What is marketplace SEO and just why is it so important to keep ahead of your competitors? Read on to find out, and get practical strategies to help your products stand out.
Having the best product on the market doesn’t always guarantee it will be the most visible or popular. So, what makes the difference? The answer lies in how well you optimise your product for online marketplaces. With millions of products competing for attention, marketplace SEO is critical to any successful sales strategy.
To create highly optimised product listings that capture attention, it’s essential to understand marketplace SEO and how it applies to your brand and products.
What is product listing SEO?
You'll probably know that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, a practice aimed at increasing visibility for a site or webpage within the major search engines such as Google and Bing. Product listing SEO however, takes a slightly different approach. It focuses on optimising individual product listings within online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, rather than traditional websites.
Unlike regular SEO, which targets external search engines, product listing SEO requires businesses and sellers to adapt to the specific requirements and algorithms unique to each marketplace. These platforms prioritise relevancy, keyword usage, and customer reviews to rank products in their search results. For this reason, adaptation is the key to mastering product listing SEO.
To expand further, marketplace SEO goes beyond optimising individual product listings. It encompasses search strategies to enhance the overall visibility of a seller's storefront or presence within the marketplace ecosystem, making it an essential tool for sellers competing on platforms like Amazon, Etsy, or eBay.
Here’s how to do SEO for marketplace:
1. Know which marketplace is right for you
To begin marketing online and creating product listings, it is first important to identify which marketplaces are the most relevant for your brand. For example, if you’re selling something niche like used luxury watches, look at marketplaces that specifically focus on this product. Alternatively, listing on major marketplaces like Amazon and eBay can significantly expand your audience reach.
Success, however, lies in truly understanding the platforms you’re using. This means:
Learning about the audience demographics and preferences
Knowing the peak times in engagement across these marketplaces
- Adapting your copy’s tone of voice depending on the platform, whilst still being true to your brand
Popular marketplaces in Ireland
When choosing a marketplace to sell your products in Ireland, it’s important to understand each platform's strengths and unique features. Below are some of the most popular marketplaces in Ireland, along with what makes them stand out and key considerations for sellers.
Amazon.com
With its cutting-edge technology and global reach, Amazon offers businesses an opportunity to scale quickly. However, success on this platform requires careful planning. You’ll need to navigate challenges like currency conversion, customs, and shipping costs, while ensuring compliance with Amazon’s strict policies. For sellers looking to expand internationally, Amazon.com is a powerful tool—if you’re prepared to meet its demands.
Donedeal.ie
Donedeal.ie is Ireland’s go-to platform for buying and selling locally, making it a great option for sellers who want to connect with a community of buyers nationwide. It’s especially popular for cars, furniture, electronics, and pets. To succeed here, sellers need to ensure their listings are accurate and engaging while being prepared to handle their own customer service and delivery logistics. Keep in mind that clear communication and authenticity in your listings will help you stand out and build trust with buyers.
Adverts.ie
Adverts.ie is an easy-to-use platform for sellers listing items like clothes, books, or bikes. Its built-in feedback system and chat feature make communication simple and efficient. To make the most of this platform, focus on creating detailed, accurate descriptions and offering competitive prices.
eBay.co.uk
eBay.co.uk is an online marketplace for you to showcase a wide range of products, from fashion and collectibles to electronics. Its flexible selling formats and active customer base make it an excellent choice if you're looking to reach buyers locally and internationally.
2. Ensure your product listing copy is fully optimised
Once you’ve figured the ins and outs of your marketplace and completed your competitor research, it’s time to move on to your own product listings. Simply put, they need to be unique, informative and interesting. Fitting all the information you want to include into the character limit can pose a few difficulties, which is why it’s worth following these four points:
Test variations of your product titles
Create the best copy you can for your listing by writing multiple drafts (within the word limit) and asking others to proofread. Your copy should include a description of your product, along with adjectives that best promote its unique selling points. Be sure to add all relevant keywords into this copy as they will help your listing rank highly in terms of SEO.
For example, if you’re selling mugs, add in keywords that relate, such as ‘strong mugs’, ‘strong handles’ and ‘beautifully crafted mugs’ – words that you know will capture users’ attention! There are free tools online to help you identify keywords that will match your marketplace listing and optimise it for you, such as Wordtracker1, that offer a free trial.
The title is also a crucial aspect of your listing — not only will it be the first thing that potential customers see, but it also defines your product. Be sure to play around with this as results can be interesting. For example, in one case, ‘Adidas Yeezy 360 Trainers’ did not perform as well as ‘Yeezy 360 Trainers’. The reason behind this is the latter listing is distinguishing the product and making it simple and clear to the readers what brand it is. It may take a few attempts to get this right, but that’s no problem! Be aware that Amazon’s title length is just 200 characters, so add in only the most relevant keywords. A shopper should be able to understand your product based on the title and image alone.
