How to Write Auction Headlines that Sell

Posted on November 30, 2007
Filed Under eBay |

Writing good auction headlines is important if you want buyers to bid (and buy) your items. Most people only search eBay by an item’s title, not by it’s description. That means that they will click on your ad only if the title or headline interests them.

In other words, you have 55 characters to catch the buyer’s eye with. All to often, novice sellers will try to use ‘cute’ headlines like this:

L@@k at this great deal!
Wow! Nice camera - A must see!
Rare necklace - Don’t miss it!

But these poor headlines say nothing about the item they are selling. Most likely, buyers will ignore these headlines

There are hundreds of thousands of eBay auctions running at this very moment. When writing a good title it is important to remember to be as specific as possible and to put yourself in the buyers shoes. The only way buyers are going to find your ad is by doing a keywords search. Even after they search, they will only click on your ad if it is what they are looking for. The words L@@k, Wow, and Rare doesn’t really say much about the item does it?

Here are some ideas to help you fill in the keywords in your item title:

  • What is the most common name for the item? It doesn’t hurt to type in that keyword in eBay and see what results comes up.
  • State the item’s special qualities, its style, model, or edition.
  • Mention your item’s condition and whether it’s new or old.
  • If applicable, include brand names.
  • State the size of the item or other descriptive information, such as color or material content.

Your headline is critical if you want your item to sell. You are losing out if you neglect important key words that buyers search for.

Try to think like the buyer. If you were looking for your item, then what exactly would you type into that box? Try performing a searching yourself to find someone else selling your item. What were the first things you thought of when typing?

Try to think other sellers. Keep an eye on which sellers are doing best with items like yours, and try to copy their title styles - if it works for them, it can work for you.

Here are some examples of great headlines running on eBay right now:

Seinfeld - Third Season 3 New DVD w/ Bonus Features
OLD GERMAN ARMAND MARSEILLE GOOGLY MOLD 323 ANTIQUE
NEW Apple iPod mini 4GB Silver MP3 Player ~1000 songs

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