Ebay items lacking in google search

[chrisma830]

It used to be- in the olden days, like 2 years ago, that a google search resulted in tons, tons of ebay items coming up.  Now, if ebay items come up they are way down on the list following Mercari, Etsy, Amazon, Joe Blows General Store and the like.

I have searched this board to see if this question has been addressed and find it has numerous times, and numerous time the OP is quickly shot back with answers that whatever item it is they are asking about just isn't something people are interested in buying.  (this is pretty much the standard answer- for each individual asking the question, and answered  by several people, who have ebay accounts, but surprisingly none of them have anything listed. Hmmmm.

So, please, if anyone (other than the former sellers that are now ebay employees) has any information pertaining to this issue, please share it. I currently have an item listed (wont even say which one, because then someone will say that its not a popular item) that didnt come up in google, despite my item being the only one to match the description for what i searched.  So, I changed the name of my listing, making it very specific, and did a search on that. Although a picture of my item came up, when I clicked the link it brought me to ebay (a surprise in itself), but to someone elses listing (an item similar to mine, but different).  I

I sincerely do not understand what is happening. Can anyone explain this to me?

Although ebay did come up (thankfully!!) when I did my specific search, my item did not, and, in general lately ebay bottoms the listings on searches.  Please explain.  

[hartungcards]

Maybe whatever item it is you are asking about just isn't something people are interested in buying.

You may want to familiarize yourself with "posting accounts" as well.  Hmmmm.

[chrisma830]

Please elaborate on posting accounts, i truly dont understand what you mean.

As for people not being interested in buying what i am talking about, I didnt say anything about no interest/sales in my items. My question is about google searches.

Your answer pertaining to people not being interested in buying whatever it is im talking about is what the standard answer is to people who've made this inquiry before.  Check it out for yourself,  as I did try to get the answer to this before posting the question.  And the standard answer to those people is that people werent interested in what they were selling.   

People not being interested in what I am selling, or they were selling has nothing to do with whether or not the item comes up in a google search.

I noticed on here one time someone referred to I think it was "84 bit titles?"  I asked at that time what they referred to and then lost the post, so dont know if they ever answered me or not.

[chrisma830]

I'll look up "posting accounts" in ebay help, as I do not know what you are referring to.

[postcardcountry]

People are allowed to have multiple accounts.  Many have their selling account and then a separate account to post on the eBay boards.  That account is not connecting to the selling account, so you have no idea what the poster sells.  

Sometimes it's helpful to post with your selling account if you are having a problem.   Then people can see what you are talking about (listings, feedback etc).  The up side is they are helpful.  The down side is they will not always give helpful advice.

[richard1rst]

Quite frankly you are your own worst enemy. I took a look at a few of your listings. Under “Item description” you simply copied and pasted the item’s headline.

Google Search uses what are called “web crawlers”. They perpetually scan every document everywhere on the internet and index what they find based on a variety of key items. Item Description is their playground. You have given them nothing to play with.

I did a lengthy post on this last November. You can access it here:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Are-you-stuck-in-trying-to-get-sales-and-increase-your-brand/m...

Take a look at posting # 8. That is my evidence that it is possible to get yourself noticed on Google if you use the right carrot.

Then take a look at posting # 14. That one gives you a How To to attract Google’s web crawlers.

[chapeau-noir · Accepted solution]

Actually, I've found this to be true in general, but not specifically.  If I plug in a brand name with specifics of something I'm selling, sure it'll come up first.  If I just plug in the brand name and then just generic type, Posh, Mercari, Pinterest, Facebook, etc. come up first, and perhaps, maybe *an* eBay listing straggling in the rear. I'm pretty conversant with SEO.  I'm also pretty conversant with Google and their core changes.

This isn't anything new in my experience - even eBay mentioned this back in 2019 and the site has been having headwinds from Google since 2014 when they were sanctioned.  It has as much to do how eBay (or anyone else) fares with Google's core algorithm (and its changes) as it does with eBay. 

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Most of my web activity involved EBay... everything I sell, I purchase/source on EBay. (So I purchase A LOT.)

Because of this, EBay is CONSTANTLY marketing to me. EBay is in my google news feed, in my emails, in my email promos, and in my google searches.

When i google things, EBay is often front and center.

This is big brother (really eBay & google & such) watching me and knowing I like to spend 10s of thousands on EBay so they figure they need to market more and more to me to get more cash.

Please...I would love to give you some of my EBay results 🤣 I'm sick of how much EBay is "in my face" when I don't want it to be. I dont care if I search a coin, a power tool, or a pair of shoes ... EBay is front and center!

[chapeau-noir]

Google does personalise search, so if you're always searching on eBay, over time it'll deliver more and more eBay.

[chrisma830]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer the actual question.  I truly appreciate it. 

It helps to have some explanation as I am not as knowledgeable of, or well versed in, computer behaviors and language as most others.  I

t boggles my mind, as I remember when the results for almost anything came up ebay (not necessarily my thing, but somebody's ebay thing).  I then noticed a few months ago, there was a run-on Pinterest items topping the list, and now today it seems its Etsy/Mercari.  

I have more of an understanding now, and thank you for your time, and clear answer.  Thank you.

[terryfictreasures]

I am finding listings before September showed up in google shopping.  Listings afterwards not showing up in google shopping. A few listings are in the main search as a web page but not as a google shopping item. A few of those listings are showing up in third party apps that lists all the major commerce sites listings.  I would take my listings being at the bottom of the google shopping but my listings since mid September are not on google shopping at all.  I've contacted ebay and they try the old we can't control google. I am familiar with SEO and how web pages work and know ebay has major control on how stuff is listed on google. I am sure they have teams of people working to get listings high rankings on google/google shopping. My items are showing up in google ads so ebay has gotten that right, yay! I have definitely felt the lower traffic impact. Keep hoping it will be fixed for holiday shopping but here I am less than two days away from black Friday and over two months of listings not showing up in google shopping. It is a bummer.  I have job and other business but when I have time I am going to start cross posting. Looks like Etsy knows how to get their listings onto google shopping.  Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving.

[whatmorefabric]

Etsy,  Mercari,  and  web sites all pay Google for positions.       That is because they are smaller sites that need Google to drive customers.

Ebay and Amazon are different because people tend to head to those sites to buy and not use Google.

[terryfictreasures]

I'm starting to wonder since I was new seller starting the end of May did Ebay list my items in google shopping for ~3 months then afterwards not listing them in google/shopping unless sponsored? I could at least understand if that is the case.

[thesam1000000]

I've noticed this as well. Sales have absolutely plummeted since eBay listings are no longer featured on Google. In the past ebay has **bleep** Google off, ebay **bleep** everybody off . They think they are somebody but they haven't been somebody in about 20 years. Without Google placement, sales are pathetic and ebay has lost Google placement. It's always something ebay did or does. It's always ebay's fault when everything goes wrong on ebay and correct ebay with their tools aka shills will blame it on everybody else but ebay. This is devastating without Google featuring ebay crickets, might as well have the last person left turn the lights off on the way off ebay. 

[vintagecraze50]

Google changed the way they allowed the number of listing shown from any given website awhile ago. Yes ebay had a lot more up front back then. Mercari and some of those other sites are probably paying google a fortune right now to be up number one.