Avoid fluff
It’s easy to fall into the trap of writing a flowery description of your product that doesn’t exactly match up to what you’re selling. To gain the trust of the marketplace and its users, there has to be validity in your listings, so be thorough and check that everything mentioned is factual. A quick tip on this: To draw the audience’s attention to the key features and benefits of your product straight away, opt for a bullet point display. Buyers will tend to read the bullet points on any listing first to gauge whether the product is of interest, before reading the full description.
Keep your product listings relevant
Always highlight any new product updates or features in your listings. To appeal to a wide audience, write these updates in layman’s terms. Consumer-centric terms are able to entice users that may not necessarily be interested. This is, however, dependent on what your listings consist of — if you’re selling highly technical items, your language should be targeted towards shoppers who are familiar with more technical terms.
To optimise descriptions as much as possible, ask ‘trial shoppers’ to read your listings and give their opinions — friends and family or colleagues you know who have an interest in the products you’re selling. This feedback will help you refine the copy for the target audience.
Unique SEO product copy is the most enticing copy
Be interesting, be unique, be exciting! Use your product copy to show off your brand and what makes it and your products special. There are plenty of listings that use the same nondescript language that fails to excite users on the marketplace. Give your products some personality by showing off the benefits with different copy while still following SEO best practices.
Creative asset optimisation
Now that your copy is optimised to the fullest, packed with important keywords and detailed descriptions, it’s time to optimise the images within your listing too. Users will often jump on the images and study them in detail so it’s important to ensure they’re perfect.
Legitimise your listing with high-quality images that capture the users’ attention. Manipulate the images so that they’re a suitable size, and make the product the main feature – aim for around 85% of the picture. It’s worth having a white background to really put the product in focus. You should also consider including images of the product in a real-world setting so the audience has a better understanding of how the product would work in their everyday life — for example, showing a lamp on a bedside table.
Correct categorisation for your products
Marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay have millions of listings, in thousands of different sectors. Your product listings may be packed with the most engaging copy and detailed descriptions, but if they’re categorised into the wrong site section then it will all be for nothing! Be sure to study the categories of the site and pick the section that works best with your product and brand.
The pandemic has caused a boom in the e-commerce economy, creating lucrative opportunities for your business — but only if you can cut through the competition. Understanding your marketplace is really the main key to getting ahead. Follow the product listing SEO tips shown above, and you’ll have everything you need to optimise your online marketplace, stand out from your competitors, and sell, sell, sell!
5. Implement schema markup
Schema markup might initially seem technical, but it’s an easy and effective way to make your product listings stand out in search results.
Think of schema markup as a tool to give your listings the needed edge. Like crafting the perfect copy, adding schema ensures your products are clear and appealing to customers and search engines. For example, structured data can highlight a product’s unique selling points directly in the search results, making it more likely to attract clicks. It’s worth experimenting with schema types, like “Product” or “Review,” to see which works best for your marketplace.
Just like optimising your title or descriptions, schema markup might take a few tries to perfect—but once implemented, it can greatly impact your listing’s visibility and performance. If you’re unsure where to start, tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper make it easy to set up and test.
6. Ensure your site is mobile-friendly and loads fast
Shoppers today demand seamless experiences, especially on their mobile devices. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you could be losing valuable customers before they even have a chance to browse your listings. A responsive design ensures your marketplace looks great and works perfectly, whether it’s on a desktop or a smartphone.
Speed matters just as much as the look and feel of your marketplace. Shoppers won’t stick around for a slow-loading page, so make it a priority to optimise performance. Compress images, tidy up your code, and use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to pinpoint areas for improvement. A fast-loading marketplace keeps customers engaged, encourages repeat visits, and helps you stay ahead of the competition.
7. Maximise reviews and user-generated content (UGC)
Building trust is the cornerstone of any successful marketplace, and nothing does it better than customer reviews and user-generated content (UGC).
Make it simple for your customers to leave honest feedback, and encourage them to share photos or videos of your products in real-world settings. Authentic UGC resonates with potential buyers and boosts your SEO by keeping your listings fresh and relevant.
To truly stand out, showcase your top reviews or create dedicated sections for social proof. Seeing satisfied customers in action is the ultimate way to inspire trust and turn browsers into buyers.
Ready to boost sales? Start optimising your listings today
Optimising your marketplace SEO is the key to driving visibility, building trust, and ultimately boosting sales. With strategies like identifying the right marketplaces and implementing schema markup, every step contributes to creating a seamless shopping experience for your customers.
When fulfilling your orders, choosing the right shipping partner is just as important as perfecting your listings. DHL Express offers reliable, fast, secure shipping solutions that help e-commerce businesses succeed in competitive marketplaces. With expertise in global logistics and seamless integration options, they make it easier for sellers to manage shipping while keeping customers happy.
Take the next step toward growing your online business by creating an account with DHL Express today and experience the difference a trusted shipping partner can make
