Rank higher in Ebay search

Much like Google, Ebay tightly keeps Cassini’s algorithm confidential, to prevent any manipulation. However, in this article we will examine what is known about the algorithm, and how to use it to rank higher in the Ebay search results.

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Ebay sellers are always concerned about the ranking of their listings in the search result page, as shoppers most often tend to select the ones appearing at and near the top of the results. 

In previous articles, we discussed how sellers can optimize their listing to enhance their performance, but in this article we are going to get a closer look at Ebay’s search engine - Cassini.

Much like Google, Ebay tightly keeps Cassini’s algorithm confidential, to prevent any manipulation. However, in this article we will examine what is known about the algorithm, and how to use it to rank higher in the Ebay search results.
 

What is Cassini?

As mentioned, Cassini’s is Ebay’s search engine, which is responsible for the filtering and sorting of results. If we could understand how Cassini works, we can use it to our advantage to boost sales.
 

Every time a search query is entered, Cassini examines and ranks the listing according to the number of times they have been viewed, clicked through, bid on and bought.
 

Conversely, whenever a seller posts a new listing, Cassini examines it for information about the product itself, shipping policy, seller ratings and reviews, page views and conversion rates, and more relevant information that will help it rank the listing.
  

Cassini then uses its secret algorithm to analyze and combine all this information, and produces a score that reflects how optimized the listing is. This score is then used to determine the ranking of the listing in the search results page. This is basically how Cassini operates.

Product Listing SEO

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the process by which adjustments are made to increase the exposure of a website within a search engine. Accordingly, product listing SEO is the process by which sellers adjust their product listings to increase exposure, page views and conversion rates. 

Cassini’s Main Criteria

Product Title

Product titles are the first thing shoppers see in the listing, so they should provide shoppers with all the relevant information and written in a way that will entice them to click through to the listing. The more shoppers view the listing, the more sales it generates, which in turn improves its overall ranking in search results. 

Make sure to check out our article about Ebay title optimization elements for a deeper look into product titles. 

Item Specifics

When sellers post a new listing, they are required to fill in the item’s specifications. They include the product’s most important attributes and characteristics, such as brand, size, color, type etc., depending on the product category. The item specifics provide shoppers with sufficient information about the product to allow them to make an informed purchasing decision.

When a seller fails to include item specific in his Ebay listings, the products are most likely to appear way down in the search results. As some of the specifics are mandatory, failure to add them may cause the whole listing to be rejected.

Categories

Ebay has done a lot of research to determine which product categories are most efficient, and lead to the best results for specific products. The key here is precision and relevance. Overdoing it by adding multiple categories and subcategories will not improve results. Accurate categories will.

For example, if you sell sports cards, simply going for the “Sports Memorabilia” category and the “Sports trading cards” subcategory will be sufficient. There is no need for “Collectibles” or “Toys & Hobbies” categorization.  

Unless you are selling unique products, most chances are someone else is selling the same product you are selling. In this case, Ebay makes it easier on sellers, and offers them to enter a UPC or EAN so that Ebay can categorize them automatically. 

Product Description

Product description can help sellers create a better shopping experience. By analyzing the shoppers’ preferences and interests, sellers can create more personalized and attractive content that will help boost traffic and increase conversion rates. All these will help their listing appear higher in search results pages.

User Reviews

Another element that contributes to a listing’s ranking score is user’s reviews and feedback. Positive and negative reviews not only shape the way shoppers see your products, but they also impact the listing’s ranking score.  
 

For better user reviews, we recommend sellers:

• Provide accurate information about the products brand 
• Be responsive to helpful users who communicate with them
• Uphold themselves to the shipping times they promise
• Be transparent with regards to any additional fees and charges, and when possible, offer free shipping.
  

Free Shipping

This point is so crucial, it deserves its own focus. Listings that offer free shipping are automatically ranked higher by Cassini, because unsurprisingly, this is something a lot of shoppers look for.
 

Tip: sellers can simply add the shipping cost to the product’s price, and offer free shipping. It doesn’t make any difference in terms of cost, but psychologically shoppers prefer seeing “Free Shipping”. 

High Quality Images

Next to the product title, images are the first thing that catches the shopper’s eye in the listing. But in addition, Cassini is also looking at the images to see which ones are good quality, by measuring the number of pixels. As with the other things, the better the quality of the image a seller uses - the higher the score and the chances of the listing to appear high in the results. 

It is recommended to add to the images an alt text, which is phrases that can be attached to the image to provide details. 

Reviving Older Listings

When posting a new listing, Ebay offers sellers the choice of whether the listing will be posted until canceled by the seller (Good 'til canceled), or set a duration, after the end of which they can sell a similar product, or in other words, revive the listing. 

When selecting to sell a similar product, sellers actually create a new listing, which works well with Cassini’s algorithm, since most shoppers are looking for the most recent listings. The sell similar option is also preferable in biddings, since new listings attract more potential customers, which contributes to the listing’s ranking score. 

Conclusion

The main goal of Cassini’s algorithm is to give shoppers the best shopping experience by promoting sellers who best optimize their listings to meet the shoppers demands. The days of simply including some keywords in listings are gone, and today Cassini is looking for a lot more. Sellers who create high quality and engaging listings, gain the shoppers trust, offer value for money and provide a good shopping experience, are usually rewarded with having their listings appear at the top of the result pages.  

It is recommended to begin optimizing your Ebay listings to meet Cassini’s algorithm criteria by gradually implementing these steps. Following this path will help your listing shoot up in the rankings and appear at the top of every result page. 

Lisuto combines technology with deep ecommerce consumer product knowledge helping sellers optimize their product data and extract much more out of the online store. Using proprietary AI technology, Lisuto goes through the existing product information, tagging the data with Ebay required item specifics navigational tags, making necessary corrections and completions, bringing the quality of the sellers' product feed up to highest standard in terms of uniformity and completeness, making it perfectly optimized for Ebay’s Cassini and for the user's eyes.