Visibility & Search Engines: How do Germans search?

Do you want to present your eBay listings to as many customers as possible? Then you should know exactly how they move around online. Even though many consumers already use online marketplaces directly to search for and research products, some still rely on traditional search engines.

In this episode, Felix Marum from the eBay Ads team sheds light on the subject with a representative study. This allows him and his team to show exactly how Germans behave when shopping online and which platforms they use to search for products.

He also explains why visibility is a crucial factor for successful selling and which measures eBay recommends to put your products in the spotlight. Enjoy listening!

**Important links**

**Mentioned podcast episodes**

** Chapter markers **

[00:01:49] to [00:06:09] - Discussion of the survey: Where do Germans search?
[00:06:09] to [00:07:35] - What does visibility mean at eBay?
[00:07:35] to [00:09:32] - How does eBay Ads support visibility?
[00:09:32] to [00:18:13] - External ads - how the new ad format works
[00:18:13] to [00:19:24] - Recognizing purchase occasions with the eBay Ads Marketing Calendar 2024
[00:19:24] to [00:21:31] - What additional measures does eBay recommend for more sales opportunities?

Comment under the post in the eBay Community:

👋 Hi dear listeners! We hope you enjoyed the episode with Felix! Do you have any other tips on how your products can shine in the spotlight? Write them to us here in the comments!

Lisa: Whether birthday gifts, garden tools or kitchen accessories. We buy many things we use every day online, but on which websites do we actually search for these products? In search engines or directly on marketplaces like eBay! If you as sellers know where, when and how your target group shops, you can increase the visibility of your products. This works best through ads and advertising solutions, with which you can specifically boost your sales. Sounds complicated, but it isn’t. You’ll find out how it all works now.

Felix: So if I now show listings that have a poor quality index, then I can’t expect that just because I’m showing them to more people, more will buy. There are certainly a few exceptions, so if I’m dealing in rare Porsche parts, for example, of which there are only two or three on the market, consumers will sometimes overlook it if there are only two product images. But if I’m operating in a market environment with a lot of competition, it is incredibly important to ensure that this foundation is in place.

Lisa: A warm welcome to "All top. Again anytime!" the eBay podcast about commerce and e-commerce. I’m Lisa Haak, Head of Seller Community and Brand-Relation Program at eBay, and I’m very happy about my guest today: Felix Marum. He is Advertising Partner Manager at eBay Ads Germany. The team advises commercial sellers at eBay when it comes to making their listings more visible. And that is exactly what Felix will do for you out there today. Explain how marketing solutions can help optimize your business, and what you need to watch out for if you want to place ads outside our marketplace. With that said, welcome Felix!

Felix: Hi Lisa, thank you so much for the invitation.

Lisa: Great to have you here, and you also brought a super exciting topic, because your eBay Ads team has carried out a brand-new representative study on product search in e-commerce. In collaboration with Civey, you asked 5,000 people in Germany about their online shopping behavior. Felix, that was definitely a very comprehensive study. What are the results or key takeaways that stuck with you or that you found the most interesting?

Felix: The key takeaway of the study is that around every second German uses online marketplaces and search engines to find items when shopping online. And if you take a closer look at the survey results, especially whether there are differences by age or gender, you’ll see that men and women are basically in agreement when it comes to researching items, meaning the choice is primarily made via search engines and online marketplaces. What stands out is that men and generally the 40+ generation like to use price comparison platforms as well, while women are more likely to search for products directly in the online shops of manufacturers. The 40+ generation, alongside search engines and online marketplaces, generally prefers to search directly with the manufacturer.

Lisa: Okay, so lots of findings about where which target group might search for my product, cool. Let’s dig into that a bit more, because the results are all super interesting. You just mentioned price comparison platforms, or search engines or marketplaces — which channels play a more minor role in product research? So what can we put to one side for now?

Felix: Okay, so search on the mentioned price comparison platforms and in the manufacturers’ shops plays a rather minor role. That’s especially true for consumers aged 50 to 64. Social media and social commerce play virtually no role across age groups and genders.

Lisa: Really none at all. From my own user behavior I’d have seen that completely differently, because with how often I’d say I fall for ads on Instagram, for example, then that’s not representative in the survey, I guess.

