HOW TO MAXIMIZE
SALES ON
#
Hugh Williams
eBay, Inc.
@HughEWilliams
#SMX #22D
October 2, 2013
#
Hugh E. Williams
VP, Experience, Search, and Platforms
eBay Marketplaces, eBay Inc.
@hughewilliams, http://hughewilliams.com
What buyers want from search
Trust
Value
Relevance
@hughewilliams #SMX
Search is the first step towards a successful transaction
Seeing an item in Search
Choosing an item
Sales
@hughewilliams #SMX
Maximizing your exposure in search
Search Recall
Keywords in title
Catalogs
Search Refinement
Item Category
Item Specifics
Item Condition
@hughewilliams #SMX
Tips for Search and Sales Success
• List in the correct category with a meaningful title
• Use item specifics and item condition
• Use long duration multi-quantity Buy It Now format
• Study what it takes to be a Top Rated Seller
Being Found
• Make sure you are in relevant result sets, don’t keyword spam
• Use great pictures and a definitive title
• Be price competitive
• Specify shipping costs
Being Viewed
• Have a clear, structured, and comprehensive item description
• Have a clear returns policy
• Offer fast shipping and international shipping options
• Use the largest possible image
Sales
@hughewilliams #SMX
Why isn’t eBay more specific about search?
• We want sellers to create a great experience for buyers
• We want a level playing field for all sellers
• Search is changing
– Trust, value, and relevance won’t ever change as our
guiding principles
– “Shortcuts” that work today may not work tomorrow
– We will take more data into consideration in Best Match
• Please beware of unofficial advice
– Much of what’s out there is wrong, misguided, or shortcuts
– Think: Trust, Value, and Relevance
@hughewilliams #SMX
Cassini: eBay’s New Search Engine
• A ground-up rebuilding of the eBay search engine
• Cassini is replacing Voyager (circa 2002)
• Cassini is necessary because:
– Voyager is over ten years old
– We need modern search ranking
– We want a modern, operable platform
– We want to innovate faster
– Search is continually improving everywhere
@hughewilliams #SMX
A Feature of Cassini: Description search
• In addition to searching titles and catalog data, Cassini will
search descriptions to improve recall
• It does this automatically without relying on buyers to use an
advanced option
• Sellers will no longer have to rely on the title to ensure their
item gets visibility
• Ensuring your description is accurate and relevant will matter
even more
• Description search is already powering parts of eBay search
today (specifically, Null and Low Recovery)
@hughewilliams #SMX
eBay Item Description Example
@hughewilliams #SMX
eBay (DE) Search
@hughewilliams #SMX
Description search helps null and low result scenarios (US)
@hughewilliams #SMX
When is Cassini arriving?
• Cassini has arrived for Completed search, and Null and Low
results search in most markets
• Cassini arrived for “active item” search in North America in
June
• You can expect Cassini to be powering “active item” search
in other markets by 2014
• You can then expect even faster, continuous innovation in
eBay search
@hughewilliams #SMX
http://www.slideshare.net/SearchMarketingExpo
#
see more presentations at:
#