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Which eBay Classified Ads Get The Most Clicks?

publication date: May 28, 2008
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eBay Confidential eLetter
28th May 2008
 
***
- Editorial
 
- Which eBay Classified Ads Get The Most Clicks?
 
- eBay Pulse - Most Watched, Most Popular Items -
How Many Watchers?
 
***
 
Hi,
 
It's a good while now since massive changes took place at
eBay, including one that caused mayhem for many sellers,
namely the banning of digital download items across the
entire eBay UK site and eBay USA also, with one notable
exception. You can still promote digital items via Classified
Advertisements on eBay.com
 
Even so, using Classified Ads in the USA was fraught with
complications after the digital download ban, with no one,
not even eBay, knowing whether digital goods could be
promoted straight off the page in Classified Ads, whether
sign up boxes were allowable, whether PayPal buttons were
acceptable inside a listing.
 
The upshot was, I think, because no one is still really sure,
that you can only describe available products inside
Classified Ads, you can't sell them off the page and you
can't include links for specific landing pages or customized
email addresses. You can only, I think, get people to
contact you for more information about the product via
eBay's internal email system as happens for all questions
asked between members.
 
There's no doubt about it, the system is very restricted, but
there are ways sellers of most product types, including
digital download items - their own or belonging to other
people - can make the Classified Ad. system work well for
them. Some good information is provided in the first guest
article in today's eLetter; these extra tips might also prove
useful:
 
* I'm the original lover of free reports to help grow a mailing
list for back end selling on eBay, so I'm also a great
believer in creating a short report about whatever product
you are promoting through Classified Ads. The short report
is mentioned in your listing but there is no special sign up
page or email address for people to visit to obtain your
report.
 
Unless you tell visitors how to obtain your report, they may
not realise the 'Email the Seller' button is the place to go.
 
It's important you tell them how to get your report, by
including something like 'Claim TITLE OF THE FREE
REPORT by clicking on the 'Email the Seller' button at the
top of this listing and I'll get the details to you right away.'
 
Most such emails get sent to your eBay Account Summary
and to your outside eBay email box. In the latter case you
are allowed to collect names and email addresses to
promote items later. Doing so in an eBay email might break
the rules. Might, because again, no one seems really sure.
So you should not answer directly through the eBay system
and potentially break the old rules, or whatever new rules are
lurking on the horizon. Instead, answer through your outside
eBay email box and invite your enquirer to download their
report direct or sign up for it at a specific site.
 
* You are allowed to hint at your outside web site inside
eBay listings, as long as it isn't too obvious and does not
overtly attempt to get visitors to buy outside of eBay. You
can make visitors aware of your outside site by adding a
copyright notice with web site url to illustrations used in your
listing, or you can create a banner with web site url and use
it as the header for your listing. But make it more like a
business trademark or part of your product and not an
obvious attempt to solicit outside eBay visits.
 
I'm planning a short report about using eBay Classified Ads
in the light of new information and updates arriving regularly
from eBay. You'll find it in a forthcoming eLetter.
 
NOTE: If you go check out other people's Classified Ads.
you will find many breaking the rules mentioned above. This
does not mean they know something the rest of us don't
know. Believe me, I have read the rules very carefully,
straight from the Horses' Mouths in a question and answer
session between digital product sellers and eBay's highest
paid Big Cheeses. Do not break the rules, no matter how
big the temptation. I'll reveal more in my forthcoming
report.
 
Until next time,
 
Avril
 
P.S. I have found a simply brilliant resource where you can
get all sorts of products to sell on eBay... at bargain prices!
Look out for a special email from me tomorrow and I'll tell
you exactly where to go.
 
 
***
Which eBay Classified Ads Get The Most Clicks?
by Tracey Edwards
***
 
Now that you've started experimenting with classified ads
on eBay, it's time to see if it's possible to squeeze a bit
more out of your title to get the best response and the most
clicks.
 
After all, the more people you get looking at your ad, then
the more likely you are to make some sales!
 
As you know, most people who list classified ads are
promoting other people's products and earning an affiliate
commission.
 
If you are like most people starting out with classified ads
you start with the name of the product in your title.
 
That's an ok start, but to get more clicks you need to be a
little more creative.
 
Let's have a little quiz so I can show you what I mean.
 
Which classified ad do you think would get you the most
clicks out of the following?
 
Google Cash Review
 
Or;
 
Google Cash - How to Make Money - my Honest Review
 
Ok, ok that was a little too easy. Obviously the second title
is much more appealing because even if you didn't know
what Google Cash was, you might still click on the ad to see
how it could make you money.
 
