Viewport meta tag incorrect or missing

[fergua3]

Hi all.  My sales have tanked since May 10.  I mean really tanked.  I've had selling slumps before but nothing like this.  Anyway, i've been looking at my listings to see if some setting was changed around May 10 and thus had something to do with the sharp drop in sales.

i noticed the mobile friendly checker  and clicked it and got the 'viewport meta tag incorrect or missing' message.  Before clicking on it i want to find out what it does and if it will help (dont want to make matters worse).

My listings are simple, usually just one picture and no html text.  Should i do the suggested fix for the meta tag or not?  Will it make any meaningful difference to sales?   And if i should do it, is there a way to do it in bulk, rather than fixing one listing at a time?

All help appreciated.

[cooltronix]

Put this line of code on top of your listing:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1">

[hillbillymedia]

Yes,when I fixed all mine it seemed to help. You can also use the tool to check for active content and non-compliant links.

[tiramisu41]

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@fergua3 wrote:

Hi all.  My sales have tanked since May 10.  I mean really tanked.  I've had selling slumps before but nothing like this.  Anyway, i've been looking at my listings to see if some setting was changed around May 10 and thus had something to do with the sharp drop in sales.

i noticed the mobile friendly checker  and clicked it and got the 'viewport meta tag incorrect or missing' message.  Before clicking on it i want to find out what it does and if it will help (dont want to make matters worse).

My listings are simple, usually just one picture and no html text.  Should i do the suggested fix for the meta tag or not?  Will it make any meaningful difference to sales?   And if i should do it, is there a way to do it in bulk, rather than fixing one listing at a time?

All help appreciated.

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@fergua3, what putting the metatag in your listings does is makes them "mobile friendly" -- as in much more easily viewable on smartphones, tablets, etc.  

As far as will adding it guarantee more sales?  There's no guarantees, especially when it comes to eBay.  However, since so many people these days are using a mobile device to do almost everything online it's to your advantage to make your listings as easy for these users to see and read  as possible which of course, can indirectly lead to sales.

Yes, you can add the meta code via bulk editing.   Here's a video that walks you through how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtai22AFuD4

If you use a standard template for your listings, if you add the code to your template, then it will automatically be included in any new listings you create.   If you don't use a listing template, then just make sure when you create a new listing that you click on the Mobile Checker Tool inside the listing as you are creating it.

If you want to check and see which of your listings are mobile friendly, and which aren't, you can also run this tool:  http://www.isdntek.com/ebaytools/MobileSizeChecker.htm

I run this tool usually after I've added a bunch of new listings just to be sure I didn't miss adding the tag to any.

Hope this helps.

[fergua3]

Thank you very much, that was a great explanation.   And thanks to the others who resonded as well.  Do i need to add the line of code suggested above by cooltronix PLUS use the ebay 'viewport meta tag incorrect or missing' fix or do they both do the same thing?

[cooltronix]

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@fergua3 wrote:

Do i need to add the line of code suggested above by cooltronix PLUS use the ebay 'viewport meta tag incorrect or missing' fix or do they both do the same thing?

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They do the same thing. 

When you do the listing, really use the mobile friendly checker on the right and let eBay make the changes if they suggest any.

I suggest you write also a short mobile description and add it at the end of your listing. This will be invisible, but will be picked up by eBay. 

<div style="display:none" vocab="https://schema.org/" typeof="Product"><span property="description">Write a short mobile description here up to 800 characters.</span></div>

Looks to me like you do that already when I see:

https://www.ebay.com/i/282067079832

vs. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/282067079832

[fergua3]

Hi cooltronix.  I'm not sure i understand your example.  Both the listings you posted are the same....just presented differently by Ebay.  If you are saying i am already using meta tags in my listings, it is nothing i have done, as i have never heard of meta tags before .

If you are pointing out something else with your example, please enlighten me....i'm not grasping what it is you're showing me. 

thanks.

[cooltronix]

Sorry for the confusion, it's not related to the viewport link in my first reply. Just put the complete line on top of your page.

The 2nd one is optional for people where the mobile description is bad. Yours is fine though. Point is, ebay creates a random mobile description if it isn't defined. It appears only the /i/ listings. Seems ebay want to go the Amazon way with a minimal description for impulse buyers. So it's good to be prepared.

[fergua3]

ok, great.  Thanks again.

[fergua3]

Alright it's done.  I followed the bulk edit video livadia provided, inserted the meta tag line cooltronix posted and it was a piece of cake.  Randomly checked a few listings to see if ebay considers them mobile friendly now and they are.   So that's it.  I hope it helps sales cause they are really struggling right now.

Thanks again for all the help!  🙂