CRO - Conversion rate optimization for online retailers | Podcast

CRO - Conversion rate optimization for online retailers

CRO, better known as “conversion rate optimization,” is a tool for optimizing listings that online sellers can use to increase their sales – sounds pretty good at first. But how exactly does it work? Which levers can I pull as an online seller to optimize my listings on eBay, and what should I pay attention to?

To answer these and many other questions, our podcast hosts David Philippe and Tino Propp invited CRO expert Carl Weische. Carl is the founder and managing director of ACCELERATED, an agency from Hamburg that, among other things, optimizes the online shops of Colibri Skincare, SassyClassy, and Naturtreu.

But that’s not all! Isabell Butterwegge, co-host and Seller Engagement Manager at eBay Germany, takes on a guest role in this episode to take a closer look at listing optimization on the eBay marketplace.

Of course, also back again: the most important e-commerce news in the “eBay trade overview” and the “eBay Ads Insider” with Matthias Neubauer, Head of Ads Partnerships Electronics + Home & Garden, with exciting insights into the diverse marketing offerings of eBay Germany.

**Important links**

**Sources eBay trade overview**

*** Chapter markers ***

00:00:36 - 00:03:15: The “eBay trade overview”
00:03:24 - 00:08:48: Guest introductions
00:08:48 - 00:11:33: What is meant by “conversion rate optimization”?
00:11:33 - 00:14:02: Listing and price – the “perceived value”
00:14:02 - 00:16:57: Listing optimization on eBay
00:16:57 - 00:22:01: Product images
00:22:01 - 00:25:30: Product titles and keywords
00:25:30 - 00:28:18: Product description
00:28:18 - 00:31:41: Measurability, marketing tools and algorithm on eBay
00:31:41 - 00:32:24: The “eBay Ads Insider”
00:32:24 - 00:36:23: Final tips

Carl: Ask your existing customers really: Why did you choose me? Why did you buy from me? And then you can throw a few more questions into the room. Like, how do you actually use my product now? And what does my product do for you? And why do you find it so great?

David: Hello, dear listeners! Welcome to our new podcast episode for our sellers and, of course, for anyone who wants to become one. I’m David Philippe, Seller Engagement Manager at eBay Germany. Joining me today is my valued co-host Tino Propp. He is Category Manager for Collectibles, Toys, and Model Making. Hi Tino!

Tino: Hello David, great to be here with you again today. Before we introduce our guests and dive into the topic of conversion rate optimization, or “CRO” for short, here are the latest e-commerce updates in the “eBay trade overview.”

David: The “eBay trade overview”: without giving too much away about the episode already, I have to admit that the news fit today’s topic of conversion rate optimization really well. It’s mainly about knowing your target audience and addressing them based on their needs. As I said, it’s extremely important to know your target audience. But how does GEN Z actually tick? The young generation doesn’t want to scroll through shops for hours until they find a suitable product; GEN Z expects a personalized offer that, for example, is shown to them via social media based on their preferences and can be ordered easily. It’s also important to them that brands and companies let them behind the scenes and show a human side. They expect that across all channels, because even though they get their inspiration online, they often shop in physical stores. Speaking of inspiration, they want to experience products before buying. Use-case examples through photos or videos help with that, as do augmented or virtual reality experiences. A study: German retailers aren’t making enough use of the potential of social media and are “bad posters.” Reaching the desired target audience through social media can be very easy. But German retail companies are using this opportunity too little compared with other countries, according to Agorapulse. The study also shows that companies don’t analyze their posts enough and are therefore wasting a lot of potential. For example, reels generate by far the most interactions, but are used by only 10 percent. All commercial eBay sellers who want to kickstart their own social media game can now post their own social media content directly from their eBay shop. More security through eBay authenticity verification for luxury watches, handbags, and sneakers. Especially with expensive products, we all want to be sure the goods match the desired condition. That’s why eBay offers authenticity verification for higher-priced sneakers and now even children’s sneakers, as well as luxury watches and handbags. It helps customers enjoy a positive shopping experience and be confident during the ordering process that they’ll receive the item they want. Further information on all the topics mentioned is, as always, linked in the show notes.

