Keyword Masterclass - Proven Ways to Generate Massive Traffic to Your eBay Listings

Your chance of achieving multiple bids and unexpected high finishing prices depends on one main thing - the title you create for your listing.

eBay says 70 per cent of members use the site's search boxes to find items they might want to buy.  But that only returns listings containing actual search keywords in the title and sub-title and ignores keywords in descriptions. The exception is where searchers tick the ‘include description’ box, which very few do.

Few sellers realise this and waste time taking great photographs and writing detailed descriptions and spending little time on keywords. Then titles that don't contain relevant keywords will be missed by 70 per cent of potential buyers.

Your title must include keywords potential buyers use to find products like yours!

This is how to do it:

* Take a pen and paper and brainstorm words potential buyers might use to describe your product.  Make a list of keywords - and phrases - to use in your titles.

* Study completed auctions for similar products, sort 'highest price first', look for common keywords in the top ranking returns.  Add those words to your list.

* Think like a buyer and imagine yourself describing the product to a friend. Add words used to your list.

* Look for sites featuring high in outside eBay search returns for companies selling products similar to yours.  Find them at Google.com where you key in words to describe your product, then click to search.  

Next click to open the first few listings.  Go to 'View' top of your screen and choose 'Source'.  A mass of gobbledegook will appear.  That is html code and somewhere you'll see keywords responsible for those sites appearing high in the rankings.  Add those words to your list.

By now you should have a long list of possible keywords.  Keep it safe because you will be using it often.

Tips

* Where you have several similar products or ongoing same product supplies, you should create different titles for each item, using different keywords each time to attract interest from eBay's search engine.

Study subsequent bidding and sales levels for your various titles to see which work best; cut poorer performing titles and replace with better performing alternatives.

* Use every millimetre of space.  Longer titles attract more interest than short ones.  Fill surplus space with power words like 'Limited Edition', 'Rare', 'Unique', 'One Day Sale', 'Stunning', 'New', 'FREE', 'New', 'Proven', 'Guarantee'. Avoid concocted words like 'Wowee' and 'Yikes' which no one searches for anyway and can make you look unprofessional.

* Spell check your title and throw in a few misspellings of vital words if space allows.  Google says that 33% of all but the most common search keywords are misspelled.  Check possible misspellings of each prime keyword at http://www.fatfingers.com.  Fatfinger listings are mistakes made by sellers but you'll find the similar misspellings used by potential buyers.  Make a separate list of misspelled words to add to your title.

* Use acceptable, commonly used, well-recognised abbreviations, like 'PC' and 'P/C' for postcards, 'nr' and 'n/r' for 'no reserve', 'hb' and 'h/b' for 'hardback’.

So now you know how to get your listings in front of potentially thousands of buyers and you’ve made sure your listings are opened and attract bids that will make you the envy of your competitors.

Well done.