Felix: Yeah, I mean, I feel that too, that you always infer from your own consumption or research behavior to the rest of consumers, more or less. But that’s actually how it is. And that’s why it’s always good to have study results that broaden the view a bit, so to speak.

Lisa: How often do you do surveys like this, and what do you do with the results then?

Felix: Basically, we do that regularly, simply to understand how potential consumers move around and how I can best reach them. Simply to understand what’s often referred to as the customer journey. To know and understand the customer journey. Where can I meet the customer, the potential one? And also to provide appropriate consulting support for our sellers and explain why it is important to be visible there, and what helps best.

Lisa: Yes, and probably also to identify promising products in your eBay Ads portfolio, or for sellers, so you know what’s needed there and how we can then support our sellers accordingly?

Felix: Sure, definitely, that is of course very, very helpful for product development for the colleagues then!

Lisa: Good that you do these studies and then also make them available to our sellers, so that they don’t just learn from their own user behavior, but instead hear what the majority of people out there are doing. So let’s maybe talk about why the findings from this study are especially interesting for our listeners, meaning our eBay sellers.

Felix: Exactly, we’ve learned that a large part of the potential buyers either search directly via marketplaces or via search engines. And the question I can then ask myself as a seller is: am I already doing everything possible to ensure maximum visibility for my inventory there?

Lisa: Visibility is such a buzzword, almost something we’ve talked about very often in the podcast episodes already. What do you understand by visibility on eBay in relation to the study or in the eBay Ads team?

Felix: Yes, good question. Basically, you can first say that visibility refers to the number of times my listings or sellers’ listings are displayed. So if a potential buyer goes into search on eBay and looks for an item, and my results or my listings appear on the search results page, then that can be called an impression or a display, and that in total is basically visibility. You can look at this very well in Seller Cockpit Pro, in the Performance/Traffic section, where you then see all the key figures, including impressions, which measure visibility.

Lisa: And visibility with the hope of more sales as a result.

Felix: Exactly, so the expectation is of course that if I increase my visibility — my inventory is relevant in some way for consumers — then there will also be more clicks, meaning more interaction with my listings, and in the best case, of course, more sales as well.

Lisa: Very true, as a small editorial note here. Visibility on eBay works very well through the products that our eBay Ads team provides. But of course, visibility on eBay includes so much more. We’ve already done several podcast episodes about that, and later in the episode we’ll hopefully get back to visibility in general. Advertising is, I’d say, part of the key to success. Cool, Felix! Then let’s talk about the visibility you can achieve for sellers from the Ads team. So which products do you have at eBay? What are the topics in your Ads portfolio that sellers can discuss with you or book through you at eBay to get visibility?

Felix: Okay. Yes, so let’s assume I have my inventory and want to give it more visibility in order to achieve more sales in the best case. eBay offers various ways to influence that. The classic is eBay Promoted Listings Standard. I simply set a percentage that I’m willing to invest, for example 4 or 5 percent. eBay then starts displaying the listings on the additional platforms to create increased visibility. And in the case of a transaction, meaning when a sale is successful, that additional percentage is charged — that’s called cost per transaction, or cost per sale, if you like, that’s one variant. Another format is Promoted Listings Advanced, which means it is detached from the transaction, and then I address my potential buyers with, for example, search terms, store the matching listings with them, and every time a potential end customer clicks on the listing, an amount is charged per click, so to speak. Pay per click, cost per click.

Lisa: Cool, and if we maybe come back to the survey we mentioned at the beginning. It’s mainly about not just finding products on eBay, but where are people searching at all? And that’s not always on eBay at first. Even if we might wish it were. What do you have in your portfolio to get visibility outside of eBay and then guide people to eBay?

Felix: So let’s assume I’ve already set quite a bit in motion for the visibility of my listings within eBay and now I want to fish in the second pond as well, namely the pond of search engines, and I want to increase visibility there and influence it deliberately. For that, eBay offers external ads, which then basically give sellers the opportunity to actively cast several lines into this pond of search engines as well and positively influence the visibility of their own listings there, with the expectation that the additional clicks will also generate more sales.

Lisa: So we meet potential buyers where they search, and bring them on eBay to the sellers’ listings.

