SEO for Stores Hosted by eBay

[2014cahefo]

Hi,

If I choose ebay to host my online store, is it needed to apply SEO technics to get more traffic for my store? Or my products will be found easily by visitors when searching on ebay?

I don't mean users searching by search engines like Google. I mean users searching on ebay site.

Tnx

[pierrelebel]

I do not see your store.

New sellers should establish some feedback rating through buying before starting selling on eBay.  A store is not required at the beginning.

[2014cahefo]

As I said in my old post I'm going to start my online presence for my business. Now I'm hesitate between creating my own site or using ebay. My major concern is regarding getting traffic.

1- Isn't it unprofessional if I have both and redirect my own website visitors to my ebay store?

2- What is the best web hosting? When I compare web hosts reviews I see Godaddy, Bluehost and Hosgator are the most recommended companies. Especially I like Godaddy because they not only offer cheap monthly services including web hosting, email hosting and domain name registration, but also they provide marketing tools to promote your site ranking and get traffic for your website. On the other hand, when it comes to host a business website, another recommended service is inmotionhosting. Unfortunately this company doesn't offer any tool for online marketing and I'm not sure if it works for my ecommerce site or not.

What is your recommended hosting provider for my store? http://www.godaddy.com or http://www.inmotionhosting.com

3- And I again repeat my unanswered question: if I choose ebay to host my online store, is it needed to apply SEO technics to get more traffic for my store? Or my products will be found easily by visitors when searching on ebay?

[reallynicestamps]

First do some buying to learn the customer experience and to build feedback which not only allows buyers to trust you but also discourages scammers who prey on newbies.

Then learn about the 21 Day Hold on customer payments.

Then work on developing good searchable titles. Hint: you have 80 keystrokes and grammar does not count.

Toddle before you walk. Walk before you run.

[pierrelebel]

It is important to understand that eBay is only a venue: a place where a seller advertises products for sale, following rules and policies set up by eBay based mostly on their American experience.

A seller can have an eBay store (paying monthly fees in addition to all other fees) or not; it is a question of numbers.

As stated earlier, it is best to start on eBay as a buyer, learning how it works and building a feedback rating in the process.  Buyers are often reluctant to purchase from sellers with zero or little feedback.

In the "good old days", eBay provided sellers with an incentive to redirect traffic from their own website to their eBay store (75% discount on Final Value Fees).  That program was discontinued about six years ago (I earned about $100 a month in fee reduction at the time).

eBay does not allow sellers to mention their website or email address in their listings, either directly or indirectly.  However sellers are free to communicate by email (not through eBay messaging system) with their customers to generate additional business.

Many sellers have used eBay to generate a list of customers.  Those newly acquired customers were then referred to the seller's website where other items were available.

Frankly it is not possible to give you much guidance without more information from you about the size of the business (number of products, quantities available for the average product, type of products, pricing, expected monthly sales volume, shipping charge as a percentage of selling price, ease to scale, etc...

"...Or my products will be found easily by visitors when searching on ebay?"

"Found easily?"  Not anymore.  That may have been true ten or fifteen years ago when buyers would find 10,000,000 to 25,000,000 listings on eBay.  Today, sellers offer 800,000,000 listings, making it more difficult to compete and for buyers to find your listings.

[reallynicestamps]

1- Isn't it unprofessional if I have both and redirect my own website visitors to my ebay store?

No.

As pierre says, you can collect your eBay customers' emails and offer them deals later on.

Or you could slip a business card or flyer for your non-eBay site into your shipment.

You can't (and it would be both unethical and unprofessional) use eBay to find a customer then switch the same deal to your website.

It takes a fair bit of attention, but you can list your products on both sites. If your products are unique, make sure they have a unique stock number on each and remove the sold products from all sites as quickly as possible. Daily would be a minimum.

EBay is good training for selling online. Not only will you meet a lot of new customers, from all over the world, but servicing them within eBay's strict seller standards will make you a better entrepreneur.

Just learning how to photograph, describe, set asking and shipping prices , and providing prompt shipment are tested and graded on eBay by both the site and by your customers.

But do spend a few weeks shopping here, whether in your category or for personal use. That too will make you a better seller, just by seeing the mistakes made by others.