Promoted Listings

[justagrumpyoldfart]

So, my understanding of promoted listings is based on how much you promote you will be placed accordingly when your item is searched (Best Match).  I get that, but earlier today I was looking up something and the first several showed "Sponsored" which I assume is Promoted and then there would be several that weren't, followed by more that were. Shouldn't Promoted listings always be on top of none promoted listings?

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@justagrumpyoldfart  The top 4 slots are reserved for sellers using Promoted Listings Priority (pay per click). And yes, "sponsored" is the term ebay uses for promoted listings. 

Promoted Listings General (you pay if the item sells and the sale is attributed to the ad campaign) appear below, but in no particular order. Placement depends on a host of factors, including the amount of the rate you agreed to pay, relevance, etc. So there are times when organic (non promoted) listings can appear above promoted listings. Also, ebay can choose to show your promoted listing general as sponsored or as organic, which adds further confusion to the whole process.

[redlinear]

Where promoted listings show up is the big question.  Ya never really know.
Might be in a search result, Might be inside of somebody else's listing (cross promotion).
  Think of it like a lottery drawing.
Non promoted is like you buying one ticket.
Promoted a wee bit might be like you buying two or three tickets.
Promoted to the extreme might be like 20 or 30 tickets.
   BUT, promoting at 100% is not going to get you anywhere near all the tickets. 
Thus, you can still not be drawn.
All it does is increase your "chance" of getting good placement "somewhere"

[justagrumpyoldfart]

Hmm.....that does confuse it more. I haven't been promoting and have considered it, but don't see the point if "organic" listings can be on top. Sounds like if your aren't promoting within that top 4 you can be placed anywhere. 

[pennpicker]

Placement isn't the issue, search is.

If people aren't searching for your non-promoted items, they will most likely never see them. If promoted, they may show up on a related item's listing that they were searching for. Greater exposure is the benefit.

[inhawaii]

The non-promoted listings that were before the promoted listings may have had better search criteria.

[short_circuit.lineman61]

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@justagrumpyoldfart wrote:

So, my understanding of promoted listings is based on how much you promote you will be placed accordingly when your item is searched (Best Match).  I get that, but earlier today I was looking up something and the first several showed "Sponsored" which I assume is Promoted and then there would be several that weren't, followed by more that were. Shouldn't Promoted listings always be on top of none promoted listings?

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I personally think that what should be at the top of search is what most closely matches the buyers search with consideration given to the sellers metrics, price and shipping time. In other words put at top of search the items most likely to give the buyer a good buying experience.  I really think that search placement by any other method is a bad idea long term.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@justagrumpyoldfart  The real advantage of Promoted Listings General is not the placement they might receive on the search results page. It is the fact that they can appear on many, many other pages, where non promoted listings will not appear. My PL General Ads can appear on your listing page, for example (and yours on mine). For my kind of stuff----I sell single quantity long tail collectibles, vintage, that sort of thing----that can lead to a sale to someone who wasn't really searching for my item, but sees it on that page and decides to buy it, more like an impulse buy.

I do use them, but with low fixed rates. And I will use them even more sparingly if and when ebay converts the US site to the same attribution model it is using in Germany, UK, etc. 

[12345jamesstamps]

A seller with 75,000+ promoted items vs. a seller with 200+ items plus the promoted rate...is how I see who gets to the top of the page. 

And this is especially if all their items fall in the same category.

I sell usually just stamps.

Feedbacks doesn't come into play so I notice...some sellers have terrible feedbacks...LOL...but still get to the top of the page.

I notice if items are the same of two sellers...exactly the same...higher price item gets more exposure...plus the higher shipping rate...even though both items of both sellers are the same.

Some sellers will promote something not worth a penny but sell it for $10,000.+ with a very high promoted rate  and can get quite of bit of exposure even though we know the item will never sell at that price...LOL

I see better exposure with free 'shipping'...and for me it's all about 'repeat buyers'.