Promoted Listings Advanced Is Here - Including Negative Keywords!

[valueaddedresource]

I noticed Promoted Listings Advanced is available in my seller hub this morning.  I'll post screenshots below, but for everyone who was asking - it does include an option to use negative keywords for exclusions!

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Thanks for posting this thread. I see I have PLA too. It looks pretty good... as I've said before, I suspect PLS is better suited to my business model. But hey, it's a shiny new thing, so I'll probably take it for a test drive at some point. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I just registered for the Sept Seller Check In on Sept 30th....looks like they'll be discussing a lot of the new tools, including the PLA. And a bonus on "Collectibles"....which I'm told will actually be focused on Collectibles generally, not Trading Cards....guess they are trying to make up for the eBay Open Online segment on Collectibles, which was, in fact, almost exclusively about Trading Cards.

[valueaddedresource]

Since it's official now - hopefully that Seller School content is ready now too. 🤞

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Introducing-Promoted-Listings-Advanced-BETA-for-business... 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@valueaddedresource  ebay being ebay, I would consider it a real accomplishment if they have it in place before the Seller Check In on the 30th. What I'd really like to see is some sort of disclaimer warning that PLA might not be for everyone....

[valueaddedresource]

Here are some screenshots of the reports.  These reports all also include fields further to the left with Start date, End date, Campaign name, Campaign ID, Campaign start date, Campaign end date, Ad Group Name, and Ad Group Id but I cut those out just to make the screenshots fit better here in the forum and be readable.

The Query Report shows the buyer's search query.

The Keyword report shows the seller selected keywords.

and the Listing Report breaks down all the metrics on a per listing level

If a seller wants to try to analyze which listings were shown for a particular seller keyword/buyer query match, it can get a little confusing trying to cross reference across all three reports.  Some of them are easy to match up just based on the numbers, others are not so easy and ultimately in some cases you may just have to guess.

I'd be interested to hear from sellers with experience using pay per click advertising how important it might be to be able connect those dots.  I would think it could be helpful in order to optimize how you organize listings into ad groups and which keywords you choose to target or exclude for those groups, but I'm not an expert on PPC by any means.

@nuclearomen  @katzrul15  - tagging you because I thought I remembered you asking about reporting for Promoted Listings Advanced in another thread.  If I'm wrong about that, never mind. 😊

[valueaddedresource]

The one really big unanswered question I have about Promoted Listings Advanced is exactly  when/how the fees are billed. The help/FAQ page just says you'll be able to see them under payments, but doesn't say exactly when that happens.

Where can I see charges for my Advanced campaigns?

Fees for your Advanced campaigns will appear as “Ad Fee Advanced” in your Payments tab or on your seller invoice.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listing-tips/promoted-listings-advanced?id=5299&st=12&pos=3&query=...

I'm guessing the fees will aggregate and then be deducted from Managed Payments or your payment method on file - monthly would make sense, maybe at the end of the month?

But that's just a guess, unfortunately I don't see anything that makes the exact billing terms/schedule clear. 😕

[farmalljr]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

Here are some screenshots of the reports.  These reports all also include fields further to the left with Start date, End date, Campaign name, Campaign ID, Campaign start date, Campaign end date, Ad Group Name, and Ad Group Id but I cut those out just to make the screenshots fit better here in the forum and be readable.

The Query Report shows the buyer's search query.

The Keyword report shows the seller selected keywords.

and the Listing Report breaks down all the metrics on a per listing level

If a seller wants to try to analyze which listings were shown for a particular seller keyword/buyer query match, it can get a little confusing trying to cross reference across all three reports.  Some of them are easy to match up just based on the numbers, others are not so easy and ultimately in some cases you may just have to guess.

I'd be interested to hear from sellers with experience using pay per click advertising how important it might be to be able connect those dots.  I would think it could be helpful in order to optimize how you organize listings into ad groups and which keywords you choose to target or exclude for those groups, but I'm not an expert on PPC by any means.

@nuclearomen  @katzrul15  - tagging you because I thought I remembered you asking about reporting for Promoted Listings Advanced in another thread.  If I'm wrong about that, never mind. 😊

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Everyone should be paying VERY close attention to this report.... 

The very first line under "gauge sets" shows ONE impression and TWO clicks. Can someone tell me, IF the eBay system is 100% honest, how that happens?! One impression can't lead to more than ONE click. If it does, someone is not being honest. Even if the same user "clicked the link twice", the system should NOT be charging you for the second click. There should be SOME amount of time allotted for that user not to trigger another charge. 

@valueaddedresource  thanks for sharing. Really and honestly, thank you. This just cements my position before this all came about, that this PLA scheme is just that. A scheme. No different than AdWords or ANY other PPC campaign. There is NO honesty with this type of advertising. This is to marketing, what the craps table is to Las Vegas. It's designed to give you the illusion of winning something, but the house is using it as a tool to bilk money from your pockets. 

Now other users can see. this is PROBABLY not the type of marketing they should be diving into to try to make more sales. Because the only one making sales, is eBay every time someone "clicks" or they say someone "clicked". 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Good question Maybe tag an ebay community team member?

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@farmalljr  This is per Google (not ebay), but I'm guessing might be the same or similar explanation?

 I'm receiving more clicks than impressions on my keywords or ads

This can happen for 3 reasons:

You're looking at reports using the date range "Today." As clicks and impressions data are uploaded at different rates, this filter may not give you the right comparison.

When customers do “comparison shopping” they click among several ads. As browsers cache search results, Google won’t record impressions on these ads multiple times. This can be why the clicks are more than the impressions.

Customers may be clicking more than one link within your ad. You won’t be charged for more than 2 clicks per ad impression and Google Ads filters out any invalid clicks that we detect.

Note
New impressions are also not recorded when your customers click the back button to return to the search results page.