Tino: That was the “eBay trade overview” with the latest e-commerce news. Please leave us a comment and tell us what you think of this new format.

David: Tino, you already mentioned the topic, namely today we’re talking about conversion rate optimization. So we’re looking at how online assets can be optimized so that visitors in your own eBay shop are guided toward a desired action, and in an eBay shop that’s of course buying. A topic that is incredibly important for online sellers. But since neither of us are experts in this field, we’ve invited two guests who know it inside out.

Tino: Today we have Carl Weische here in the studio with us. Carl is the founder and managing director of ACCELERATED, a CRO agency based in Hamburg. Carl and his team optimize, among other things, the conversion rate of the online shops of Colibri Skincare, SassyClassy, and Naturtreu. All brands that will likely be especially familiar to users on Instagram or TikTok. He specializes in sales and consumer psychology, an incredibly exciting topic. So a warm welcome to our studio, Carl! Great to have you here!

Carl: Thanks for the lovely invitation and the warm welcome. I’m really happy to be here and I’m very excited about the episode with you all.

David: And if this were a video podcast, our viewers would now be wondering why Isabell is sitting with the guys at the table and not introducing herself? Quite simple! Seller Engagement Manager Isabell Butterwegge isn’t here today, as usual, to co-host the podcast with us, but rather to look at conversion rate optimization from eBay’s perspective. Hi Isabell, it’s a pleasure to be able to interview you today.

Isabell: Yes, hello everyone! I’m also happy to literally be sitting on the other side today.

Tino: And that, notably, is already the second time in our podcast history.

David: Carl, before we get into the content questions, I have one more personal question for you. How did you get into conversion rate optimization in the first place? Because, honestly, when I was studying back then or whatever, that wasn’t even a job.

Carl: Very good question, to give a bit of background. Back when I was 16, I started getting into the whole topic of psychology and understanding people. Simply because I found it super exciting at the time. I always wanted to understand how we tick and how the brain actually works. And then, in the second step, how can you influence it? Back then, I used to go to the library and pick out every possible book about psychology, about emotions, communication, and how the brain actually works. At the same time, I was always enthusiastic about online marketing and selling things online. Over the years, I worked on various projects, and in the last one I met my current co-founder, Lars. He was a freelancer back then for the whole area of conversion rate optimization and sales psychology. And when we started working together, it felt to me like two areas I was really excited about were coming together in one. On the one hand, online marketing and the whole topic of selling things online. On the other hand, psychology and understanding people. Put together, that’s sales psychology and what we do now, what is called conversion rate optimization as a service.

David: And today you talk to big brands and companies. How did that come about? From having your own e-shop and a bit of conversion rate optimization for your shop to now just advising others?

Carl: Very good question! Back then, when I met him and we started working together, I became increasingly enthusiastic about the topic, and that was when all the years I’d spent dealing with psychology, communication, understanding people, relationship management, and the like really came to the fore. And suddenly I could apply it. What’s exciting about conversion rate optimization is that every day, for example, you have 100 people on your eBay listing. Then you change the title or the product description or the offer, and suddenly many more people buy. And that’s what I found so exciting about conversion rate optimization. With an online shop, we can change a text or an image or an offer, and that has a direct impact on how much gets sold. That’s why it developed into a real passion for me, and I found it really exciting to work with lots of online shops and help them optimize the whole thing.

Tino: And Isabell, what’s your connection to conversion rate optimization? We know that you and David sit on the same team, but you’re actually more the expert here, so nothing against you David, right?

David: That’s okay.

Isabell: Good question! So first of all, the Seller Engagement team at eBay naturally deals with many areas. That includes programs and events, among other things, but also the eBay community. This podcast is part of the team. But seller experiences are also a key part of it, and that’s what I mainly focus on. Usually, that’s more about tools and products. So I work a lot with our developers. But in the broadest sense, it’s also about the question of how we can support sellers in being successful on the marketplace. And on the topic of conversion rate optimization, or what we more broadly call listing optimization at eBay, I’ve spoken about it several times in workshops and events in the past. That’s why I’m happy to be able to talk about it again today with Carl.

