Home About Us Sellathon >> SellerPower >> FAQ Order  MEMBER'S LOGIN:   USERNAME:   PASSWORD:     ©2005 by Sellathon, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Patents Pending. http://www.sellathon.com/ eBay is a registered trademark of eBay Corporation and is not associated with SellerPower.com or Sellathon, Inc. POWERSELLERS depend on SELLERPOWER! Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Partners

Home | About Us | Examples | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS | Order Frequently Asked Questions Where do you get this search data? Sellathon offers a 30 day free trial of its ViewTracker auction counter to eBay sellers who wish to determine which search terms were used to find their auctions. So the data primarily comes from these "free trial" auctions. And since we have a constant flow of sellers signing up for ViewTracker's free trial, we're in the unique position to see the most popular keywords and search phrases used by visitors all across eBay, as well as all the specialized categories. Is it accurate? Sellathon monitors millions of auctions for thousands of independent sellers, representing an extremely broad range of items. This data provides valuable insight into what eBay users are searching for. But the accuracy of any monitoring process - whether it's traffic analysis, opinion surveys, or the measurement of user activity - is a function of the sample size being monitored. In other words, the more data you have to examine, the more accurate your extrapolation will be. At any given time, Sellathon monitors approximately .5% of all eBay US auctions, and these results - approximately 1/200th of all searches performed on eBay - are the basis of our auction search data. This represents millions of auction visitors per month, and is a larger sample size than is typically used in most types of activity polling. Consequently, we believe our search data to be reasonably representative of eBay as a whole. How do I use this information? It's very easy: Use SellerPower to look up different keywords related to the GENERIC item you're selling and see which keywords get searched on the most. Use SellerPower to look up different keywords related to the SPECIFIC item you're selling and see which keywords get searched on the most. Then, artistically weave these most-searched-for keywords together into the alloted 55 characters to create a title that generates the most traffic, while still being descriptive of the item being sold. The traffic to your auctions will go up immediately, generating more bids and higher final prices. In the search results, what does "projected" mean? At any given time, Sellathon tracks between .4% and .8% of eBay auctions, so we use a proprietary formula to estimate the the total number of searches performed all across eBay (including the auctions we don't track) during the specified time frame. That number appears in the "Projected" column. What's your take on keyword spamming? Keyword spamming is the use of unrelated and inappropriate keywords, or keywords that are not used by legitimate buyers when they seek your type of item. The purpose of adding unrelated and obviously inappropriate keywords to an auction title or description is to boost the traffic to those items. Not only do we NOT advocate that, it's a complete waste of time (as this Sellathon study shows) and against eBay's rules. Not everyone agrees on a common definition of keyword spamming, but we think the most useful guide for determining whether or not something is spam is whether or not buyers actually use the term when looking for an item. For example, no one looking for Ford Mustang parts is going to legitimately use "paris hilton" as part of their search. Nor is it likely that someone searching for Microsoft software would use "not Apple" to help them find those items. Those are obvious examples of keyword spamming. Now let's look at what keyword spamming isn't. Some buyers on eBay are not particularly savvy on how search engines work, and they very often use plurals (rings vs. ring), overly obvious terms (like searching for "book" while in the Books category), atypical and regional spellings ("collectable" in the UK = "collectible" in the US), and other idiosyncracies when seeking items. Furthermore, some buyers don't know what the "appropriate" term for an item is. People wanting to buy andirons, for example, often search for "fireplace log holders". Or maybe there isn't an "appropriate" term. Whether you call them "drapes", "draperies", "curtains", "blinds" or "window treatments" largely depends on your age, your socioeconomic background, and where you happen to live. The knowledge of these idiosyncracies and the application of this information through creative title-writing not only indicates a savvy understanding of the marketplace, but it also helps buyers who aren't exactly sure about the "best way" to describe what they're looking for. This is radically different from the deceitful ploys true keyword spammers use to lure unsuspecting visitors. In the end, keyword spamming is a self-defeating act that provides zero benefit to the practitioner. The only way for a seller to make a significant impact on his or her bottom line is to use relevant, appropriate and legitimate keywords, since anything else tends to antagonize, rather than assist, potential buyers. I see a VERY obscure search in my report that says it was searched for 37 times. How is that possible? Some people set up very elaborate searches, and then either perform those searches manually or automate them (using various eBay tools) so that the searches are performed on a regular basis. If you see multiple occurences of a search that resembles this... (word1,word2,word3) -(word1toexclude,word2toexclude,word3toexclude) ... that's invariably what is happening. More than likely, this is just one user searching for the same thing every day. May I distribute or share SellerPower data with others? No. This data is licensed for your own use only, and is to remain confidential. The SellerPower User Agreement specifically prohibits your divulging any of the contents of the SellerPower keyword database to anyone (other than your own full-time employees). How much does SellerPower cost? We want you to experience this firsthand - and test it for yourself - because once you've used it, we know you'll be impressed! So as an introductory offer, we are granting three days of unlimited access to our huge keyword database for just $7.95. You can also buy three months unlimited access for $49 or a full year for $149. Click here for ordering instructions...