eBay launched a beta version of Promoted Listings Advanced ads in 2021, and today it announced it has taken it out of beta testing and into general release.
Unlike regular Promoted Listing Ads where sellers pay a fee only when an ad results in a sale, Promoted Listings Advanced Beta charges sellers when a buyer clicks on their ad, regardless of whether the buyer make a purchase (called CPC, or cost-per-click).
In Tuesday’s post, eBay said it had added features based on seller feedback to help them save time creating and managing campaigns; increased the visibility of ads; and created tools needed to evaluate their performance.
eBay also said sellers see a 40% increase in items sold, on average, when using Promoted Listings Advanced compared to non-promoted items, according to eBay data 9/22–2/23. (In a previous blog post published July 6, eBay had written: “Sellers see 50% more sales, on average, when using Promoted Listings Advanced, compared to non-promoted items” citing the same time period, 09/22 – 02/23.)
Note that eBay Promoted Listings Advanced is only available to Above Standard or Top Rated sellers with enough account activity – it didn’t define “enough” in the FAQs where it defined eligibility.
Another FAQ explained, “How is Promoted Listings Advanced different from Promoted Listings Standard?”
“Both Promoted Listings campaign types help your items stand out among billions of listings across the eBay network and be seen by millions of active buyers when they’re browsing and searching for what you’re selling, increasing the likelihood of a sale.
- “Promoted Listings Standard campaigns let you promote your listings – across the eBay network and only pay when you sell. Standard campaigns are quick and simple to set up. Since you only pay when you sell, Standard campaigns are a low-risk way to boost visibility.
- “Promoted Listings Advanced campaigns let you promote your listings in premium placements and pay per click on your ad. Advanced campaigns give you the high visibility you want and the control you need with a daily budget, keyword targeting, keyword bidding, and reporting.”
Interesting, the two types of ads are not mutually exclusive. Another FAQ answers the question, “Can I promote the same listings via Standard and Advanced campaigns?” with the following:
“Yes. You can promote the same listings through Standard and Advanced campaigns.
“Keep in mind that when you promote your listings through Advanced campaigns, you’re bidding on preferred access to premium placements and paying per click. Standard campaigns have placements across the eBay network and you pay per sale. We recommend that you use both Standard and Advanced campaigns together to maintain coverage.”
Sellers who have used both forms of eBay Promoted Listings ads are welcome to share their experiences in the comments below and weigh in on the pros and cons of CPC ads.
They took organic traffic away to make that happen.
now the grifter will have something to do….click away grifter, click away
OF COURSE eBay would recommend that sellers use both types of ads … more chances for them to make money. It’s not rocket science.
If there’s a 40% increase in items sold using Promoted Listings ADVANCED, what is the increase in sales when using Promoted Listings Standard? C’mon eBay, let’s have ALLLL the data!
I’ve been using the “Standard” version on most of my listings for 2.5 years now and I get a good number of sales from the ads but I don’t like the idea of paying for clicks that may not lead to a sale.
eBay litters each listing with 40+ similar items from other sellers, with some even appearing before the item specifics and description of the original listing. So, it absolutely does not make sense to be paying for clicks. With all those photos of other items, you may never get a sale from those ads. Money for nothing.
For what it’s worth, I personally know a seller who does extremely well and never pays for ads. The secret? It’s a numbers game. The seller has 7,000+ individual items listed at all times. GTC, no best offer.
ALL/EVERY/ANY CPC campaign – by ANYONE is fraud waiting to happen.
All the Grifter needs to do is find one bored programmer and find a click program on github (like a mining program).
Just roll out that program and POOF – millions of dollar in funds for fake clicks
NEVER EVER USE CPC. If you are going to use eBays ad program (shudder) then do it manually and add on a percentage – do NOT use CPC.