[katzrul15]

@farmalljr 

Thank you - I am curious as well.  I too have access to PLA, but have not had time to do much with it at all.  I do want to do a "test drive" so to speak, but really want to learn more about it first, especially the billing, etc.

I actually want to see how others fare with it and want to try it after the holidays, when I think traffic will slow, like it usually does and when I can compare/contrast to a PLS campaign on similar items, price points, etc.

It is likely not something I will have a budget for, but if I can target a few items (HV) and use it wisely within a specific category and stated advertising budget to gain a sales advantage (that results in sales, which is key, as I do not need more impressions, I need more sales), then I am game.  But in the minnow, tadpole arena of PLA, not over in the Orca section.  😉

[valueaddedresource]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

Good question Maybe tag an ebay community team member?

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques  I've sent a message to someone at eBay about it - will update here when I hear back.

[valueaddedresource]

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@farmalljr wrote:

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

Here are some screenshots of the reports.  These reports all also include fields further to the left with Start date, End date, Campaign name, Campaign ID, Campaign start date, Campaign end date, Ad Group Name, and Ad Group Id but I cut those out just to make the screenshots fit better here in the forum and be readable.

The Query Report shows the buyer's search query.

The Keyword report shows the seller selected keywords.

and the Listing Report breaks down all the metrics on a per listing level

If a seller wants to try to analyze which listings were shown for a particular seller keyword/buyer query match, it can get a little confusing trying to cross reference across all three reports.  Some of them are easy to match up just based on the numbers, others are not so easy and ultimately in some cases you may just have to guess.

I'd be interested to hear from sellers with experience using pay per click advertising how important it might be to be able connect those dots.  I would think it could be helpful in order to optimize how you organize listings into ad groups and which keywords you choose to target or exclude for those groups, but I'm not an expert on PPC by any means.

@nuclearomen  @katzrul15  - tagging you because I thought I remembered you asking about reporting for Promoted Listings Advanced in another thread.  If I'm wrong about that, never mind. 😊

---

Everyone should be paying VERY close attention to this report.... 

The very first line under "gauge sets" shows ONE impression and TWO clicks. Can someone tell me, IF the eBay system is 100% honest, how that happens?! One impression can't lead to more than ONE click. If it does, someone is not being honest. Even if the same user "clicked the link twice", the system should NOT be charging you for the second click. There should be SOME amount of time allotted for that user not to trigger another charge. 

@valueaddedresource  thanks for sharing. Really and honestly, thank you. This just cements my position before this all came about, that this PLA scheme is just that. A scheme. No different than AdWords or ANY other PPC campaign. There is NO honesty with this type of advertising. This is to marketing, what the craps table is to Las Vegas. It's designed to give you the illusion of winning something, but the house is using it as a tool to bilk money from your pockets. 

Now other users can see. this is PROBABLY not the type of marketing they should be diving into to try to make more sales. Because the only one making sales, is eBay every time someone "clicks" or they say someone "clicked". 

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@farmalljr  that's a good point - I'll see if I can get any more in depth info from eBay as far as the 1 impression with 2 clicks.

I know several sellers have expressed concerns about click fraud - it's a huge issue with Google or any type of PPC advertising and I really hope eBay plans to address it.

General Note:

All of these screenshots are just from a quick and dirty test run I did.  The campaign only ran for about 24 hours and there wasn't a lot of strategy involved. The goal was just to provide a peek at how to set up the campaigns and what the reports look like for anyone who doesn't have access yet.

So just a disclaimer - what you see in those screenshots (especially the reports) may not be indicative of what everyone may experience, the data you might see over a longer period of time,  or the results you might get with more strategic use of the tool.

[farmalljr]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

I'm a simple man. Explaining away how this happens, does not compute to logic. 

If a listing has ONE impression, it should have no more than ONE click. If it has TWO clicks, it should have TWO impressions (in the least!). If the system can record a CLICK, it can record an impression. There is NO good reason why it's not reporting that. 

An impression and an view, should be absolutely TWO distinct things, with distinct reporting. Our traffic reports, make those DISTINICT reports. It is important data.

Again, everyone is free to run PLA's or not. Makes no difference to me. But I am calling the shell game for what it is. Paying for advertising that has NO requirement to produce results or only leaves the user to assume they are getting results, doesn't make it smart or good advertising.

If one wants to make more sales, would it not be more sensible to UP your PLS % ? at least with paying a higher fee, you are guaranteed results. The advertiser makes NO money unless the product sells. There is no opportunity to tell you that you had "clicks" and not have to produce a result. PLS's require a specific performance from the advertiser. PLA's have no such requirement. You are paying for PLA's, whatever the advertiser tells you to pay. There is no burden on the advertiser to perform or produce. 

@katzrul15 It's ok with me if you want to use this form of marketing, but I hope you get REALLY educated before you start spending money. I'm not saying everyone else is wrong and only I am right. I'm relaying my past experince using PPC campaigns and I can already see this PPC advertising isn't any better or any more of an advantage. Big sellers have big budgets. Think of the marketing a large company like Coca Cola has. Most of it is branding. They have millions to burn. Most sellers here do not. IMO, this type of marketing is unwise as there is no demand for performance from eBay's end like there is with PLS's. Maybe consider upping your % on PLS's first? At least that requires eBay to sell your item before they can charge you a marketing fee. You have much more control over the price, and have control of the conditions they can charge the fee.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@valueaddedresource Thanks. It will certainly be interesting to find out how the billing will be handled. I also wonder if ebay will be wanting some kind of "reserve" on the Seller's account....

[vintagecraze50]

This is really a gamble. I am not into gambling so for now I would not use this unless I could be educated in how all this works  and know that these clicks would not be manipulated in some way. I consider it risky business at the moment.