Then what about this title:
 
10 Free 'Google Cash' Money Tips - Sneak Peak Review
 
Ohhh, I bet you know the answer now!
 
You see the trick for getting more clicks on your classified
ad is to give your potential customers something they want:
a sneak peak, a review, tips (or all three as in the last title
example). The more that you give them; the more likely they
are to trust your opinion and buy your product (or the
product that you are promoting).
 
But the title isn't the only thing that can help get more clicks on your ads!
 
If you would like to know the secrets to creating profit
pulling ads on eBay that put more cash in your pocket and
more subscribers on your lists then check out
money!
 
 
***
eBay Pulse - Most Watched, Most Popular Items - How
Many Watchers?
***
 
by Jake Bartolo
 
Did you ever wonder what it takes to get onto eBay Pulse?
What kind of Watch Count is needed for an item to appear
on an eBay Pulse page? Normally Watch Counts are private
data, available only to the seller of the item in question and
eBay Customer Support. But with the help of certain
software, you can (legitimately) lookup the Watch Count of
almost any eBay Pulse item -- and many other items listed
on eBay.
 
But wait, let me take a step back in case I'm moving too
fast here: -
 
You've been to eBay Pulse, right? It's the place on eBay
where, among other things, top-watched auctions are
showcased for the rest of the world to see. Auctions that
have accumulated the most number of 'Watch This
Item'clicks bubble their way up to the Pulse page for their
category, and perhaps even to the main eBay Pulse page.
Such clicks act as 'votes' of popularity for items, whether in
popular Auction format or alternative listing formats such as
Fixed Price or Classified Ad.
 
So what kind of numbers (i.e. how many watchers) does a
seller's item need to accrue to climb into the limelight on
eBay Pulse? As an eBay shopper or onlooker, maybe you're
curious. If you're a seller, knowing the Watch Count of Pulse
items in your category can help you measure yourself
against your competition. I had a closer look at Pulse using
an online utility and here are some trends that I found on the
eBay US site, as of this writing (May 2008).
 
Top-watched auctions seem to get visible on the main Pulse
page past the 200-250 Watch Count range. And it's not
uncommon to see items that have elicited over 600 votes to
appear there as well. Naturally this can always change as
auctions come and go in the marketplace and as eBay
tweaks its threshold criteria.
 
For a while there have been sellers who've used clever
marketing techniques to accumulate watchers at an
extremely accelerated pace so they can guarantee
themselves placement on Pulse. They employ strategies
that range from the benign 'click here to watch this auction'
links within their auction listings to custom scripts that are
likely used in violation of eBay policies. Lately eBay has
cracked down on the latter, but when those auctions were
visible on Pulse they had inflated Watch Counts in the
100,000+ range. Yup, that high.
 
Drilling down into certain Pulse categories, one can see
figures that are easier to fathom. The Tickets category tends
to have items in the 100-200 range, although a celebrity
event or hot football game can garner Watch Counts above
400 or even in the 1,000+ terrain. The Real Estate area tends
to feature its most popular properties and land auctions at
200+, and over in eBay Motors it's not uncommon to see
400+ watchers on an auction, especially for early- to mid-
century Fords.
 
Looking for a cheap laugh? Then head on over to the
Everything Else category where you'll find at the top of the
list such in-demand items as a common toothpick, empty
bottle of laundry detergent, or a piece of mint candy -- all
offered with free shipping, of course. These festive sellers
enjoy showing off their creative listing templates and
sometimes hope to make it on the 11 o'clock news with their
zany item (or entertaining listing), much like the seller who
spotted an image of the Virgin Mary on their grilled cheese
sandwich and sold it on eBay for US$28,000.00 back in
2004. These items grab numbers of active watchers across
a broad spectrum, from unimpressive single-digit Watch
Counts up to 10s of 1,000s in certain cases.
 
There are some other considerations that eBay seems to
take into account when screening auctions for Pulse
eligibility. These criteria aren't disclosed, but I've noticed
that an item's bid count and/or number of 'Contact the
Seller' emails can play a role. Nevertheless, the Watch Count
is the primary ranking factor, and it can be fun (and
potentially profitable too, if you're an eBay seller) to see the wide range of counts that eBay Pulse items can amass.
 
Jake Bartolo's free websites assist eBay users with both
shopping and research. http://www.WatchCount.com
exposes Watch Count data for many items on eBay,
including the heralded eBay Pulse pages, revealing how
popular selected items or categories are. Auction-
Misspellings.com helps buyers find hidden eBay auctions
that can be scooped up at bargain prices.
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