Tino: Exactly, Carl, and you already explained at the beginning that conversion rate optimization basically means optimizing online assets so that they lead visitors in your own eBay shop to buy an item. For example, product images or item descriptions. Could you briefly explain what else people should imagine when they think of conversion rate optimization?

Carl: Good question: conversion optimization is often used as a complex term for this broader area. At the end of the day, what it means, and I’d like to spend a moment on the term conversion rate. Conversion rate is simply a metric you look at to understand, if 100 visitors are on my eBay listing, how many of them buy? And if five people buy and become customers for every 100 visitors, then that would be a 5 percent conversion. And what conversion rate optimization means is that I change the listing. For example, I revise my product images, I make a better offer, or I have a nicer product description. And now not five out of 100 buy, but suddenly ten out of 100. And this whole process of optimization is called conversion rate optimization. So, in short, you make sure that more of the visitors actually become customers.

Tino: So that means, as a seller, I can deliberately trigger buying impulses in my customers. Could you maybe go into that in a bit more detail?

Carl: Absolutely, this whole topic of conversion rate optimization is based on consumer and sales psychology. And a lot of tests have been done, and it’s been found that there are various aspects that influence the buying process. For example, a prospect always has to have a certain amount of trust in the seller. Another good example is that the offer has to be very compelling and tailored to the target audience. That also rests a bit on understanding who your customers are as a seller? Or who is the target audience you’re addressing with your offer? And you always want to make sure that your offer fits your target audience perfectly and speaks directly to them. If I’m selling a vacuum cleaner, for example, am I selling it to a young student or to an older housewife? And I can then use that understanding to, for example, revise the images or adapt the product description. Because depending on whether I’m addressing young students who are vacuuming their apartment for the first time, or an older housewife who is already an expert in the area, I obviously need to use a completely different language in the images or in the product description.

David: Carl, we’ve already talked a lot about customers and buyers. But let’s switch to the sellers’ perspective. Do you have any concrete tips that our listeners could apply directly to their listings? Just so they can say, oh cool, I hadn’t thought of that yet, I can do something about that!

Carl: One big aspect that sellers can directly influence is the offer and the price. A great tool I always like to recommend when selling on eBay is Terapeak, because there you can take a very close look at what prices your competition is actually using. I always like to talk about the perceived value of the offer, because as a seller you can have a very big influence there. And that again depends on how well you know your target audience, and what matters to them? Because if your images or your product description address the current state of your target audience very precisely. Something like: Hey, you’re at home and your place is dirty again? No problem! We have the perfect product for that, namely this vacuum cleaner. And let’s take an example: you sell vacuum cleaners on eBay and your competition sells them for, say, 150 euros and just has a few boring images and a product description that talks about the product and says: This vacuum cleaner needs to be charged once a week, and the battery lasts that long. And in one session you can vacuum up so many liters of dust. And with you, it’s that you also sell it for 150 euros, but you make sure the perceived value is much higher. And you do that by addressing the actual state the prospect is in and saying: Hey, your biggest problem right now is a dirty apartment. You know the feeling, you come home in the evening after a hard day at work, and you can’t really relax because there’s dust everywhere. That’s the first step, addressing the current state, and then you address their desired state. Meaning, wouldn’t it actually be much nicer if you could quickly and with minimal effort tidy up your whole place in the evening so you can feel comfortable again and relax? So you address the desired state, and then you basically position your offer in the middle, helping your prospect get from their current situation to their desired state. In other words, you create a much stronger urge to buy the product now than all your competitors do, who just talk about what the product can do.

David: Isabell, Carl has already named some important levers. What does conversion rate optimization, or listing optimization as we call it at eBay, look like for us at eBay?

