| The auction title you use is vital, and you only | | | | Limited edition |
| have 55 characters to play with. | | | | Unique |
| In these 55 characters you have include strong | | | | Rare |
| keywords to make sure you are returned in as | | | | New |
| many relevant searches as possible. Plus you | | | | One-off |
| want to persuade prospective bidders to click | | | | Exclusive |
| through to read your auction page. | | | | Distinctive |
| In effect the title is the heading of your | | | | Dramatic |
| advertisement. | | | | Striking |
| Fifty five characters isn't much when you | | | | Vivid |
| consider what the title has to achieve. | | | | Unusual |
| 1. Bidders will use eBay search to find auctions | | | | Handsome |
| matching their requirements. As you may know, | | | | Beautiful |
| by default eBay's search facility only checks | | | | Vibrant |
| auction titles for the presence of the keywords | | | | Brilliant |
| input by the searcher. | | | | Mint |
| So, the title has to contain keywords which | | | | Exquisite |
| bidders might use to locate auction items such as | | | | Perfect |
| yours. | | | | Quality |
| (Just in case you weren't aware, eBay's auction | | | | Use power words selectively and appropriately in |
| search takes no account of capitalization. So a | | | | your title, bearing in mind your item. |
| search for madonna would return titles which | | | | 4. Unusual characters |
| included madonna and Madonna - and indeed | | | | Don't be tempted to use characters in words |
| mAdonna, if someone's finger had slipped when | | | | such as L@@K or save $$$$ or **** see here |
| typing the title in.) | | | | ****. First of all, it's usually a waste of your |
| 2. And, assuming as a result of the search your | | | | precious 55 characters limit and conveys nothing. |
| auction has been returned in the list along with | | | | Second, who searches on 4 $ signs or 4 |
| many others, the title now has to persuade the | | | | asterisks? Also, in my mind it portrays the seller |
| searcher to click through onto YOUR auction | | | | as someone slightly suspicious, perhaps |
| description page - your sales pitch. | | | | unprofessional, who isn't confident enough to let |
| So, in your 55 character title what you're looking | | | | their words do the talking. Finally, think now as a |
| for is a mixture of:-a) Keywordsb) Powerful | | | | bidder, do you react positively to this kind of |
| influencing wordsc) An outline of your item. | | | | device or not? I know I don't. |
| Well, that sounds easy, doesn't it? | | | | 5. Be creative |
| One of the determining factors in assessing the | | | | There are opportunities to think creatively about |
| weight to give to each of those three elements is | | | | your item. For example, if you're selling a device |
| the item itself. | | | | which is a nasal hair trimmer, there's not much |
| Branded item with model ID | | | | more you can put in the title is there? Well, whilst |
| In this instance the title is all about the specific | | | | the item is primarily advertised as a nasal hair |
| item. Bidders who will be interested in this item will | | | | trimmer, it is also useful for trimming ear and |
| know the make and model they're after. | | | | eyebrow hair. |
| For example: | | | | So the title could include the words "nasal hair, ear |
| Aiwa HV-FX5850 6 Head Nicam Hi-Fi Stereo VCR | | | | and eyebrow trimmer". This way your entry will |
| There is no need to expand on this title, unless to | | | | be in the results of people searching for nasal hair |
| add the word NEW as appropriate. | | | | trimmer, ear hair trimmer and eyebrow trimmer. |
| Unbranded item with no obvious model ID | | | | If you've room in your 55 characters therefore, |
| The vast majority of auctions will be like this. | | | | think "outside the square" and try and appeal to |
| There is no standard brand, model or reference | | | | groups of potential buyers who may not |
| number, so you need to describe the item | | | | necessarily have been the immediate target for |
| yourself. | | | | your item. (The torx hex tool set mentioned |
| As an example, I was recently selling a tool set | | | | earlier is another example of this) |
| for use on mobile phones. This is the title I went | | | | 6. It's not an English exam |
| with: | | | | Writing titles is difficult enough without having to |
| Torx Hex Mobile Cell Phone Tool Set - NEW | | | | worry about grammar. Don't be too concerned |
