How to Reach Page One on eBay?

Reaching Page one on the eBay "Best Match" search is essential for any eBay business that wants to successfully make money on eBay.

Reaching page one on eBay for your specific keyword may seem an impossible task for any "newbie" seller. Hopefully after you have read this article, you will understand how the system works and it won't seem such a daunting task.

For those of you who have been living in a cave for the last five years, you may not be aware that eBay scrapped the old default search of "time ending soonest" in 2007 and now all searches are now automatically sorted by "best match"

If you are running "buy it now" listings, it is very important that you understand how the "best match" system works before you start your eBay business as this is the key to seeing your listing on the first page of eBay. Once you reach the first page of eBay for a particular keyword, you will instantly increase the visibility of your listings, which will lead to more sales and best of all, you will start to make money on eBay.

If you want to make money on eBay and take your eBay business to the next level, there are the five factors you need to take into consideration to ensure that you reach page one for your listing.

1. Title Keywords and Relevance

eBay's new search system will always send potential buyers to the listings with the most relevant keywords. For example, if hundreds of people searched for "iPhone cases" and found a a particular item and added it to their "watch list" and then went on to buy the item, eBay would see these keywords and item as being popular and relevant. As a result, it will have a positive effect on your listing and you will see a noticeable increase in your page rank. I remember years ago, I always used to see listings that had "LOOK" and "WOW" in the listing title. If you put these words in your listing, it won't go down to well with eBay's new search system as they will see these keywords as irrelevant. So, whatever you do, if you want to reach page one, don't use these keywords! If you do, you will be preventing your products from showing in the search results as your keywords will not match the search criteria. As a result, no one will view your listing and if you haven't got anybody viewing any of your listings, you won't make any sales! If you don't make any sales, you will slide further and further down the search. So please take my advice and avoid these words!

Always think carefully and the keywords you chose as you only have 55 characters to work with, so don't waste them! Before you list your item, think about what words you would add in the search bar? Look at your competitors listings and take note of the keywords they use.

2. Item and Postage Price

When deciding your postage costs, do a quick search on eBay and look at your competition. What is their postage price? eBay state that items with reasonable postage charges will feature higher in searches. By 'reasonable' this means that your postage charges should be similar to other sellers listing similar items. Try not to list an item with a really low price and a huge postage charge because this will not help your search placement and eBay's algorithm will see this as trying to avoid their fees and will punish you for it. (Remember you don't pay fees on your postage costs)

A product that is listed at £8.99 with £1.50 postage will be classed as better value and therefore a better 'Best Match' than a product that is listed at £1.50 with £8.99 postage. So, as long as you price your items and your postage costs at a competitive price you will achieve a high position in the eBay search. If you can, try and list items with free postage as eBay has started to favour items that offer free postage and will list them higher in the search. Obviously, your postage will not be free, so try and cover your losses by increasing you product price slightly. Also, if you offer free postage, you cannot get marked down on your detailed seller ratings for postage.

3. Recent Sales

Every time you sell an item on eBay, the "Best Match" algorithm sees this as a positive and your product will rise in the eBay search. I recommend that you run a 30 day or good till cancelled listing if you are able to re-stock without any issues. If you have an eBay shop, you can set up a "Good till Cancelled" listing that runs listings until you cancel them! This way, you can leave your listing running, let you sales build up and revise the quantity of stock available when you get more stock. If you use this method, you should reach page one within 10 or so sales if your niche isn't competitive. If you list your item for a 30 day period you can't change the title, category or the condition of your item as this will wipe out your sales history and you will have to start again. If you do manage to run out stock, make sure that you relist it within 7 days (without any changes as mentioned above) This will keep your sales history intact and your search standing unaffected.

4. Detailed Seller Ratings

Detailed Seller Ratings will also affect your search location. Try not to allow any of your detailed seller ratings to fall below a rating of 4.4 as your listings will appear lower in the search results. Try and provide good customer service, free and fast postage and answer any questions promptly to keep your ratings up so that your search position is not affected. I cannot stress the importance of maintaining high detailed seller ratings. If you do suffer with low ratings, I would suggest that you open up a new account and start from fresh. Having low detailed seller ratings not only effects your listing position, it also prevents you from reaching "Top Seller" status on eBay. Being a "Top Seller" on eBay entitles you to reduced eBay fees and many more perks, so it is essential to maintain high ratings.

5. Listing Duration

As discussed earlier, the longer your listing runs for, the better it will perform in the search. Always use 30 day or good till cancelled listings when listing your items and keep re-stocking and you will reach page one in no time.

So, here is a quick summary:

• Only use relevant title keywords. Don't use "Wow" or "Look"

• Use '30 day' or 'Good till Cancelled' listings at all times and keep re-stocking.

• Don't change the title, category or the condition of your 30 day listing as this will wipe out your sales history

• Offer free or very low postage and post quickly.

• Offer good customer service so that your detailed seller ratings stay high

• Check out your competitions keywords before listing.

Auction Storage Units and How They Work   Best Tips on How to Use eBay to Make Money Online   What Are Some Good Ways To Make Money On eBay?   Four eBay Money Making Ideas   More People Are Now Shopping At Online Auction Sites