Isabell: First of all, I find what Carl just said really exciting, and I also think it’s exactly right, because listing optimization is often approached like this: Hey, what are the three levers I need to pull to influence eBay’s algorithm so I show up higher in search results? And often people lose sight of the fact that it’s really about offering relevant listings to buyers. At eBay, we look at the topic like this, and I like to talk about the purchase funnel, similar to how Carl just described it. It’s about keeping buyers from the first time they see the listing all the way to conversion and pulling as many as possible through the funnel to the end. So we always start with impressions. That’s whenever the listing appears on the eBay marketplace, for example in the search results. Then the listing is opened, and that’s what we call clicks. And then it’s also about bringing the buyer to conversion, as just described, meaning closing the purchase. And in each of these three steps there are different levers I can pull, different things I can influence. For example, on the search results page, the price, the title, and also the first image are of course absolutely decisive. And then on the item page, after the click, it’s crucial, as already said, to have a good item description and ensure the whole listing fits together. And these three terms also appear in Seller Cockpit Pro, which is the tool our sellers can use to analyze their performance. We use them there too, and there’s a report called the “Listing Quality Report,” and that funnel appears there as well with those terms. And there you can analyze on a category level what I can do, or what the competition is already doing that I’m not yet doing, to improve my listing.

David: So, if you’re just starting out and say: Okay, I want to optimize my listings in terms of conversion. I take or try to implement what Carl and you have just said. If you want to see how well it works, are these exactly the KPIs, as they’re called, the key performance indicators, meaning the numbers you should pay attention to? How good are the impressions? How good are the clicks? And how good, of course, are the sales at the end?

Isabell: Exactly, and in the end the KPI is of course revenue. But, as already said, it’s a long process, and not every time I change a keyword, or even if I have 80 characters on eBay and I’ve only used 75, and now I use the full 80, will I immediately see more revenue. So it’s definitely worth taking a closer look at the KPIs as well.

Tino: And Carl, could you briefly go into what needs to be considered with product images and texts on our marketplace?

Carl: From the approach for you as a seller, I always like to say that images have huge potential to convey a certain feeling and a certain emotion. And just to clarify: emotion is always the decisive reason why we humans buy. That means you can use your images perfectly to build in and convey a certain feeling. What I always think is missing, really, is using eight to ten product images. eBay even gives you the option to use up to 24 images. That means you should use at least eight to ten, simply to show your product in different scenarios. As the first image, always a super high-quality isolated product shot, which is also important if your products are displayed on Google or on eBay’s homepage. And after that, I’d divide the images into product benefits and use cases. So if you use eight images, for example, you can use your first title image as an isolated shot, and then you still have seven left. Then you can use four of those to show the different product benefits, and three more for use cases. Let’s take a closer look at the example “LEGO Technic Ferrari for children.” The first image would be a normal isolated shot of the finished Ferrari in front of the packaging. After that, I’d go straight into showing a happy child playing with this Ferrari. Because you’re not buying this Ferrari just so it sits around. You usually buy it for your kids so they can play with it all day and race around the apartment. That means you can show three images of a child in different situations, like looking at this Ferrari with wide eyes, or playing with it, or chasing after it. And then you can have another four images where you only show the Ferrari in different scenarios. And I’d recommend not making the images entirely against a white background, but showing them in different scenarios where the product is mostly used by your customers. So, for example, if we’re talking about this toy car, one image on a shelf so it looks cool, one on the floor as it drives through the apartment, one in your hand, and one in the child’s hand. Because you have to imagine that we sell online, and you need to make sure your prospects can imagine as well as possible how big the product is and what it will be like to have it. What will it feel like when the product arrives at my home? Because your prospects are not in a store or retail shop holding this Ferrari or the packaging of this Ferrari in their hands and knowing exactly what it looks like, how big it is, how heavy it is, how it feels, and maybe playing around with it. That’s what you have to communicate through your images. And it’s very important to focus on what is the desired state of your target audience? In other words, why are they buying it? What emotion do they want to create with it?

