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

Optimising marketplace listings is the work that helps your products get found and bought on marketplaces such as Amazon, Zalando, eBay, Bol, Allegro, Leroy Merlin, etc. It focuses on the parts that buyers and algorithms see first: titles, attributes, images, categories, pricing, availability and delivery promise. This page explains what to optimise, shows simple examples, and gives you a one week plan.

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