| Mobile cell phones is a "hot topic". To work on a | | | | that your title doesn't "scan", or tell a story. |
| Nokia (the most popular make) mobile phone | | | | Remember the objective with titles is to be |
| requires a torx screwdriver. | | | | returned on searches, and then to induce a |
| I added NEW, as it is still one of the most | | | | click-through to the auction description page. |
| persuasive marketing words you can use. | | | | Here's an excellent example of an auction title - it |
| Named item | | | | contains strong keywords, and also uses humor |
| If you have a name to latch onto, this can bring | | | | to tempt the reader onto the auction page. |
| plenty of keyword hits. For example, anyone | | | | ANTIQUE BRASS BELL-PULL "You rang m'Lord?" |
| interested in Hank Marvin and his musical | | | | By the way, it worked well. At the time of writing |
| instruments would find this auction through eBay's | | | | the auction was still open. The item had a starting |
| search. | | | | price of 99p (50c), and is now at £117 |
| Rare Hank Marvin autographed guitar STUNNING | | | | ($240), having had 18 bids and 240 auction page |
| Note the use of a couple of power words to | | | | views. |
| encourage the viewer to click through to the | | | | Spend as much time as you can on your auction |
| auction page. | | | | titles. It is your best chance of being found by |
| Additional tips on auction titles | | | | bidders amongst those 1 million other items on |
| 1. Capital letters | | | | eBay.co.uk or 10 million items on |
| Many people on eBay now create their full auction | | | | Having decided on your title, the next element is a |
| title in capital letters. This advice is given in several | | | | sub-title. |
| of the established "how to sell on eBay" books. | | | | This is an optional facility which allows you to |
| Capital letters do have one significant advantage | | | | show more information about your item. If you |
| over lower case - they're larger and therefore | | | | use it, whenever your auction is returned in |
| take up more line space. So, with all capitals, your | | | | searches or is listed via a category listing, your |
| auction title is more likely to run to two lines on | | | | sub-title appears directly under the auction title. |
| search returns, giving your entry a bigger physical | | | | As the name implies, sub-title provides you with a |
| presence on the screen. | | | | special area to add information about your auction |
| My own opinion is that a mix of capital letters and | | | | item. You can use this in any way e.g. to mention |
| lower case is a slightly better option. Your auction | | | | some specific term or condition such as a |
| title will take up more space than all lower case, | | | | moneyback guarantee, or to add further details |
| but it allows you to give emphasis to selected | | | | about the item itself. |
| words. | | | | Within sub-title, you have the same size limit as |
| 2. Use of underscore | | | | the item title i.e. 55 characters. |
| If you use underscore between words, rather | | | | The downside of sub-title is that it is not searched |
| than spaces, this will make your title physically | | | | when a bidder enters keywords into eBay's |
| longer - and therefore look bigger than other | | | | standard Search Box. For searching purposes, |
| peoples'. This is because eBay uses a PostScript | | | | eBay treats sub-title as being part of the auction |
| font where the underscore character is longer | | | | description. |
| than a space. | | | | Also, it is a fixed fee facility. This makes it a |
| 3. Power words to optionally use sparingly in titles | | | | more attractive option the higher the value of |
| Be aware that searchers will not normally key in | | | | your auction item. For low value items you will |
| words such as those in the list below. But where | | | | need to weigh up carefully the additional cost of |
| a title is returned in a keyword search results list, | | | | this facility against the likely increased exposure i.e. |
| and it contains one of these influencing words, | | | | click-throughs to your auction page. |
| you could get more click-throughs to your auction | | | | I hope this article outlining the considerations for |
| description page. Here are some of the words | | | | auction title creation proves useful to you in your |
| that can help in this respect: | | | | eBay activities. |
| Stunning | | | | |