Relevancy and Google-What I've found out

[luvintage]

Hi everyone,

I really believe that the day of just posting a listing and making a sale are gone!

There's soooooo much competition now and selling on the internet has changed dramatically.

These are some of the things that I have learned in the last month or so. Those of you who are seasoned internet sellers already know all of this. But, those who are just joining us may not realize it yet.

So, for those of you who are "seasoned" please jump in and correct me where I am wrong because I'm probably one of the least qualified people here as far as this kind of thing goes.

I got the info from a variety of sources.

Google and many sites no longer post items by "newly listed". Everything is now done by "relevancy",

Here are some things that I have learned that help the listings become more relevant: (Some of the suggestions may be debatable-they are to me).

It's a long post but here goes:

TITLES:

*The first three words of the title are the most important. Those are the words the shopper will type into search. Example: Rhinestone vintage necklace" NOT "sparkling silvertone blue rhinestone necklace". Tell what the item is in the first three words-those are the words that Google picks up.

*Avoid as many capital letters as you can

*Avoid use of figures(@, $, #,*, etc). Some feel that even apostrophes and quotation marks get flagged.

*Even though more letters were added to the titles, the entire title won't show up. Some sites say they have done research and partial titles tend to not get clicked on- to me, this is one of those debatable suggestions.

*Titles should not be all keywords(again, to me, debatable because I've seen these on first page) such as, "Necklace Rhinestone Old Antique Blue Antique Vintage Silvertone". In theory people like titles that have flow and "make sense".

*Google does not want shipping mentioned in the titles-"Free Shipping" in a title flags the listing as not being relevant.

*Google doesn't want policy mentioned in the title, "fast ship"

KEY WORDS:

*Wise use of key words (necklace, rhinestone, vintage, jewelry, blue, etc)-use all of the keywords that are allowed. Words like, "sparkling", "old", "amazing" "lovely" etc are not likely to be used when people are searching for an item.

*Every site allows a certain number of letters for keywords. Many people do not use just one word any more if the number of spaces allows it, they use small phrases. Example: vintage jewelry, vintage necklace, blue rhinestone.

*Some sites feel it is only the first three words or phrases that are picked up by Google(another debatable in my mind)

*Many people feel that the shop name or part of the shop name(as many letters as the site allows) should be part of the keywords.

DESCRIPTIONS:

*The first few sentences are what really count-they are what Google picks up. So as many key words that you can get into the first couple of sentences, the better.

Not-so-helpful:

Beginning with something like: (and this is something I'm guilty of) Please Note: all of our items are estate items. They have been pre-owned and are likely to show some wear here or there . . .

or: Please Note: Free shipping if you buy two items or more.


Better:

This vintage, rhinestone necklace is silvertoned. The glass stones are all pronged in. The rhinestones are blue and vary in size . . . . .

*Google does not want shipping in the description

*Google does not like policies in the description

*Google does not like "boiler plate" phrases(sorry I really haven't figured that one out yet)

*It's good to use as many key words in the description as you can as long as it doesn't look like spamming.

GOOGLE RANKING:

*Google has the notion that the more traffic you get from OUTSIDE links, (facebook, twitter, etc) the more "important" you are. The more traffic you get from outside links, the better chance you have of being rasied in the ranks. ( I saw this on another site and it seemed like an easy way to explain it!)

GOOGLE SHOPPING:

*Here, on Ebid, you are required to use ISBN's and Product numbers. That seems to be fairly standard everywhere. BUT, if listing, on Ebid, you sell retro, vintage, or antique items or items that never had these numbers, you have to request, from admin, that your shop be exempted. There
are other threads on how to do that. Note: There has to be some items in the shop before you can submit it or Google doesn't recognize it.

*Different sites have different requirements before they will submit the items to Google.

*Even though the listings have been submitted and all criteria followed they don't always make it to Google Shopping so you have to constantly be checking to see if the items are there.

That's it in a nutshell. The one thing that I found that most people say is, "good luck!"-do what ou can to comply and hope for the best. In addition to the written "rules" Google has its own private criteria that they don't share.

So, I have a long way to go and have to re-do everything but I figure if I try to comply with everything I will stand a better chance.

Again, if you have something to add or you feel something I said is not right, PLEASE feel free to say so. It will help all of us.

[gbsbks2010]

Thanks for your tips, I will bear them in mind when next submitting a title. You've obviously put a lot of thought into your post.

[suesjools]

Second gbs, this is much appreciated.

Best wishes for many sales to all,

[FRANCIS2000]

well all i did was blunder through (you see i am old and past it ) but please have a look at me on google
joans fair deals , this is how i did it by blundering

[terry5732]

google shopping now rarely shows items relevant to your search when it is ranked by relevancy

[luvintage]

gbsbks2010 and Sues(hope you don't mind just the nick name!) thank you.

Francis-I think we all have to just "jump in" and learn as we go. Like, you, when I put in the name of my store, I get on the first page-2nd and third items.

