New tools to help businesses grow further with eBay
Demand by sellers to secure greater visibility for their product listings to stand out against the competition, led eBay to launch its first version of Promoted Listings (Promoted Listings Standard). For many sellers, this tool provides the necessary boost for their items and the low-risk nature of the model is appreciated (you only pay your chosen ad rate if a shopper clicks on your promoted listing and goes on to buy that item from you within 30 days). This prompted many sellers to apply Promoted Listings Standard campaigns to the majority, or even all their product inventory.
But there was still more eBay could do to help its sellers prosper on the marketplace. Sellers told us they wanted greater control over their campaigns and additional features. They also understood the importance of occupying the top slot in search (one in five purchases on eBay starts with a listing that appeared at the top of the search results page*). This led to the launch of eBay Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA in September 2021 which enables eBay sellers to specifically bid for the top slot in search. To help these sellers exert even greater control over their campaigns and marketing budgets, Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA campaigns feature suggested keywords and bids.
Combining tools to drive greater potential for sales
But as a seller, how do I know when I should be using Promoted Listings Standard and when I should be using Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA? And what are the instances I should be using a combination of both?
Both campaign types help a seller’s items stand out among billions of listings on the eBay marketplace and be seen by millions of active buyers when they are browsing and searching for items they are selling.
- Promoted Listings Standard campaigns are quick and simple to set up and work best with items that are already selling well to drive sales velocity.
- With Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA campaigns you pay each time your ad is clicked, whether the shopper buys your item or not. These campaigns are well suited to generating an additional boost for high-quality listings that are already performing well.
- By combining both campaign types, sellers can maximise exposure of their listings – targeting the top slot in search offered by Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA campaigns and coverage of the entire eBay network available via Promoted Listings Standard.
Before a seller invests any time or budget in a Promoted Listings campaign, they should first check that their listings are optimised. Ensuring that titles are effective, descriptions are informative and the listing is supported with numerous high-quality images and item specifics for each filter will help your Promoted Listings campaign perform at its best. A little bit of time spent on these basics, can reap dividends for most sellers.
For Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA, spending time to understand features that differentiate this campaign type from Promoted Listings Standard can help sellers drive improved return on their ad spend – such as appreciating which keywords drive the best conversions. For many sellers, the suggested keywords are a great starting point, but those who constantly test and learn with keywords are likely to generate even better results. Likewise, with bids, it is always a good idea to start with the suggested bids and then experiment to determine how much each click is worth to you. And always remember to review the bids, particularly if your item is seasonal or new variations come on to the market.
New features to save sellers time
Getting to know a new product can be both daunting and time-consuming, which is why some of the new features in Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA are geared towards saving sellers time and effort. These features include bulk-download reporting, that allows sellers to download and schedule Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA campaigns at the account level for multiple campaigns at once.
In addition, Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA now features monthly keyword search counts to give sellers visibility of the number of times shoppers have searched suggested keywords in the last 30 days. Savvy sellers are using this feature to determine the volume they can expect to drive for each keyword and thus optimise for volume versus relevancy.
Finally, another new feature rolled out through Promoted Listing AdvancedBETA allows sellers to see how many listings match their filter selections when creating ad groups. This helps sellers narrow down relevant listings, making it easier to build an effective ad group.
Success stories
As discussed, all these new features have been launched in response to specific feedback from sellers, but all new tools take some time to master. Some sellers who embraced the new Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA campaign type early on appear to have stolen a march on the competition, such as Hannah at Hannah’s Games, who revealed in a panel discussion at the 2021 eBay Open UK, that she was winning sales at unbelievable rates when using Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA – quite possibly due to first mover advantage. Hannah cited that starting early enabled her to test and learn at exceptionally low cost and noted that even if bid prices rise due to competition, you will have a head start and can optimise your bids at minimal cost, putting you at an advantage against your competitors. Another of Hannah’s tips is to use Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA to discover keywords that work for you and use them to optimise your listing titles and descriptions.
More recently, a US-based seller, littlesmokey78 stated that “Promoted Listings Advanced gives a much-needed additional touch on how to generate sales on eBay’s platform. It provides us more time to spend on other areas of the platform. We are excited to see how this solution progresses and the potential growth it may bring!”
So, wrapping things up, to drive sales velocity take the time to master the Promoted Listings campaign type. Test and learn using the suggested bids and keywords available through Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA to get an understanding of what works best for your listings. Finally, sellers can also access Ads Academy, our new self-paced e-learning platform offering free, online ads product education for sellers. To access Ads Academy, click on the link at the top right of the Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA campaign management page
*Source: eBay data; July 2020,
