How to optimise your marketplace listings? A guide to visibility and conversion

What does “good” look like?

• Visibility: your listings appear for the right searches and categories.
• Approval: fewer rejections and faster time to live.
• Conversion: clearer titles and images increase click-through and add-to-basket.
• Trust: accurate stock, pricing and delivery dates reduce cancellations and returns.

How marketplaces decide what to show

Each marketplace is different, but the usual signals are similar:

• Relevance: clear titles, correct category, complete attributes.
• Quality: compliant images, readable copy, no forbidden terms.
• Competitiveness: price, promotions and availability that make sense.
• Reliability: seller performance, on-time delivery, low cancellation and return rates.

The optimisation checklist

• Titles: use a simple pattern such as Brand + Model + Key attribute + Size or Capacity.
• Category and attributes: map to the correct category and fill all required fields. Add recommended ones where they help filtering.
• Images: hero image on plain background, correct size, extra angles and context images where allowed.
• Bullets and description: short bullets for key specs, a brief paragraph for use cases and care info.
• Identifiers: valid GTIN or MPN, consistent brand naming, clean variant structure.
• Pricing: clear base price, scheduled promotions, honest compare-at pricing.
• Availability and delivery: realistic handling time, reliable carrier options, holiday rules.
• Trust signals: warranties, returns and customer care information where the marketplace allows.
• Compliance: remove forbidden terms and claims, respect category rules.
• Internal links: where possible, nudge customers to related SKUs or variants.

Before and after: two quick examples

Category-specific tips

• Fashion: surface gender, fit, size, colour and material in titles and attributes. Add size guides where possible.
• Electronics: lead with the exact product type and headline spec. Include compatibility and what is in the box.
• Home and DIY: show dimensions, materials and use case. Add safety or compliance notes if required.

How to measure improvements

• Discovery: impressions by search term and category.
• Listing health: approval rate and error rate.
• Engagement: click-through rate and add-to-basket rate.
• Reliability: cancellation and return rates, delivery performance.

Review weekly. If impressions rise but click-through is flat, focus on titles and images. If clicks rise but sales do not, check price, delivery and reviews.

A one week optimisation sprint

• Day 1: choose one marketplace and your top 50 SKUs by views but low conversion.
• Day 2: fix category and required attributes for those SKUs.
• Day 3: rewrite titles using a simple, category-specific pattern.
• Day 4: refresh hero images and add two extra angles where allowed.
• Day 5: tidy bullets and descriptions, remove forbidden terms.
• Day 6: review price and delivery promise, schedule a fair promotion if relevant.
• Day 7: publish, check diagnostics, and log results. Repeat for the next 50 SKUs.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Vague titles: missing size, colour or key spec wastes impressions.
• Wrong category: fewer filters, lower relevance, slower approvals.
• Inconsistent brand and identifiers: duplicates and rejections.
• Unrealistic delivery promises: late shipments lead to poorer ranking.

Next steps

👉 Learn more about marketplace listing optimisation
👉 Find the right marketplaces for your products
👉 Request a demo