2238 eBay Titles

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I have a lot of experience searching for things on eBay. Some people make it easy to find their item. Some make it hard. I've learned a lot about good and bad titles, and that will come in useful if I ever start selling.

I've learned that a lyrical description of the beauty, features, and virtues of one's thingy is a complete waste of letter count. There's a picture that shows up in the list. Let that photo show the beauty and virtues.

The title should consist mainly of search words. Think of all the words that someone who is looking for your item would put in the search arguments, and put those words in the title.

For example, you have a pink peekaboo lace and chiffon long nightgown for sale. It has embroidery on the fitted underwired bodice, ribbon flowers at the shoulders, pleated skirt, lace around the hem, and the tag says "M". To create a searchable title for that listing, you've got to climb out of your own head, and into the head of someone who might be searching for an item of that type.

If they're looking for something long, pretty and alluring, perhaps seductive, and very feminine, they'll probably love your item. But if you don't use the right words, they may never find it.

Forget "embroidery", "ribbon flowers", "pleats", and all that. Forget hooks like "Valentine" or "gift". Someone searching for a gown like yours is unlikely to be that specific. Words that might get you a hit are more like:
sexy
long
nightgown
gown
lingerie
lace
sheer
satin
...

Let the photo do the rest of the talking. Include the color in the title only if it's different from the photo, or a color that might be a search argument, like "white" or "black". (Some people will search specifically for bridal-looking white, or figure-hiding black.)

The searcher will likely get hundreds if not thousands of hits, so the next challenge is to get them to click on yours. That's where the photo is most important. Choose one that shows the special features of your item - on a figure or manikin, not a hanger or lying on a bed or table, and with a neutral background, not against clutter. That'll catch the eye.

But any searcher can click on only so many items - so to encourage a click, include the size in the title. "S","M", "L", "1X", and so on is ok, but doesn't mean a lot, so please actually measure wherever it matters and include the inches, like "L, 38-40". If the searcher likes the photo and wants a "38", this will almost guarantee a click, because they already know they like the looks, and it will fit.

Forget punctuation in the title. You're listing search arguments, not writing a sentence. Also forget that silly mIXed CaPItaLizAtIOn (I don't understand why anyone would ever do that, anywhere), or the "~"s between every word. Cute doesn't help. If I can't get the info I want without straining, or if the title annoys me, I'm not going to click, because I probably don't want to deal with a ditzy or immature seller.

Now, could someone please list a gown similar to the one I've described (but not so frou-frou), and title it such that I can find it?
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