But, new customers don't know the name of our shops and if they want something, they will search for the specific item. That is the search that I really want to get into.

Terry-you lost me! What is the key to being noticed in google shopping then? Is it just plain luck?-I appreciate all help!

[FRANCIS2000]

well i have found 89% of mine come up on search , iv just had a look, i think it the first three words it picks up as in hornby train , or avon face cream, etc, i don't no how it works to be honest but it keeps picking my listings up, but as i say have a look at mine on google joansfairdeals , you may spot something , o by the way when i sell were ever i just stick a note in saying you need anything you can google me at ------

[iwiw60]

Now....THAT....is an excellent post! Thanks a bunch for all that great info!

[JanetB]

Hi everyone,

I really believe that the day of just posting a listing and making a sale are gone!

There's soooooo much competition now and selling on the internet has changed dramatically.

These are some of the things that I have learned in the last month or so. Those of you who are seasoned internet sellers already know all of this. But, those who are just joining us may not realize it yet.

So, for those of you who are "seasoned" please jump in and correct me where I am wrong because I'm probably one of the least qualified people here as far as this kind of thing goes.

I got the info from a variety of sources.

Google and many sites no longer post items by "newly listed". Everything is now done by "relevancy",

Here are some things that I have learned that help the listings become more relevant: (Some of the suggestions may be debatable-they are to me).

It's a long post but here goes:

TITLES:

*The first three words of the title are the most important. Those are the words the shopper will type into search. Example: Rhinestone vintage necklace" NOT "sparkling silvertone blue rhinestone necklace". Tell what the item is in the first three words-those are the words that Google picks up.

*Avoid as many capital letters as you can

*Avoid use of figures(@, $, #,*, etc). Some feel that even apostrophes and quotation marks get flagged.

*Even though more letters were added to the titles, the entire title won't show up. Some sites say they have done research and partial titles tend to not get clicked on- to me, this is one of those debatable suggestions.

*Titles should not be all keywords(again, to me, debatable because I've seen these on first page) such as, "Necklace Rhinestone Old Antique Blue Antique Vintage Silvertone". In theory people like titles that have flow and "make sense".

*Google does not want shipping mentioned in the titles-"Free Shipping" in a title flags the listing as not being relevant.

*Google doesn't want policy mentioned in the title, "fast ship"

KEY WORDS:

*Wise use of key words (necklace, rhinestone, vintage, jewelry, blue, etc)-use all of the keywords that are allowed. Words like, "sparkling", "old", "amazing" "lovely" etc are not likely to be used when people are searching for an item.

*Every site allows a certain number of letters for keywords. Many people do not use just one word any more if the number of spaces allows it, they use small phrases. Example: vintage jewelry, vintage necklace, blue rhinestone.

*Some sites feel it is only the first three words or phrases that are picked up by Google(another debatable in my mind)

*Many people feel that the shop name or part of the shop name(as many letters as the site allows) should be part of the keywords.

DESCRIPTIONS:

*The first few sentences are what really count-they are what Google picks up. So as many key words that you can get into the first couple of sentences, the better.

Not-so-helpful:

Beginning with something like: (and this is something I'm guilty of) Please Note: all of our items are estate items. They have been pre-owned and are likely to show some wear here or there . . .

or: Please Note: Free shipping if you buy two items or more.


Better:

This vintage, rhinestone necklace is silvertoned. The glass stones are all pronged in. The rhinestones are blue and vary in size . . . . .

*Google does not want shipping in the description

*Google does not like policies in the description

*Google does not like "boiler plate" phrases(sorry I really haven't figured that one out yet)

*It's good to use as many key words in the description as you can as long as it doesn't look like spamming.

GOOGLE RANKING:

*Google has the notion that the more traffic you get from OUTSIDE links, (facebook, twitter, etc) the more "important" you are. The more traffic you get from outside links, the better chance you have of being rasied in the ranks. ( I saw this on another site and it seemed like an easy way to explain it!)

GOOGLE SHOPPING:

*Here, on Ebid, you are required to use ISBN's and Product numbers. That seems to be fairly standard everywhere. BUT, if listing, on Ebid, you sell retro, vintage, or antique items or items that never had these numbers, you have to request, from admin, that your shop be exempted. There
are other threads on how to do that. Note: There has to be some items in the shop before you can submit it or Google doesn't recognize it.

*Different sites have different requirements before they will submit the items to Google.

*Even though the listings have been submitted and all criteria followed they don't always make it to Google Shopping so you have to constantly be checking to see if the items are there.

That's it in a nutshell. The one thing that I found that most people say is, "good luck!"-do what ou can to comply and hope for the best. In addition to the written "rules" Google has its own private criteria that they don't share.

So, I have a long way to go and have to re-do everything but I figure if I try to comply with everything I will stand a better chance.

Again, if you have something to add or you feel something I said is not right, PLEASE feel free to say so. It will help all of us.

Great advice - this should be a sticky

[meebo1]

I just spotted this and is very helpful. Though I won't be re-doing my listings in a hurry. But it will be useful for anything new