titles which contain the keywords that the buyer uses in the search are ranked higher. But the keywords included must make sense to the body of the listing and the item being sold as well, otherwise it is likely to have the opposite effect.
Images:
The number and quality of the images matter. Listings which have pictures different from other listings seem to rank higher. It is better for sellers to include pictures taken by them rather than relying just on photos from the web.
Attracting buyer interest:
Listings which attract the buyer s interest by good descriptions, a buy it now price, a low auction start price, and other such tactics which encourages buyers to click, go through and bid on them rank higher.
Seller reputation:
Listings of sellers who have high reputations, who obey eBay rules both in letter and spirit, are customer oriented and don t have many disputes rank higher. The seller dashboard is a useful tool for sellers to check their standings with regard to rule compliance and customer service.
The above is eBay best match system explained in a nutshell. There is no doubt that it is designed to increase eBay s reputation among buyers as a place to buy good products, encourage honest sellers and discourage those who try to abuse the system or bend the rules. There is everything for sellers to gain by conforming to these best practices. It could make the difference between getting good viewership from buyers and being able to make a sale or having the listing relegated to some irrelevant page that most people are unlikely to see.
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Understand eBay best match