Jul
18
eBay Wants Me to Buy Dirty Pictures!
Filed Under Miscellaneous | 3 Comments
When I was writing my review of A Mini Guide to Using eBay & CafePress to Sell Your Photography recently, I did some research to see what kind of photography was listed on eBay and what was for sale. Specifically, I searched active and closed listings using the terms “photograph” and “photo print.“
The search results returned a variety of items for sale - mostly pictures of celebrities, nature, and vintage images. I was actually surprised at how few dirty pictures showed up in the search results. You probably won’t believe me, but I certainly did notclick thru on any of those those listings that were selling naughty pictures. My wife, an avid photographer, was helping me write the story and looking over my shoulder the whole time. (Now do you believe me?)
At any rate, eBay seems to strongly associate an interest in photography with an interest in pornography because whenever I go to eBay’s home page, they splash it with smut. Here’s what they are encouraging me to bid on (I’ve used the smudge tool to keep this a family-safe site): Read more
Jul
16
A relatively basic technique of manipulating a web page’s ranking in Google and the other search engines is called keyword stuffing. According to Google:
“Keyword stuffing” refers to the practice of loading a webpage with keywords in an attempt to manipulate a site’s ranking in Google’s search results. …Typically, these will be lists or paragraphs of keywords, often randomly repeated. … Filling pages with keywords results in a negative user experience, and can harm your site’s ranking.
It’s not uncommon to run across pages web pages when surfing the ‘net that attempt to influence or manipulate their rankings in the search engines by using keywrod stuffing Usually, you will see this technique manifest itself in a list of keywords included at the bottom of a web page with some sort of subdued font color.
According to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, this kind of activity is frowned upon. Specifically, they advise webmasters:
Don’t load pages with irrelevant keywords.
Well, you can imagine my surprise when I noticed that eBay was using keyword stuffing on some of their pages!
Here’s a screenshot of the text that appears at the bottom of the Collectibles page under Finding 2.0 (click the screenshot for a larger image):
Here’s another instance from the Clothing, Shoes and Accessories page:
Look at those screenshots (for brevity’s sake I only included two - there are more), pretend you are eBay, and ask yourself the same question Google suggests that webmasters consider:
Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?
You can only reach one conclusion - eBay is trying to influence their search engine rankings by keyword stuffing.
Wow! Considering that eBay has made it pretty clear in their Search & Browse Manipulation Policy that attempts to influence their search in this manner won’t be tolerated, I find it extremely hypocritical that they would employ a technique that is designed to do the same in Google’s search results. eBay’s FAQ’s tell us to:
Leave out any information intended to manipulate or deceive search and browse results.
Yet they can’t seem to practice what they preach!
I find it interesting that eBay discourages Search & Browse manipulation techniques because…
Activities that make it difficult for buyers to find the items they are looking for result in a poor shopping and finding experience for buyers.
How similar is this to why Google doesn’t want webmasters to employ keyword stuffing techniques?
Filling pages with keywords results in a negative user experience.
C’mon eBay! Observe your own guidance and ”leave out any information intended to manipulate or deceive search and browse results.”
Jul
14
A recent post in the eBay Chatter Blog discussed some of the factors that influence and auction listing’s placement in the Best Match search results. Some of them have not been officially or unofficially confirmed before. Since one of my goals for this blog is to be the single best source for Best Match information, I thought I would mention them. Of course, this information will be included in the next version of my free Best Match eBook.
A couple of variables that influence Demand Factors include:
- Picking the right category for your item
- Using Item Specifics
- Item Specifics is a relatively new feature. According to eBay:
Sellers can add value to their listings by adding Item Specifics to their listings.
- Item Specifics are determined by the category in which you sell your item. For example, the Item Specifics available in an apparel category would be related to size and style, while Item Specifics in a CD music category could refer to genre and condition. Item Specifics are also determined by additional characteristics that buyers would use to find an item in that category and related categories (for example, Antique Rugs or Rugs in Home & Garden).
- Item Specifics you provide are displayed at the top of your item description and are used by buyers to search for items.
- In most categories supporting Item Specifics, this information is optional. However, it is definitely to your benefit to complete as many of the details as are applicable.
Some factors that can influence Listing Factors include:
- Format (fixed vs. auction)
- Geographical distance from the buyer
- Having a return policy on the item
Interestingly, the post specifically mentions:
Having a return policy is good for raising item visibility in Best Match.
Therefore, its important to to specify your return policy on the Sell Your Item form when creating your listing. If you have a return policy, but only provide details in your item’s description, the Best Match algorithm isn’t going to give you credit for it when it determines the search results sort order.
How to specify your return policy
In the Additional Information section of the Sell Your Item form, take the following steps:
- Select the “Returns accepted” check box.
- Select the time limit within which the buyer must return the item to you.
- Select the type of refund you will give if the item is returned.
- Enter all other details about your return policy in the Return Policy Details text box.
Jul
11
Book Title: A Mini Guide to Using eBay & CafePress to Sell Your Photography
Author: Martin Hurley
Publisher: Hurley Pix Inc.
Publishing Date: 2008
Pages: 26
Website: http://www.howtosellphotosonline.com
Since I have an avid interest in eBay and my wife has an equally avid, yet much more expensive, interest in photography, I thought that purchasing Martin Hurley’s eBook, A Mini Guide to Using eBay & CafePress to Sell Your Photography might be a good investment.
Unfortunately, even with the low purchase price of $7.00, I was disappointed.
I was intrigued by the author’s concept. Sell framed prints of your original photography at auction on eBay and have CafePress print, frame and ship the order for you. This is a unique spin on the drop shipping business model which is especially effective for sellers who live outside of the U.S. to sell to the American market. (The book’s author resides in Thailand.)
The book claims to be 26 pages. However, there’s only 19 pages of content - the majority of which are taken up by screen shots of the CafePress account creation and product design process and creating a listing on Auctiva.
I’m used to eBooks taking the reader through the very basics of the process, such as creating an account, listing a product, etc. However, after laying the foundation required for a common understanding among all the readers, most eBooks attempt to add to that knowledge by discussing more advanced topics. Unfortunately, this eBook never gets past the basics.
The target audience here is obviously the photographer looking for a venue to sell and not the the eBay seller looking for an item to sell. If you are interested in learning how to set up a CafePress account (and for some reason feel that CafePress’ instructions are inadequate) and would like to see some screen shots for creating an Auctiva eBay template, then your $7.00 is a good value.
I was hoping the author would present some ideas on what sort of images would sell well on eBay and get a feel for the market. Again, I was dissapointed. The eBook only suggested what I already knew - search completed auctions in eBay’s advanced search function.
One of the things I like about eBooks is the ability to learn a proven technique from an expert author while the concept is still “cutting edge.” A quick check of this author’s feedback (his eBay user ID is visible in one of the 15 screenshots) shows that of his 21 positive feedbacks, only 3 are from selling. Although I realize that many sellers have multiple user ID’s, this is not the way to establish your credentials as an expert on the topic.
While appreciate the concept the author is forwarding - selling photography on eBay and using CafePress as a distribution method, I was hoping to learn more by purchasing the eBook than I could gleen from the sales page.
It’s still worth a try though. Hopefully, my wife’s photography hobby will start to pay for itself — just like my eBay hobby!