Offsite Ads Question

[mcdougle4248]

I am a bit confused... I do not use offsite ads, only PLS, and I see my listings on Google all the time. What more would paying eBay for offsite ads provide?

[mcdougle4248]

I did a bit more research and think I have found my answer here: 

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/growth/promoted-listings/offsite-ads 

So, I think the ads that I see now on Google are the results of my PLS campaigns. If I were to launch an Offsite Ads campaign, what I showed in my OP screenshot would disappear and be replaced with Offsite Ads (pay-per-click). I am still not sure what that would look like without actually launching a campaign and seeing for myself. 

For now, I think my listings have a good presence on Google and I will pass on Offsite Ads.

[stainlessenginecovers]

My items have been showing on google (my eBay items) since 2011 when I started, so it has NOTHING to do with Standard Promotions. 

I don't know the 'answer' to what the 'offsite' is, as I also get emails twice a week from ebay about 'joining'. 

[mcdougle4248]

@stainlessenginecovers 

Interesting. It makes me wonder what the benefit to sellers would be to use Offsite Ads. Especially if their items are already appearing on Google.

[ittybitnot]

@mcdougle4248 

Since you have an eBay store in the US, you can submit your own items to Google Shopping for free.  There will be no charge for a Pay Per Click should someone click on your listing.  It has an "extra step" since you cannot claim an eBay URL, but it can be done.   Just something to think about. 

[valueaddedresource · Accepted solution]

@mcdougle4248  - For many years eBay proudly patted themselves on the back for the fact that while appearing in Google ads wasn't actually free, they enabled millions of listings weekly to be shown in those spots without charging sellers anything extra because it was an "investment".

Just one example from 2020:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Traffic-Month-How-to-show-up-in-Google-Shopping/ba-p/309... 

"Unlike on some other platforms, eBay sellers pay nothing extra to appear in Google Shopping. It’s included in your eBay fees, and fixed priced listings are automatically eligible to get pulled into Google Shopping results."

"Every week, eBay millions of site visits from paid-search marketing, including Google Shopping. Getting listings to show up in Google Shopping isn’t free, but like we said before, our sellers pay nothing extra for this exposure. It’s an investment eBay makes in our sellers, and one we know is worth it."

When they introduced External Placement for Promoted Listings Standard in 2021, many sellers were concerned that meant eBay was moving away from the previous "free" inclusion in Google ads and would be giving a preference to PLS ads for those slots.

eBay was fairly vague about it at the time and simply said PLS External would provide "incremental visibility" across the web and that if sellers opted out, their listings would still be eligible to appear in Google ad placements (though of course eligible does not mean guaranteed).

https://www.ebayads.com/2021/08/04/announcing-external-promoted-listings-connecting-with-shoppers-ac... 

I saw a lot of the same concerns being raised when Offsite Ads beta was first introduced last year as well, again believing that while technically listings not enrolled in any advertising may still be eligible, eBay is including them less and less and that those placements may possibly be reserved mostly for vertical focus category products or other items where eBay may still feel it is a worthwhile "investment".

As eBay opens up Offsite Ads to more sellers, it's possible we might eventually see some shifts where PLS External placements are reduced in favor of Offsite Ads.

With PLS External, eBay only collects their ad fee if the item sells but they are still paying Google ad fees regardless. With Offsite Ads being a cost per click model, in theory they are covering the Google ad fees and making some profit whether or not the item sells. So I can definitely see why eBay would prefer to get sellers to adopt Offsite Ads instead.

At an investor conference last month, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman answered a question about whether they are seeing competition from Temu and Shein. His answer was very focused on the fact those companies are burning money like there's no tomorrow on Google ads and that the ROI isn't there to try to compete with them in that specific arena.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4653189-etsy-inc-etsy-needham-3rd-annual-consumer-tech-e-commerce-c... 

Our data is not suggesting that we are being disproportionately impacted, they’re taking share roughly on a proportional basis across many players. And you know where I think it's impacting us more is that they have come in very heavy in particular in Google PLAs and Meta and especially in the long tail of the auctions where Etsy and only a few other players are competing. And it's not obvious that they have a focus on ROI at the moment, and we very much do. So we are unprepared to pay for a CPC unless we think it drives an ROI.

I guarantee eBay is feeling that same pressure in much the same way regarding Google ads right now and that may be impacting their decision making too as far as "free" organic placements vs PLS External placements vs Offsite Ads placement. Obviously from eBay's perspective, the more they can shift the cost of those ads to sellers, the better - especially in categories where they may be up against competitors willing to drop a ton of cash for Google ads.

