We have been delighted to work closely with eBay’s Marketing teams as they cultivate their newest PPC marketing module, called Promoted Listings Advance. The tool has been going through tests and adoption use cases.
We wanted to break down our thoughts and ideas about this new marketing lever to use on eBay.
Why adopt eBay’s newest PPC module?
Unlike Promoted Listings Standard, the Promoted Listings Advanced is a Pay-per-click model where you bid on core keywords and search inputs to increase your listing prominence. This became a game-changer on other channels where it was rolled out (Amazon, Walmart, Zalando, Cdiscount, etc.. ), and it stands to reason eBay sellers will need to leverage it to their advantage too.
As with any channel change and new tool, adoption has an ebb and flow which alters value and effort. The more that begin to adopt the tool and leverage it, the more energy needed to continue to produce a positive result as keyword optimisation and bidding gets more competitive.
Likewise, those ignoring this new tool will erode their advantages and may find themselves at a significant disadvantage over the longer term to sellers who spent time cultivating use and evolution.
In other words, don’t hesitate. Your competitors won’t, and inaction gives them the advantage. We’re working closely with eBay and we can offer support, guidance, best practise and even fully manage it in a trial test run for you to gauge potential.
Why spend more for the traffic I get?
As we mentioned previously, if you don’t start this, you will have a disadvantage to competitors who do. As the old saying goes, to win the lottery, you need to play first.
Your current traffic is built off the eBays old algorithms on sales history and conversion. That longevity of positive KPI’s and history will however change in prominence and importance as competitors use budget and PPC to syphon traffic towards their listings, bypassing the historical eBay methods of ranking a listing for organic traffic.
So the question isn't why you should spend more for the traffic you currently have. Instead, consider the reality you need to spend to defend the traffic you have, or risk incursions from competitors taking that traffic away from your listings.
More energy, cost and budget. All pain, no gain?
It is understandable to see the new module with concerns; more work, more cost, for the same revenue back? Why bother!
However whilst we have identified we need to defend the territory we have with this tool, what about opportunities for growth? This module should not only be a new cost to bear to retain your current traffic, it also needs to drive new business. You need to be just like your competitors and take the fight to them with offensive campaigns designed to increase Brand awareness or promote superior competitive products to establish players with high ranked listings.
Basically, use this tool not just to defend but to attack and gain more market share. Done correctly, even with the budget and extra man hours to run it, this tool should make you more revenue. It's that simple.
More than just PPC data
So far, we have identified the basics: defending your traffic, increasing it and achieving more sales overall on the channel.
However effective use of eBay PPC can lead to other perks that can grow not just organic listing data, but help you make informed business decisions.
Consider that PPC campaigns will give you clear outlines of the most important and relevant keywords for the category and product. You’ll need to be optimising campaigns for keywords as part of PPC best practice management already.
Why not take all that useful data and enhance your eBay titles? Items specifics? Descriptions and bullets? PPC is feeding you great data on what is converting for buyers to click on your product. Use that for organic ranking and maximising conversion capabilities post click. You’ve created a positive feedback loop maximising value between paid-for traffic and organic.
This all will give you insights on where the market is saturated and where it is less advanced. If you’re bidding high for certain USP’s and keywords, you know there are others offering similar products and bidding too. However perhaps there are buyers keen to purchase other product types and USP’s for which there are few sellers. That’s a niche you can consider planning your manufacturing and/or sourcing towards long term. Your PPC campaigns can give you insight into niche that may make sense to test.
Data is always valuable when you use it. eBay PPC can give you data in different dimensions and directions, each useful for both tactical and strategic decision making, as well as trial and error. It can help remove some of the guessing, and underpin good decisions with data.
Ask us
If you lack the time, energy or inhouse expertise, we do this for a living. We offer basic trail packages so you can test the waters with expertise, without breaking your budget.
Working closely with eBay, we at times may be able to offer help, support or knowledge you simply won’t find elsewhere. The easiest fake economy trap is getting lost spending your precious time on learning a complex topic and skill set, when you could hand it over to experts and focus on what you do best.
If you're unsure if eBay and the PPC module is right for you, we can help map that out and let you know what to expect. We have access to benchmarking data and can help you understand ‘what good is’.
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