Isabell: We also actually always recommend that with images, what matters most is that the product and especially the condition of the product are clearly visible. So that I, as a buyer, really understand what condition it’s in. Because of course many used or refurbished items are sold through us. So yes, I’m definitely with you there. The first image has to be isolated, and then the item should also be shown from different angles so I really know, okay, what am I buying here? And as for all the emotional images, as I’d call them, we now also give our sellers the option to upload videos. So you can upload one video per listing. And that’s also super helpful for showing use cases more clearly. And exactly, I think you just said eight to ten images. We usually say at least six. But even here, it’s not the case that if I have six images or if I have ten images, I’ll drive my conversion to infinity. Experience shows that it really depends on the category I’m in. If I’m selling socks, let’s say, my product images are probably more limited than with a LEGO Ferrari set. That’s why we always recommend that sellers take a look at the competition. What is being offered and how many images can I actually provide? Exactly, it doesn’t have to be forced up to 24. What matters is that the emotions, as you just said, come across, that I understand what I’m buying, and that the right buyers are being addressed.

David: You’ve both already said quite a lot about optimization and the possibilities with images and even videos, which I find very exciting. But what about titles and item descriptions? What can we do there as a seller?

Carl: When it comes to titles, I always say it depends heavily on which keywords your target audience is actually searching for. Because understanding is important here too: every person is individual, and for every person the language is individual too, as are the words we use to describe certain objects or products. Maybe I say duster, maybe Isabell says dust remover, maybe Tino says vacuum cleaner. And then we have yet another term for describing this product. So it’s very important to do research, and here I want to come back to the tool again. Terapeak can be used not only to analyze competitors’ prices, but also to do this keyword research and understand what the most commonly used keywords are for my product. And then of course it’s important that you put the most used keywords into the title so that it resonates with your target audience when they search for the product. Because that increases, first, the likelihood that more people will click on your listing to see it, and second, that it appeals more to your target audience and they’re more likely to buy.

Isabell: Yes, I might add here that for titles, I mean eBay gives you 80 characters, which we’ve probably already mentioned. Our recommendation is always to use as many characters as possible. And we just had the example “LEGO Ferrari.” It would definitely be important that the brand name “LEGO” appears near the beginning, within the first three terms, and that it’s clear from the title what kind of product it is. And then I’d think about adding descriptive keywords afterward.

David: Tino, since we’re talking about LEGO here, that’s your category too. Product numbers are incredibly important there as well, right?

Tino: I just wanted to add that, because it always has to be in the title, definitely the product number, because all the LEGO experts out there search for that specifically.

David: So that means here too, every seller should of course choose titles adapted to their own category. So with LEGO, for example, you know that the product number has to be in there, while for home improvement completely different information might go in there. Is it an 18-volt cordless drill or 24, or I don’t even know what all is available. I’m not that much of an expert on that. So, Isabell, how important is it really to think category-specifically and choose titles accordingly?

Isabell: I’d even go one step further and say it’s not just important category-specifically, but product-specifically, because even within a category products can be so different. Exactly, so it’s definitely important to do a separate keyword research for your product, as Carl just said. To really look at what the keywords are that are currently used on the marketplace to find my product. And one tip here is definitely to have friends and family who have nothing to do with my business search for my products, so we can then find out whether people are searching for a rag, a dust remover, or a vacuum cleaner, or all three terms.

Tino: So, now we’ve heard about gallery images and titles. What about product descriptions? Are they that important too?

Carl: Yes, the product description is very essential, because through the title and the offer and the images you set the first impression for the potential customer. The most important thing I always like to pass on to you as a seller: always put yourself in the position of what your audience wants to hear right now and make it as easy as possible to understand what the benefits of my product are. And I think that’s the biggest tip I can give you for the product description: find a very good mix of product features and product benefits. What’s the benefit for my customers? What do they get out of it? And that’s how you can build a product description beautifully, always talking about what the product is and how it helps customers in their everyday life. Or how it helps customers solve a problem or reach their desired state? In other words, you can use the product description to really break down the story you’ve set with the images and the first impression you’ve created. So you describe their current situation, their problems, their fears, their needs, and then their desired situation. And in doing so, you explain the product and focus not only on what the exact characteristics, features, or details are, but with each individual product feature, what the respective advantage or benefit is for my customers.

