Launched a little more than a year ago, eBay AdCommerce is an advertising tool that eBay sellers can use to advertise specific products or their eBay Store in eBay search results. These ads are different than typical eBay listings. They look more like a text and image ad — somewhat similar in nature to Google Sponsored Links — and are displayed on eBay under a "Sponsored Results" heading.
Any eBay seller can enroll in the eBay AdCommerce program. After you create an account, AdCommerce will prompt you to set-up a recurring payment method in order to activate your ads. The program, which is similar in format to most cost per click (CPC) ad campaigns, lets you bid on keywords or on an eBay category. You can also set a daily budget, depending on how much money you want to invest in advertising.
How it Works for Sellers
After you provide registration and payment information, you can go in and create different ad campaigns. For each campaign you generate, there are options to target buyers in a specific country, and you will also need to set a maximum daily budget to spend on the campaign.
 eBay AdCommerce lets sellers manage an advertising campaign on eBay to drive traffic to their eBay Store or product listings.
(Click for larger image). |
To actually design the ad that will run on eBay pages, you can make use of an automated Ad Wizard or start from scratch and design a custom ad. For those new to eBay AdCommerce, the Ad Wizard will help you generate keywords for the ad title, and it will automatically connect your ad to your listings.
The ad provides three lines of ad text (headline plus two lines of description) in which you will want to provide as much information as you can about your store or the items you're selling. You also need to ensure that the ad you create matches the keywords you are purchasing.
To finish creating your ad campaign, you need to include the maximum CPC — that is the maximum amount you are willing to pay for a single click on your ad. It’s your maximum bid for ad placement against other advertisers.
Program Changes and Click fraud Prevention
Alexis Van De Wyer, director of advertising for eBay says that the program has undergone a number of changes, based on seller feedback, since it first launched. Most notably, the process of creating an ad using tags and photos from current listings has been made easier, and eBay also changed the ad format to make the ads look more like eBay search-result listings.
One issue that is often hotly-debated when it comes to CPC advertising programs is click fraud — an illegal practice that occurs when “competitors” click your ad to increase the payable number of click-throughs.
The Holiday Selling Benefits to Sellers
Van De Wyer claims that the program helps sellers increase their visibility on eBay with targeted text-based advertisements. While eBay does not disclose specific numbers, he said that tens of thousands of sellers currently use eBay's AdCommerce program.
According to Van De Wyer, a number of sellers use eBay AdCommerce to promote holiday specific merchandise. Some sellers choose to use specific item keywords, like laptop or camera, while others invest in holiday phrases like ornaments or Christmas decorations. Regardless of which type of holiday keywords you bid on, you can still send relevant buyers to your own eBay item listings or store pages.
Van De Wyer believes that the holiday selling period is a good time for sellers to try using eBay AdCommerce as they can expect to see an increase in traffic going to their listings. He also says that this is a risk-free option for sellers.
“There are no upfront fees and sellers will only pay when someone clicks on their ads,” he said. “Sellers also set the advertising budget so this is really a flexible way to be in control of marketing and advertising for your own eBay business.”
Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.
IE 7
Firefox 2.0