Felix: Exactly!

Lisa: Sure, there are lots and lots of questions around that, and you’ve already dealt with that and created a document with the most frequently asked questions and the matching answers. What’s the deal with that document? What are you trying to answer there?

Felix: Basically, we want to make sure the product is explained well at first and that everyone knows how to use it best for themselves. In addition, when it comes to objections or misconceptions, we want to provide content that helps understanding and also answer the most common questions we’ve already been asked about external ads.

Lisa: Then let’s take a look at some of those questions and the answers given by you rather than in the document. For the questions we won’t have here in the podcast, there’s a blog where the document is also linked. We’ll put that in the show notes, but let’s get started, Felix. Do external ads actually offer added value?

Felix: Very good question! Of course, it depends on how I define added value for myself as a seller. If I understand added value as greater visibility, more reach, reaching more potential buyers, then I would personally say: “yes, definitely,” and what’s also good is that I have good cost control through a fixed budget.

Lisa: And if I’m a listener thinking to myself that I’m basically already a pro at ads on eBay because I already use Promoted Listings Advanced, isn’t that enough?

Felix: Yes, that also depends on the strategy of the respective seller. If I’m satisfied with the sales activity I’m seeing now, and it fits into my planning: okay, then you could say it might be enough. But if I still have enough inventory, enough capacity to step it up a notch, then you should definitely consider using it as an additional tool to increase visibility.

Lisa: Okay, and then I picked out another point from the document. More of a myth? Hopefully a myth. The campaigns are complicated time sinks. Setting them up and implementing them requires expertise and a lot of time. Felix, what do you think about that statement?

Felix: So, I thought that at the beginning too, when the product was introduced. The same points you mentioned, and if you look at it from the perspective of a seller running their own web shop, that may well be true. At eBay, the advantage is that it’s basically a super simple setup. I basically just set what daily budget I’m willing to invest, click start, and eBay does the rest. So it’s super intuitive, it’s very easy. I don’t need any additional staff capacity to manage the campaign, as might be the case in my own shop, exactly.

Lisa: Actually, everything sounds pretty comfortable. Then for further difficult and complex questions about the product, we’ll link the blog in the show notes, and at this point maybe one more little note for our listeners out there. We’re always super happy to get your feedback on our podcast episodes, what you’d like to hear, and so on. You can send that to us via the eBay Community or on our Facebook page: eBay for Business Germany. And if you like the podcast, then please leave a subscription or a like wherever you’re listening to us right now. Felix, let’s return to the topic: if skeptical sellers have now been convinced by the arguments you mentioned and are thinking, okay, I’ve already tried ads, and now I want to step it up a notch, as you said. How can they get started?

Felix: Yes, that’s basically quite simple. I log in as usual to Seller Cockpit Pro, click on the Marketing tab at the top, then go to the Advertising Cockpit, click on “Create new campaign” on the right, and then I have a screen where I basically see all formats, all ad formats, and I select external ads on the far right, click on “Get started now,” and am then taken to the next page where I simply define the daily budget I’m willing to invest, click on “Start,” and that’s it.

Lisa: That actually sounds child’s play, and if I want to run these ads, are there any conditions or prerequisites I need to keep in mind, especially regarding the items I might want to advertise there? So are there basic requirements in the setup or in selecting the items?

Felix: Good point you’re raising, there are. You have to distinguish between criteria I can influence as a seller and points I can’t influence. So, there are certain items that are not exported for external visibility as such, but that’s only a very, very small percentage. And if I look at the points I can influence through my listings, the biggest sticking point is the first product image, which is the point that can more often lead to rejection for external visibility. The reason is either that the first product image has watermarks or overlays, or that the resolution isn’t sufficient. To analyze whether that’s the case for your own inventory, there’s the quality report in the Performance tab of Seller Cockpit, and there you get an exact overview of which listings could not be exported, along with the reason, and then I have the option to see how relevant those listings are for me and my business, and can then make the appropriate adjustments to qualify them for export to the search engines.

Lisa: And do I understand correctly that the reason I can read there may not even be an eBay reason, but rather a basic requirement of the external platform where I want to advertise?

