eBay’s Offsite Ads are still relatively new, so we sat down with Anthony Okoro, Senior Director, Head of Ads New Ventures at eBay, to find out more and discover how they can benefit eBay sellers. As well as the video above, we asked eBay for more guidance for sellers and their answers and advice are below:
What is Offsite Ads and how can it benefit eBay sellers?
Offsite Ads is a brand new advertising solution, which allows eBay sellers to easily promote their eligible inventory across external channels, such as Google. With this tool, our sellers will now be able to attract new buyers outside of the eBay marketplace, ultimately connecting them with a wider, ready-to-purchase audience.
Additionally, by using a dynamic cost-per-click model, Offsite Ads automatically adjusts for each listing on a daily basis. Therefore, your target daily budget will determine how much you could be charged per month for clicks on your ads.
Offsite Ads can be used for any eligible fixed priced listings, with eligibility subject to policies and requirements of the external channel.
What’s the reason behind eBay investing in this new product?
A key issue that eBay sellers encounter is activating Google campaigns without owning the domain that their product is associated with.
We noticed this barrier and developed Offsite Ads to allow our sellers to promote their eBay products on leading search engines directly through the Advertising Dashboard.
Offsite Ads can be a powerful advertising tool for sellers, especially those who may not have direct-to-consumer channels, providing them with a seamless extension of their marketplace presence. Yet, this tool is designed to enhance the marketing efforts of all eBay sellers regardless of their sales infrastructure.
When might a seller want to use Offsite Ads as opposed to the more traditional Promoted Listings ads on eBay?
After peak sales periods in the year, many sellers often need fast sales velocity to shift excess stock. Offsite Ads can allow sellers to effectively clear out their inventory by casting a wider net to potential buyers.
Another key function for sellers is the ability to promote trending items. For example, with Spring now here we can anticipate spikes in Home & Garden products as buyers prep their outdoor spaces for gathering and gardening.
And finally, Offsite Ads can empower sellers to amplify their sales with ease, providing greater flexibility when they want to cash out on goods.
Which external channels is eBay currently partnering with to drive reach of an eBay seller’s product listings across the web in general?
The external channel we are currently able to offer is Google, but we’re exploring and testing with other channels to enhance the capabilities of Offsite Ads. We want to make sure that these channels work effectively for our sellers.
Should eBay sellers who already run Google Shopping campaigns replace those campaigns with Offsite Ads, or run their Google Shopping and Offsite Ads campaigns in tandem?
Offsite Ads is designed to compliment Google’s suite of products, which means that sellers aren’t obliged to swap one for the other if it doesn’t suit their business.
This tool should be incorporated into a seller’s overall advertising strategy for optimal results. It’s important to have a multiple-channel approach to marketing and we encourage sellers to experiment in order to find the best strategy for them.
Some eBay sellers are already benefiting from Google Shopping ads through their Promoted Listings campaigns, will Offsite Ads compete with these ad placements?
It’s worth noting that Google Shopping Ads through Promoted Listings are separate to Offsite Ads placements and they are two separate campaigns.
When a seller creates an Offsite Ads campaign, their listings will only appear on external channels through that campaign. This means that they won’t be eligible to appear on external channels through their Promoted Listings Standard campaigns. To use Promoted Listings Standard externally, the listings are opted in and bid on automatically with no input from the seller.
However with Offsite Ads, every time a buyer clicks on an ad, the seller will pay the exact cost per click that was selected in that campaign, ultimately giving sellers greater control over how much they want to invest in reaching potential buyers externally.
Can I choose the specific listings I wish to promote through my Offsite Ads campaign? (If not, when is this functionality coming from eBay?
At this time, sellers are only able to promote their entire catalogue of inventory, not individual listings, but we’re exploring ways of expanding this out.
For sellers who trade on other eBay markets, not just ebay.co.uk, can they use Offsite Ads across all respective markets?
Offsite Ads can be used to extend the reach of listings to a wider audience, increasing conversion rates globally. Additionally, sellers and brands can take advantage of eBay’s Global Shipping Program to increase the reach of international listings in just a few clicks.
What sort of performance can sellers typically expect from Offsite Ads?
The sellers involved in early testing have seen promising sales results, particularly when it comes to reaching new buyers. This means Offsite Ads isn’t just extending sellers’ reach to existing eBay shoppers, but also acquiring new net buyers to their store.
Can you, and should you use Offsite Ads in tandem with other eBay Ads solutions such as Promoted Listings or marketing tools like flash sales and/or coupons?
Offsite Ads causes no issues to sellers that are already using eBay Ads solutions or other marketing tools. We recommend sellers to use a variety of solutions within the advertising product suite in order to ensure maximum visibility and conversion for their products.
Are all sellers eligible to test it to see if it is right for them whilst it’s still in beta?
In this first release of Offsite Ads we’re focused on testing and iterating before making it widely available. This means that, in the first instance, we’re limiting access to subset of sellers that meet certain eligibility criteria, including seller rating, listing quality, and having recent sales activity from external channels .
However, as we test and learn with sellers who are utilising Offsite Ads currently, we’ll expand eligibility and notifying sellers once they are eligible.
What type of expertise do I need to have to enable me to set up a campaign? Is the process similar to say Promoted Listings Standard or Promoted Listings Advanced?
There’s no extra expertise required for Offsite Ads as you can quickly create and launch your campaign with eligible listings in just a few clicks:
● Visit the ‘Marketing’ tab in Seller Hub and navigate to the Advertising Dashboard
● Look for the Offsite Ads invitation banner on the advertising dashboard to set up your campaign.
● Name your campaign and set a daily budget.
● Review your Offsite Ads campaign and you’re good to go
Once you launch your campaign, your ads will be eligible to appear within 48 hours.
Are there any additional resources or support available to help your sellers effectively integrate Offsite Ads into their marketing strategy? Where can sellers go to find out more?
Our product research tool Terapeak is a great resource to uncover product trends and insights on things like pricing to ensure sellers’ listings are competitive, relevant and quality – giving them the best chance of success. Sellers can also visit the seller center and ebayads.com for more information on Offsite Ads.
