Had a listing removed for keyword spamming...

[gigabean-au]

Had a rather confusing discussion with ebay the last few days regarding one of our listings - the title was:

20" Digital Photo Frame - 12" and 15" can't compare!

For me that's pretty much saying it's superior to those models... and we have been using it for about two years.

According to ebays policy team it was keyword spamming, and that people would be confused as to what size the photo frame is. In two years I don't think we've had a single 'item not as described' case for this product.

After talking with one of their online chat people, apparently the keywords we were spamming were "can't" and "compare" - makes sense huh? I could understand if they were upset we were using 12" and 15" as obviously that helps us show up when people search for 12" digital photo frame, etc... but nope... I asked about changing it to: superior to 12" and 15", and apparently that's ok... so I guess that's what we'll do.

Within an hour or so after talking with ebay support, our listing with 70 sales on it gets removed (about 24 hours after the original notice was sent to us) and our policy compliance has dropped to 'very low'. Didn't even really give us a chance to do anything - I work full time and do this ebay stuff after hours or in my lunch break...

As an exercise, do a quick search on ebay for 'compare' - I notice a LOT of people using the title in a similar way.

Anyway.. just wanted to vent more than anything.. seems a good place for it 🙂

[lizzy6107]

How is this for keyword spamming.

I sell lots of tops and dresses, the style well known is australia, and surely elsewhere, is babydoll style, used to describe a style as is the word maxi or boho etc

My account is now 'low policy compliancy' status due to using the word babydoll, which they say is too close to "wheels and doll baby" ... I searched for babydoll in ebay and there are over 13000 listings using this description. What on earth is ebay on about.

I rang, and even though the woman wouldn't admit to it being ridiculous, could tell she was suprised.

Problem is, another crazy thing like this and my account can be suspended. Not to mention that I have had to remove the word from 60 items in my store, now no one searching for the babydoll top will find mine.

Are there human beings with any sense working there at ebay?

[digital*ghost]

I would dispute that vehemently.

I can't see how anyone could mistake 'babydoll', a well known, long-standing and - perhaps more importantly - generic term for a style of top / dress, for the brand name 'Wheels and Dollbaby' 😮

It can take a bit of trying, but I think if you persist, you have a good chance of getting your policy compliance back to normal.

[motherbear2003]

gigabean - you may well have been using that title for about two years, however some mealy mouthed meanie has reported your listing.

I recently had some of my listings removed for the same reason and I had been using the titles for 9 years, and there's still many sellers committing the same breach of the rules.  However unless a listing is reported ebay will not take actionX-(

[thesoulyearns]

Regarding keyword spamming, I just noticed something that was issued by eBay but may conflict with their own rules.

I'm sure most sellers received the "Chrismas is Coming" article regarding tips to improve selling. This was stated:

Maximise your item title

Include keywords that buyers will search for, unique or descriptive attributes, and always check your spelling. Your item title is critical in helping users find your items, so use each character wisely.

That is what was printed, word for word. Seems to contradict eBay's keyword spam policy regarding descriptive words. However, D*G may prove me wrong here.

[digital*ghost]

Descriptive words are ok, as long as they're relevant to the item and not brand names, trademarks etc. I often do that if there's plenty of extra room after all the important info, different ways to say some of the item specifics that people may search for by keyword (eg 100% cotton, stretch fabric, high rise... even genre of music for more subversive styles, or the record label that put out the release if they're a popular indie label, as some of them have a cult following).

The black dress Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast At Tiffany's has kind of become synonymous with here name, so you actually get people searching for "Audrey Hepburn Dress", but you can't put her name in a title like that so whenever I have something like that to list I just use words like classic and elegant. I doubt they'd be very common search terms, but if I can fit them in the visible part of a title along with the other important info, IMO it's better than blank space. 😉

[phorum_junkie*]

I see nothing contradictory, where do ebay say you should use a word that appertains to a different item to describe what you are saying.

Keywords are words like the colour, size, style, brand of whatever you are selling. Keyword spamming is using keywords that describe another size, colour or brand that is not being offered for sale.