Isabell: What you also often see is that the product description is used to repeat shipping methods, to upload the same images I already have in the gallery again, or to tell the company story, none of which actually has anything to do with the product description. So really focus on the essentials, highlight the benefits, but don’t write novels either. On the item description, something else that might also be interesting is the podcast episode we recently recorded with Niels Stuck on the topic of SEO optimization, where we picked up on this topic again. What I might add here is the mobile optimization of such an item description, because we know that most buyers aren’t using desktop anyway, but are buying on the go. And there, by default, let’s say, not the full description is visible on the item page, but only a snippet. And I can determine that by making sure a relevant snippet is chosen. What is the most important thing I need to see at first glance?

Tino: Isabell, what other options do I have on eBay to influence my customers’ purchase decisions?

Isabell: Yes, we’ve talked a lot about purchase psychology, and of course it’s not just the story of the product that plays a role, but also what kind of service can I offer? So how quickly do my products arrive? How much does shipping cost? Is it free? On eBay, I also have the option of creating additional incentives with marketing tools or ads. We recently recorded a webinar on marketing tools as well, where everything is explained in detail. So when do I use which tool, and what tools do we even offer? But I can definitely recommend that too, especially when it comes to price, to create additional incentives.

David: Yes, exactly, we’ll of course also put the link to the webinar in the show notes, and it can be found on our YouTube channel. Isabell, if I’m thinking about it now, the algorithm must also play a big role in conversion rate optimization, right?

Isabell: Exactly, we just touched on that briefly. A lot of people always think there are these five levers that can be pulled for the algorithm and then suddenly I’m number one in search results. That’s not the case. With the eBay algorithm, relevance really matters. And there I have a large portfolio of levers, so to speak. We’ve already mentioned many points: a good title, good images, a good item description, but also that I use structured fields. That means for descriptive attributes I use the item specifics, and for shipping I also use the shipping fields. The same applies to returns. Basically, everything on the listing is in the right place where it belongs. And in addition I can also use the marketing tools to play around with my price a bit. Um, yes, those are basically the levers that feed into the algorithm. In addition, seller standards are also important. So have previous customers already had a good experience and expressed that through positive feedback? Then I also have better chances of a higher search ranking.

Tino: And how do I know that my attempts to optimize the conversion rate were successful?

Isabell: That’s a good question; ideally, of course, through revenue. But we also provide several reports and metrics in Seller Cockpit Pro that make it easy to measure. And in the “Listing Quality Report” I can also see my ranking compared to the competition. That’s also super interesting to look at when you improve your listings and see how that moves upward.

Tino: And before we continue with the questions, here comes the “eBay Ads Insider” with Matthias Neubauer, who has prepared some exciting eBay Ads insights for us again.

David: eBay Ads Insider.

David: Hello, dear listeners! Some of you may already know me. My name is Matthias Neubauer, and I’m Head of Ads Partnerships for Electronics, as well as Home & Garden, at eBay Ads. And, in order to generate the maximum visibility for your own listings with our ad tools, the same principle applies as with optimizing conversion: definitely keep at it! To make ad campaigns easier to optimize, our sellers can download automated reports of their ad campaigns, for example on the performance of the keywords used. Based on these reports, actions can then be taken to optimize visibility and conversion, also known as “Return on Advertising Spend,” or “ROAS.” And anyone who wants to start optimizing right away can find the link to our corresponding blog post in the show notes. And now, continue to enjoy Carl, Isabell, and my two favorite hosts, Tino and David!

Tino: That was the “eBay Ads Insider” with Matthias Neubauer. Of course, you can also find all the info on that in our show notes.

David: Isabell, if you could give our listeners one last tip regarding conversion rate optimization or listing optimization at eBay, what would it be from your point of view?

Isabell: Just one. I’d probably recommend never stopping. So it’s a task. It’s not like once I’ve done it, I’m done and can sit back. The different markets that sellers operate in simply evolve too quickly for that. Especially when it comes to trends, it’s worth regularly checking: okay, are these still the keywords my buyers are searching for today? That would probably be my recommendation.

David: And Carl, what about you? If you could give one last tip, what would it be from your side?