All of that is a very long way for me to say unfortunately eBay hasn't made it very clear what the benefit of Offsite Ads is over PLS External but I would not be surprised if the eventual outcome ends up being phasing out of "free" placements (provided by eBay) for most sellers with maybe a few focus category or special exceptions and pressure to move to the cpc product instead of PLS External for "better results" or "further reach" or whatever corporate speak they'll come up with. 😂

[valueaddedresource]

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

I did a bit more research and think I have found my answer here: 

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/growth/promoted-listings/offsite-ads 

So, I think the ads that I see now on Google are the results of my PLS campaigns. If I were to launch an Offsite Ads campaign, what I showed in my OP screenshot would disappear and be replaced with Offsite Ads (pay-per-click). I am still not sure what that would look like without actually launching a campaign and seeing for myself. 

For now, I think my listings have a good presence on Google and I will pass on Offsite Ads.

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@mcdougle4248 one question about this I've previously asked (and seen others ask) but have not seen eBay answer is whether that point in the FAQ only applies while the Offsite Ad campaign is active or if it's an either/or choice for the lifetime of that listing where once you go to Offsite Ads, there's no going back.

Taking a chance and trying out Offsite Ads might make sense, especially while eBay is offering fee credits and other incentives to do it, if a seller can easily switch back to PLS External for those listings once the campaign has ended.

If I had to guess, that would be the most logical way for it to work but that would be an assumption and the wording is just ambiguous enough to leave the question open.

I'm not sure it would be worth finding out by trial and error, especially if Q4 holiday season is important for your business, and I definitely don't blame you for sticking with PLS External for now.

[mcdougle4248]

@valueaddedresource 

Thank you!  That helps explain my confusion 😆 

[highrollas_wholesale2007]

I have tried finding this information everywhere and have yet to find it. Came here looking for the same answer. Can I switch back to promoted standard ads if I sign up for the offsite ads.?

[valueaddedresource]

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@highrollas_wholesale2007 wrote:

I have tried finding this information everywhere and have yet to find it. Came here looking for the same answer. Can I switch back to promoted standard ads if I sign up for the offsite ads.?

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devon@ebay  kyle@ebay elizabeth@ebay  adsteam@ebay  - I'm seeing this question coming up more often now that sellers are testing out Offsite Ads beta, can you provide additional information please?

Specifically, if you opt in to Offsite Ads beta, what happens after the Offsite Ads beta campaign ends - will those listings then be eligible for external placement through Promoted Listings Standard again or is it a permanent either/or decision?

[kurtzzzz]

just signed up for it,  and yes  will look closely for the next month or so,  skeptical,  yes,  ebay should have have in us in all with "promoted" listing in my view,  all these figures seem to benefit ebay more than the sellers,  yes we do see our listing on google at times,  wondering how much if any increase in  sales will happen,  if no big change in sales will be opting out,   the system and gross numbers to ebay is huge at this point even with 2 percent on all all items in promoted listing.  Management at ebay needs to look at sellers cost along side of their profits and or additional sign up for more exposure to justify all parties involved

[byrd69er]

What more would paying eBay for offsite ads provide?

Ummmm....more profits for ebay.

[vmcmyne05]

How do you do this? 

[thodee_39]

A rationalized and convoluted answer in my opinion. In short, it's just another smoke and mirrors yay look what we're doing to help you sell more, bullpucky in all actuality designed specifically to make eBay all the profit. It will mean billions for them and less than a 1% increase in my profit as their gimmicks always do when they act like they're doing me a favor. Paying for just the click whether it sells or not? Every time the market dips, every time they lose a buyer, it 100% of the time is made up for on the backs of the sellers. And they are bleeding buyers. eBay's becoming a ghost-town compared to what they once were. What is lost on them is that a high proportion of buyers are also sellers. All of their decisions are made by clueless suits crunching data and thinking within the box. Here's an idea, stop with all the complicated site navigation and just simplify. Stop with basing search terms on algorithms and promoted listings and such. It has made it impossible for someone to find an item when they have to sift through all the suggested and promoted things you think they want.  This is no joke, I've searched for an item and found 100 of them. Then I adjusted the search terms to newly listed items and the result was sorry no items match that search field? All kinds of quirks like this with eBay's search engine lately. And I wonder why my sales have dropped off drastically?! Just one little change with the engine do to an executive decision has literally destroyed my sales over night! The Beetles said it best, Get back to where you once belonged. Simplify, Lower our fees, and do some serious advertising and eBay will once again be, the place to be. Clearly it no longer is. And stop justifying peoples fears of high shipping fees. Oh I tried the offer free shipping thing by the way. It equated to absolutely zero difference in my sales. eBay's main problem is that they are losing customers because of inflation. And that it's just becoming old hat. People are moving on rather than be played as fools with all the smoke and mirror tactics that have made zero difference in our sales and all the difference in theirs. Simplify, lower your fees, take the high road. It will hurt at first but in the end there will be gains.

[kh-adrian]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.