Felix: Exactly, these are the criteria set by the external platforms that have to be met so that this transfer of listings there is eligible for increased visibility.

Lisa: Because watermarks or the like aren’t allowed there, right.

Felix: Exactly, those are quality standards the platforms want to ensure. And.

Lisa: Makes sense, and when my campaign is running. So I’ve set it up. I found the right items, they go through. What do I actually still need to pay attention to in the daily process?

Felix: Actually not much. The only thing I need first is a bit of patience. Yes, so they say it needs to run for at least three to four weeks so that valid data can be collected and performance can be assessed. So just check in from time to time to see how it’s going, maybe adjust the daily budget if necessary, otherwise nothing more.

Lisa: But that’s a super important point, that when I choose this kind of campaign, I give it time and don’t check after two days thinking maybe not much has happened yet, and then stop, but instead it’s a product that takes time.

Felix: Absolutely! Very important: don’t interrupt the campaigns, but really let them run continuously so that this process of collecting experience works well.

Lisa: So the data machine behind it keeps running.

Felix: Yes, exactly!

Lisa: Okay, great, Felix. Do you have any general tips for our listeners on what criteria, or when, they should best run ads?

Felix: Good question, that always depends on the inventory I’m working with, of course. Basically, there are always shopping highlights that can certainly be used as occasions, seasonality that my inventory may be subject to. Special buying occasions: Easter, Carnival, Christmas, that’s every year, the UEFA European Championship in summer, maybe big concerts, festivals, so there are quite a few things that may play a role, as I said, depending on the respective inventory. Here, eBay Ads has provided a marketing calendar for the current year that might offer a bit of inspiration about which buying occasions eBay Ads thinks there could be this year.

Lisa: eBay Marketing Calendar or eBay Ads Marketing Calendar sounds super exciting, and of course we’ll also link that in the show notes. As teased earlier, there are of course many, many more ways to make your own listings more visible and increase listing quality.

Felix: Exactly, listing quality is a good keyword. Even though that’s certainly a topic eBay often addresses to sellers, I think it’s also super, super important in relation to advertising to talk about it again. Because ultimately, it’s listing quality. Good listing quality is the foundation for successful advertising. The better the quality of the listing — in terms of title, images, everything that goes with it, retail standards, shipping times, etc., etc. — the higher the probability that if I show the listing to more potential buyers, more will buy it. So if I show listings that have a poor quality index, then I can’t expect that just because I’m showing them to more people, more will buy. There are certainly a few exceptions, so if I’m dealing in rare Porsche parts, for example, of which there are only two or three on the market, consumers will sometimes overlook it if there are only two product images. But if I’m operating in a market environment with a lot of competition, it is incredibly important to ensure that this foundation is in place, and we probably will never miss an opportunity to talk about it. But I can only join that preaching line, or that sermon line, to say that it is incredibly important to do this.

Lisa: Is it maybe fair to say that eBay Ads works particularly well if you’ve done the basics well?

Felix: Absolutely, definitely! #00:20:48-9# Lisa: Cool, if you had to sum it up. What are your top go-to things that you should pay attention to, or look at again, when optimizing listings before creating a campaign?

Felix: Good question, what would I look at? Well, of course the basics: title, concise, the item specifics. Are all the search terms that might be used included there? The product images: incredibly important that I have as many as possible, the more the better. Especially when I look at where consumers are coming to us from more and more now, images play a major role. The price must of course be competitive, the shipping times and processing times all have to fit. Yes, those would probably be the points I’d focus on.

Lisa: Very good, and if anyone wants to read up again that, for example, brand, size, color, material or possibly the item, model or part number are especially important in the title length, or when the number of images affects visibility. We can send them all to our seller portal. There’s lots of information there, lots to read up on, and for Felix there’s really only one question left today, and we always ask it at the end: Felix, what was the last thing you bought on eBay?

Felix: That’s pretty easy to answer. It was lighting for my son’s Lego train.

Lisa: Funny, mine was lighting too, but a dining room lamp.

Felix: Cool.

Lisa: Felix, many thanks for your helpful tips and all the info that we didn’t even get to put into the show notes, and of course many thanks to all the lovely listeners out there and thank you for being here

Felix: Thank you very, very much for letting me be part of it today. Thank you.