There’s a lot of competition on eBay. Whether customers are looking for new or used golf clubs or the latest MacBook, there are hundreds of options for them to choose from. With the sheer number of products available to sift through, sellers like you need a way to stand out and get noticed or risk finding a permanent home on the back pages of eBay search results.

One way to stand out is to create product description templates for your eBay listings. Keep in mind, descriptions that convert customers take more work than simply stringing together a list of random product features. Descriptions have to be engaging and highlight product benefits.

Creating eBay description templates makes it easy for you to think about your listings strategically and find a writing formula that triggers more sales.

To help you streamline your description templates, here are three factors to consider so that you close more sales.

1. Incorporate keywords into your listings

When customers search eBay for products to buy, the results they see are based, in part, on the words included in each listing. Cassini—eBay’s search engine—uses these keywords to show customers products that closely match the search terms they used.

Just like with Google, products that appear on the first page of search results are more likely to get clicks and views. The more exposure your products get, the better your chances are of making more sales. To get this exposure, each and every product description you write has to include keywords.

To start, create a list of keywords you can use when you write your descriptions. Think of your list as a keyword stockpile you can draw from when you need to fill in your eBay description template. To keep your keywords organized, segment them by product categories. For example, if you sell sporting goods on eBay, categorize your keywords by product type. Use categories like:

strength training equipment

treadmills

cardio equipment

Use eBay’s categories as a starting point to make sure your keywords fit the way eBay groups products:

Within each category, create sub-categories to make it easier to come up with long-tail keywords. These are phrases with three or more words that are specific and descriptive. So for your strength training equipment category, include a “weights” sub-category with keywords like:

free weights set

adjustable weight dumbbells

adjustable ankle weights

power block weights

used dumbbells for sale

dumbbells for sale

Again, use eBay’s sub-categories as a starting point to make sure your keywords fit the types of sub-categories customers already search through:

To figure out which keywords to use:

Check to see what keywords your competitors use in their listings for similar products.

Use Google AdWords to figure out what terms your audience searches for.

Survey past customers to ask about what’s important to them and incorporate those keywords.

Once you have your list of keywords, you can be more strategic about how you position and word your eBay description templates. For example, when you list product features in your description include keywords, so it’s easy for customers to find your products and for customers to see how well your product meets their needs. They’ll be encouraged to buy something.

Also, use applicable keywords from your list in every listing title you write. This way Cassini can find your listings when it crawls your product pages looking for search term matches.

2. List product benefits at the top of descriptions

Start all of your product descriptions by highlighting the most important customer benefits first. This way you grab customer attention early on since you focus on what’s most important to them. Outlining benefits early on also helps improve conversion for customers who are ready to buy. They can immediately see whether your products are a fit.

Writing all of your eBay description templates this way works because customers read more of what’s at the top than what’s at the bottom of the listing.

This writing style uses the inverted pyramid structure where you start broad with lots of relevant information and narrow down to less important information:

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The way it works is at the top of your eBay description template is your key message or solution. Regardless of what products you’re selling, this is where you:

Call out the benefits that are most important to your customer base

Offer up a solution to the problem customers face

To add emphasis, bold parts of this section so that the most relevant information stands out when customers scan the listing.

Next, share information that backs up these claims. For example, list product features here. It might be tempting to list features first, but customers are more interested in the benefits and whether the product will meet their needs. Features are important but secondary.

At the bottom of the pyramid is “nice to have” information. This can be your return policy or product guarantee. This information doesn’t necessarily sway customer buying decisions, but it’s helpful to include as another way to encourage sales.

Let’s look at an example of the inverted pyramid writing structure in practice. For customers looking for noise-canceling headphones, sound quality might be the most important benefit for them. This listing for Plantronics BackBeat Headphones on the search results page gets to the point quickly by calling out the quality audio experience:

When customers click on the listing and scroll down to the description, they learn more about specific features. This is the second part of the inverted pyramid structure—listing “additional information”:

Below this section is the “nice to have” information where the seller talks about the return policy:

By using this format for your eBay description template, it doesn’t matter what you sell; your listings always include three parts—benefits, features, and nice to have—designed to get attention and convince customers to buy something.

3. Include images throughout the description details

As you might already know, the majority of people are visual learners. It’s easier for them to understand and interpret visual information compared to text. In addition to your image gallery, include images in your eBay description template.

This helps you tell a story and convince customers that your products are the best fit for them. With your eBay description template, decide on the minimum number of images each product listing should have. For example, to break up the text, you might decide to include at least two images in your eBay description template.

Adding images to your description templates is also your chance to get creative with how you showcase your products. Unlike your product galleries at the top of your listings that show products from different angles, use your product description to show customers using your product or show images that help customers make buying decisions quicker. Let’s look at an example.

This seller sells women’s tunic tops in lots of different colors and sizes. The gallery does a good job of showing the different options:

The seller goes even further in the product description and includes size charts to help customers find what they’re looking for. It’s harder to shop for clothes online since customers can’t try them on before buying. However, a size chart improves the customer experience by helping customers find their size based on their unique measurements:

This particular seller chose to list the size chart twice as part of its eBay description template. So as customers scroll down the page to learn more about the tops, there’s quick access to the sizing information they need to make a decision.

For your products, figure out what you can offer to improve your customer experience. For example, if you sell cosmetics, share images of related products to show how your products work together and to upsell new customers.

Building your eBay description templates

Now you’re ready to start creating eBay description templates that simplify how you manage product descriptions. Having a formula to follow creates a brand standard and paves the way for you to convert more customers.

For your templates to convert as many customers as possible, here are a few more tips to remember:

Make sure your value and the benefits you offer are clear. Put this information at the top of your listing and product description and be specific. Your customers have specific needs, so quickly explain how your product is the best fit for these needs.

Put this information at the top of your listing and product description and be specific. Your customers have specific needs, so quickly explain how your product is the best fit for these needs. Get to the point quickly. The benefit of long description templates is customers in the research stage of their customer journey get lots of information to wade through. However, this approach can backfire because some customers would much rather know what’s in it for them if they buy. Think about the main message you want to share with customers and be concise about it. Remember, you want to keep your customers engaged, not bore them to the point they click away and leave.

The benefit of long description templates is customers in the research stage of their customer journey get lots of information to wade through. However, this approach can backfire because some customers would much rather know what’s in it for them if they buy. Think about the main message you want to share with customers and be concise about it. Remember, you want to keep your customers engaged, not bore them to the point they click away and leave. Include a return policy. Every one of your eBay description templates should include a comprehensive return policy. This has two advantages. First, a return policy helps you rank higher especially for customers who filter their search by this option. Second, it shows eBay that you value customer experience and want to make it easy for customers to shop with you. Plus, a user-friendly return policy improves your chances of earning a “top rated seller” badge. This badge shows up at the top of all of your listings for all new customers to see. It’s like social proof that helps to quickly build customer trust.

As your customer base shares more about their preferences, update your eBay description templates to cater to these changes. That’s the great thing about templates; once you see a new need, it’s easy to update product descriptions since they all follow the same format. This flexibility saves you time, so you can focus on other parts of your business.