What is an impression and how it relates to CTR & Cassini ranking

[pickleplant]

We've tried to find the technical definition of what constitutes an "impression" on ebay but haven't found a clear answer. In search results, is an impression an item that was gathered in the entire page's results on page load or was it an item that has physically appeared on the buyer's screen while scrolling.  We've looked at the web calls while scrolling search results and it's only requesting the gallery image .webp file. You could set up the server to record an impression on that type of request but that wouldn't be a true meaning as impression and certainly not standard analytics development. So it makes more sense to record every listing in the search result page as having an impression. 

So if it is recorded all on page load and if Cassini uses Click Through Rate as a ranking factor in the slightest as thought to, it is hugely destructive to the vast majority of sellers, particularly in competitive categories.  If our items are ranking near the mid to bottom of a search result page, the chances of a click are obviously way lower than the top. But if that lower click through rate because of our rank is the key factor in placing our listings below the top results, then the deck is stacked and there really is no way to outrank the top listings if they have similar service and listing quality to yours.

Then in regards to promoted listings... By nature a good chunk of buyers have "banner blindness", meaning their brain automatically ignores online advertising. A promoted impression will always have a lower click through rate than an organic impression. But I wonder if that lower promoted listing CTR is included or not in regards to ranking it organically. I think it's always a good idea to use promoted, but it would have a bad side effect if it hurts our organic ranking by tanking our click through rate.

Then again I'm not sure why we are spending time trying to figure out these small details of the Cassini engine when there are swaths of it that are just flat out broken. Try searching "Columbia Vest" and you will see full long sleeve jackets with no reference to a "vest" keyword and only match on the brand name.  38,000 results and these jackets are organically on the front page, some with no returns accepted. Rankings aside, that is just a poor buying experience.

[fab_finds4u]

I'm sorry but it was too hard to read through all that. If you want better ranking for your listings google 10 eBay SEO Secrets: How to Rank First in eBay's Cassini Algorithm Nadav Roiter September 25, 2019.

[slippinjimmy]

An impression occurs when the following happens:

When a user searches and your listing appears on any of the search results pages the user views

When a user views a page where eBay has placed your item (eg: "people also viewed" or "similar items" sections).

The next one I'm not sure about

When your listing is included in a marketing email

The Impressions/Views ratio metric is the important one, it shows how many times a user actually clicks through to the listing page from the search results.

The really key one if the conversion rate, how many people see your listing, actually view the page AND click the buy button.

Lots of impressions with little views tells eBay your listing isn't interesting to buyers but contains keywords that make it should up in searches, since buyers don't view it means your listing is wasting space on page one for listings that DO motivate buyers to view the listing page.

The point of Best Match is to show buyers the listings they are most likely to buy.

Try searching "Columbia Vest" and you will see full long sleeve jackets with no reference to a "vest" keyword and only match on the brand name.

If you use Advanced Search (all words, any order filter) you will only get actual vests.

In a basic search "Columbia Vest" means any listing that contains either "Columbia" or "Vest" (probably with a preference for Columbia since it's a popular brand name).

[pickleplant]

Right, so the Impressions/Views ratio metric is a problem if ebay is using as a metric to rank the search results. This is because the ranking of your item has a huge influence on your click through rate.  The top result on a google search is clicked 45% while the bottom is 8%. If ebay isn't grading on a scale and only raw click through rate, then the listings at the top will always have an advantage on ranking then all the listings lower.  Conversion rate is a very good metric to judge quality of a listing, click through rate is not. 

"In a basic search "Columbia Vest" means any listing that contains either "Columbia" or "Vest" (probably with a preference for Columbia since it's a popular brand name)."

A modern search engine shouldn't work this way. It's fine to match on just "Columbia" AFTER all results that match both words are displayed. The algorithm is named "Best Match". A buyer searching for a vest are being very clear on the type of garment they want to buy.

[coolections]

I understand you are trying to blame someone because of low sales. What I can tell you though is almost EVERYONE switches best match to either lowest price, ending soonest, or newly listed. All the stuff in between is garbage that has been sitting there for months an even years and no one wants to see it.

[pickleplant]

Who said anything about low sales? I'm trying to discuss a potential flaw in the ranking system that could perpetuate an advantage to tomorrows rankings based on today's rankings not the quality of the listing. If that's the case, every seller should be concerned.  It's possible being at the bottom of page 1 search results is worse for your listing than being at the top of page 3. These ranking factors could spill into the other filters you mentioned as well where your listing may not be in the results because of poor click through rate. However, Best Match is the majority of sales in clothing, our main category that is very competitive so these small advantages could make a huge difference.

[coolections]

As I tried to explain, there is no flaw. People switch to newest, lowest, and ending soonest.

[chapeau-noir]

How do you know "most" people switch to alternate search methods?  And how is that relevant to the surfacing of results on a SERP as related to impression rates on eBay's default search method?