As car guys, we know all too well that if there’s one misfiring cylinder in an engine, the car’s total performance will suffer. If the problem is ignored for too long, the engine may even suffer irreparable damage.
The same principle applies to marketing and sales operations. We may have everything else in place, but if there’s even one vital area of marketing strategy that we’re neglecting, our entire business will suffer.
Here’s something to think about: does your company have an eBay deployment strategy for selling auto parts? If so, how effective is it? What can you do to increase your revenue through eBay’s marketplace? One key factor that you should give attention to is the implementation of an effective eBay SEO strategy.
Why is eBay SEO Important?
Some dealers and shop owners may wonder why they should bother selling car parts on eBay in the first place. The answer is that selling auto parts on eBay is becoming an increasingly crucial component for a sustainable business plan in the automotive retail industry.
For example, auto parts e-commerce currently represents a $12 billion industry. Experts expect that figure to grow larger in the years to come, as consumers are increasingly shopping via smartphones and other mobile devices. Of course, eBay has a huge market share in this sector. In fact, eBay and Amazon are the top two online auto parts sellers.
“Okay, but what does SEO have to do with selling on eBay?” you may ask. “Isn’t SEO only for Google searches?” Actually, eBay has its own search engine, called Cassini, which operates upon very similar principles to traditional SEO. Therefore, in order to maximize sales and carve out a larger market share in the online auto parts sector, it’s important to craft and implement a winning eBay SEO strategy.
How eBay SEO Works
For online businesses, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a way to boost their Google SERP (Search Engine Results Pages) ranking. In other words, the closer a company’s website is to the top of a Google search results list, the more visible it is; and the more visible it is, the more likely that users will visit the site, and purchase the company’s product.
eBay SEO works in a similar manner. And just as Google has a complex algorithm that takes into account a multitude of factors in order to effectively rank websites, so too eBay’s Cassini search engine ranks seller listings by looking at a set of specific parameters. Two important factors that Cassini looks at is relevance and conversion rate.
Relevance
eBay wants to ensure that it’s presenting the most relevant results to its users. One way Cassini determines relevance is through an examination of keywords that are used in the listing. The more specific your keywords are, the more likely it is that your listing will match a searcher’s specific intent.
For instance, using “radiator” by itself as a keyword for one of your parts will likely do no one any good. However, making sure that you use specific keywords like “1994 Ford Ranger radiator” will help Cassini to see your listing’s relevance more clearly, and subsequently list it for matching searches.
It is important that you optimize your listing’s title and description by means of carefully selected keywords. Also, placing your listing within very specific sub-categories can help boost its relevance as well.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is both relative to and distinct from relevance. Conversion rate is basically the ratio of customers that purchase from you versus the number of visitors to your listing(s). Merchants can determine the state of their current conversion rate by comparing their listings’ sales conversion rate to the average e-commerce conversion rate of 2-3%. While this rate varies by industry, 2-3% is an average range for most sellers.
eBay rewards sellers that have high conversion rates with a higher ranking in the results list. Of course, if your listings don’t contain accurate keywords, or even contain misleading descriptions, then not only with you have low relevance for your prospective customers, but the majority of them will “bounce” from your listing, and send your conversion rate plummeting. eBay, in turn, will penalize you for your online auto part store’s performance.
Therefore, it is critical that companies selling through eBay write titles and descriptions primarily for their customers, instead of eBay’s search engine. Over time, as Cassini sees the above average conversion rates of your listings, eBay will begin to prioritize your auto parts and accessories listings in their results pages, leading to increased visibility, and eventually increased sales.
Of course, relevance and conversion rate are just two of several factors that eBay’s ranking algorithm will weigh out. Learning the intricacies of eBay SEO is an ongoing process; however, investing time and resources in this way can yield significant results.
Partnering with eBay SEO Experts
A winning eBay SEO strategy can be the key that will unlock more sales, solidify your company’s market share in auto parts e-commerce, and drive sustainable business growth for years to come. It may be just the thing needed to ensure that your marketing efforts are “firing on all cylinders.”
However, you may need a little help in implementing such a strategy. If so, partnering with our digital marketing experts at OEM Interactive may be the perfect solution for your business. We are a full service digital marketing firm that specifically helps our clientele to sell more car parts and accessories on eBay.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help optimize your car part and accessory listings and grow your eBay auto part sales, reach out to us at OEM Interactive today.