Carl: The biggest tip I can give you as a seller is to engage very strongly with your target audience and with your customers too. Isabell already mentioned that earlier. Ask your friends, family, and acquaintances to search for your product. My recommendation goes in a similar direction. Really ask your existing customers: why did you choose me? Why did you buy from me? And then you can throw a few more questions into the mix. Things like, how do you actually use my product now, what does my product do for you, and why do you find it so great? And that will open your eyes a lot and show you a lot of potential, including how can I actually adapt my listing? And the best advice I can give you there is: do this survey and get to know your target audience, because then this podcast will make a lot of sense, and then you’ll know exactly how to apply it in your individual case.

David: Carl, what if I’m just starting out as a seller? I don’t have an established customer base yet. What would you advise me then?

Carl: I see two ways to approach that. The first is that you do a direct competitor analysis on eBay or take a look at your competition. And the best thing you can do is see how they actually sell the products and what reviews buyers write about them. Those reviews contain a lot of exciting input, experiences, and descriptions that you can use to build a better understanding. The second is to engage with various online forums where your target audience and customers hang out. Where potential customers ask questions, or people who have already bought the product write reviews and share their problems or experiences. And without having any customers or an existing target audience, you’ll already be able to build a really good understanding from that. And based on that understanding, you can then write and adapt your listings.

Isabell: And especially for new sellers, I’d recommend applying for the Up-and-Coming program. There they can tackle the whole topic together with our experts.

David: Anyone interested in the eBay Up-and-Coming program can find the link in the description. We’ve now heard a lot about conversion rate optimization, and I’ll try to roughly summarize it as I understood it. Maybe you can confirm it then. So, the most important thing is to understand the target audience, to know who I’m selling to and what they want. Then optimize my title, my images, and also my item description for this target audience so they are addressed precisely. That I address their problems and ideally solve them too. And then, of course, keep at it and continuously check the reports: does anything change over time? Do I need to tweak things here and there and keep optimizing? Because, as I heard earlier, conversion rate optimization isn’t something you do once and never again, but continuously. Is all of that correct? Did I get that right?

Isabell: Very good, yes, I’d sign off on that.

Carl: Couldn’t have summarized it better myself.

Tino: Me neither, by the way.

David: Very nice.

Tino: Carl, if you’ve already listened to our podcast, we now come to our final question. That is: what was the last thing you bought on eBay?

Carl: I recently bought a nutritional supplement on eBay, specifically magnesium, because I hadn’t been sleeping well, and now I’m sleeping like a baby again.

Tino: Oh, excellent, I actually expected you to have bought the “LEGO Technic Ferrari.” Isabell, you’re also here as an expert today. So we can also ask you the question: what was your last purchase on eBay? Last time it was something for festival season, right?

Isabell: Very well observed! I recently bought a backpack on eBay because I was on vacation and traveling with a backpack for the first time.

David: Very nice. And that brings us to the end of this podcast episode again, dear Carl, and of course dear Isabell too, thank you so, so much for visiting us here today. For taking the time to talk about this really exciting topic of conversion rate optimization for eBay listings. I learned an incredible amount. I think our listeners also got a lot out of it, and I wouldn’t have thought that there was so much purchase psychology behind it. And it was just really exciting insights for me. So thank you both very much.

Isabell: Thanks for letting me sit on the other side today. I really enjoyed it.

Carl: Yes, many thanks for the lovely invitation. I really enjoyed discussing with you all. And also many thanks for taking such good care of all the travel and everything around it. Thank you very much!

Tino: Dear listeners! We’re very happy to receive your feedback on our podcast. Please leave us a message in the eBay Community about which tips from Carl and Isabell helped you the most, or whether you maybe have tips that we didn’t mention today at all.

David: And of course we’d be very happy if you leave us a subscription or a like wherever you’re listening to us right now, if you can. That definitely helps our podcast keep growing. I’ll say goodbye and see you next time!

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Posted 3 years ago·Last reply 3 years ago

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the1st-thelast

·3 years ago

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It’s also interesting to ask your friends what offer in a certain category they would choose when searching and why; you’ll find that almost everyone chooses a different offer. Just as interesting is asking, "What would you type into the search bar for a text if, for example, you were looking for a vacuum cleaner or a specific toy?" The input can vary as much as possible; that would also be an interesting approach to improving your offers.

My mother would type a completely different text than my best friend or my girlfriend.

I found that very interesting.