If you’ve ever been asked about “improving your ROAS” or “what’s your ROI” and left wondering what that really means, you’re not alone. Marketing can sometimes sound like a foreign language. Being able to not only speak the language of marketing but also understand how to put it to use can make a huge difference in growing your business on eBay.
Our goal is for all of our sellers to become fluent in marketing so they can take advantage of the helpful tips, tricks, and tools available on eBay. To help sellers out, we’ve created a list of common marketing terms every eBay seller should know. So hit the “Bookmark” button and check out the list below.
Basic eBay terms
- Buyer: A person who makes a purchase from an online seller on eBay.
- Seller: A person or business that has a registered account on eBay and who has items listed for sale.
- Online marketplace: A website (such as eBay) that facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers.
- eBay Store: An optional subscription-based virtual storefront hosted on eBay that provides sellers with tools to help them sell more.
- Advertising campaign: A strategy for creating more awareness by promoting your listings on eBay. Sellers set up and manage these campaigns to improve visibility.
- Budget: The maximum amount of money you are willing to spend on an advertising campaign.
- Keywords: Terms buyers use to find listings they want. Relevant keywords help interested users find your listings.
- Keyword bid: The maximum amount you’re willing to pay for a buyer to click on your ad.
- Optimize: Making changes to your listing or advertising campaign to improve performance.
- Ad rate: The percentage of your item’s total sale amount (including item price, shipping, and applicable fees) paid when using Promoted Listings with a general strategy. Sellers set this rate themselves.
- Impressions: The number of times your ad(s) have appeared on any eBay site.
- Search engine optimization (SEO): Improving how your listings appear in search engines by including the right keywords, phrases, and information in your product listing.
- Cost-per-click (CPC): An online advertising model that charges sellers based on the number of times a buyer clicks on their ad.
- Cost-per-sale (CPS): An advertising model that charges sellers based on an agreed percentage of the final sale price, such as the ad rate for Promoted Listings campaigns using a general strategy.
- Return on investment (ROI): A marketing metric used to measure the performance and effectiveness of an investment.
- Return on ad spend (ROAS): The amount of revenue earned for every dollar spent on advertising.
- Sales velocity: How fast items are sold.
- Ad groups: A way to group similar listings that share keywords and keyword bids. Ad groups are available with Promoted Listings using a priority strategy.
- Automated campaign: Campaigns that allow sellers to set rules to automatically promote listings using a flat bid or automated ad rates.
Terms for eBay Products
For comprehensive help on setting up and managing your campaigns, visit the Promoted Listings Overview
Promoted Listings
Our suite of Promoted Listings campaign types, including:
- Promoted Listings using a general strategy: A cost-per-sale model where sellers only pay when an item sells through an ad. Learn more about General Strategy.
- Promoted Listings using a priority strategy: A cost-per-click model that gives sellers access to premium ad placements with advanced keyword targeting. Learn more about Priority Strategy.
- Promoted Offsite: Ads appear on search platforms and partner sites such as Google, extending your reach beyond eBay. Learn more about Promoted Offsite.
- Promoted Stores: A cost-per-click advertising solution that helps sellers attract buyers by showcasing their store, top-performing listings, and special offers in key placements like search results and listing pages, with ad costs determined by a second-price auction based on factors such as bid amounts, competition, and historical performance.
Overview of eBay Ads Promoted Listings
Knowing basic marketing terms will open the door to long-term success on eBay. New sellers can begin their journey by creating an eBay account and listing their first product. Start selling today and explore Promoted Listings to help grow your business on eBay.
Go to the eBay Advertising Dashboard to get started with creating a new advertising campaign today!
