Counter-intuitive search features

[argy_eyes]

Sellers, At the risk of raising an old answered topic:

Today I discovered that the eBay search engine excludes the plurals of search terms from the results. In my case, I'm selling 3 lenses in a bundle (described as "Lithagons" in the title). Searching for "lithagon" returns dozens of results but not my auction. Searching for "lithagons" of course works, returning only my listing.

2 questions:

- Am I seeing this right? It's unlike any other search that I know of.

- What other counter-intuitive things should I know about the eBay search?

Thanks, Mike

[bill.purvis2012]

Following . . .

[certifiedcitynet]

There are certain unique, mysterious aspects of Ebay searches. But to increase the chances that your listings will appear in searches, include as many relevant key words as possible in each listing title. Be sure to use all of the 80 permitted characters.

Regarding your specific example, you could include "3 lense", "three lenses", "lithagons", and "lithagon". You can include the plural and singular version of each key word. 

Problem solved even though Ebay's search mystery is not. 

[argy_eyes]

@certifiedcitynet 

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@certifiedcitynet wrote:

Problem solved even though Ebay's search mystery is not. 

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Thanks CCN for your detailed reply. My problem is that the auction has bidders, and edits to the title and description are not allowed unless I terminate the auction.  I supplemented the description as soon as I recognized the problem (inserting the term "Lithagon" several times) but many buyers don't search using the descriptions option. 

[certifiedcitynet]

Adding relevant search words to the description will absolutely improve listing placement in searches. I have noticed this phenomenon many times with my own listings. 

[argy_eyes]

@certifiedcitynet 

CCN, It's apparently much more complicated than I assumed. For example, looking at a term I know you are familiar with (from your nicely-done listings), "gauden." If you put in "gauden" you get "St. Gaudens" listings, but if you put in my listing example, "lithagon" you don't get "lithagons" listings! Mike

[katzrul15]

Interesting.

Will need to test this - it would be counter-intuitive if the plural is excluded in search

[redmodelt]

I just looked at your listings and think I see the one you are talking about. In the title you already say 3 lens, so leave the "s" off. Isn't Lithagon a type or brand? If that is the case, wouldn't it be "3 Lithagon lens"

[certifiedcitynet]

"Gaudens" is a proper name, not the plural of "Gauden". 

"Lithagon" is singular, while "lithagons" is the plural of the word. 

Ebay knows what they are doing. And they are constantly improving. 

If I were you, I would simply add as many relevant search words as possible to your headlines and additional such search words to the description sections. Even merely doing the latter ALWAYS  improves your listings' search positions, at least in my experience. 

[eburtonlab]

Normally eBay's search expansion will automatically match plurals of popular keywords, however there are exceptions.

If you are using advanced search commands (quotes, exclusions, or keywords in parentheses to perform a Boolean "OR" search) then eBay's normal search expansion features are disabled, and the search will return exact matches only.

If your keyword is very specialized, such as an obscure brand name, eBay may not be set up to find a plural for that keyword automatically, or a singular version if you search using the plural.

When in doubt, it is best to perform a search using your keywords and see what turns up before deciding to use that keyword in your listing title or deciding in which category to list in.

More details about Search Expansion and Search Commands can be found on this old page on eBay Ireland:

https://www.ebay.ie/pages/help/search/search-commands.html