Much like Amazon, eBay has established itself as one of the premier marketplaces that retailers use to maximize their customer reach. According to the most recent comScore Media Metrix report, more than 59 million Americans visited the website in July. Although that figure is shy of Amazon’s 95 million visitors, the fact remains that eBay is still a huge sales channel any merchant can use.

For retailers, incorporating eBay into the mix provides numerous benefits. The primary reason many merchants utilize the marketplace is simply because of the reach it provides to them. Over the past decade, eBay has become a credible, trustworthy brand most shoppers are familiar with. Retailers can piggyback on this brand reputation to sell their own products, which is an effective way to reach prospective customers who may have not heard of the seller’s brand without browsing eBay first.

Several merchants have had a tremendous amount of success selling products and services on eBay. For instance, apparel brand NastyGal launched its brand on eBay and went from being a small store to a $24 million business, Inc. magazine reported. There are numerous opportunities on eBay for savvy retailers, they just need to pursue them.

That all sounds great, right? So here is what you need to get started with your own eBay listings:

Title: The title is what most eBay users will see when they search or browse store listings. Merchants should try to be as descriptive as possible without going too overboard. Essentials such as brand name and size information should definitely make the title, but other descriptors such as color and material may not be as pertinent, depending on the type of item listed.

Select the right category:

People often browse eBay by department and category. If merchants want their products to show up, they must pay special attention to selecting the right filters. They should be as specific as possible to maximize their chances of customers discovering their listings. If you are setting up your own eBay store, selecting the right Store Categories can help shoppers easily browse and find the items they are looking for in your branded store on eBay.

Description and product pages:

This is one of the areas that will present the greatest amount of trouble to retailers. Every marketplace – and to that extent, even their own product pages – has different requirements for information. Creating a unique description template using an HTML editor can differentiate your listing with your brand and also give you an opportunity to include additional information such as return policy, FAQs, and product details.

eBay’s rules often change depending on which category retailers place their items under. For example, the International Standard Book Number can help shoppers quickly find specific versions of books – by having this information featured in the listing, merchants increase the chances of customers finding book offerings.

In that regard, product information management can play a pivotal role in establishing marketplace listings. A single true source of information that compiles all of the various attributes will make it easier for merchants to list products on third-party marketplaces with the push of a button while incorporating all of the crucial items specifics that will maximize findability.

Picking the right images:

When it comes to images, eBay has highly specific requirements. All listings must feature a 500-pixel width, although bigger is always better in regard to this rule. Larger pictures allow users to zoom in and check out the details.

Mobile:

Because more people are shopping on their phones than before, it is crucial that merchants keep this in mind. They can use extensive HTML in their product pages to make them look snazzy, but at the same time, this may affect loading speeds so they should do so with caution.

eBay is one of the largest Internet shopping channels. Merchants can capitalize on this potential opportunity by incorporating the avenue into their broader eCommerce operations.