To get buyers to bid on or buy your item, you first have to entice them to land on your listing. That is not an easy task, because on online marketplaces your wares are jostling for attention with thousands of other products.

The manager of a grocery store will arrange the products he or she wants to sell quickly in the most prominent spots. This strategy is even more important for sellers who sell mostly in the auction format, as opposed to selling at fixed prices. Exposure ensures not only that your item gets sold, but that it gets sold at a better price: more visitors quickly lead to more bidders, which can translate into a higher winning bid. But how do you ensure that your items get such preferential treatment on an online marketplace?

Most online auction sites offer several methods of enhancing items the sellers list. True, the enhancements do entail an outlay of money. However, the investment is usually worth it. The more visible a listing is, the more visitors it will attract, and the bigger chances it has of getting sold.

Do conversion rates really matter?

The very concept of conversion rates is ill defined and therefore a somewhat flawed indicator of an online seller's success. In the first place, there are several different methods of calculating conversion rates: as a ratio of unique buyers to unique visitors, as a ratio of items sold to items listed, and so on. Then, the category of your merchandise also affects conversion. Visitors to grocery sites or flower delivery sites go there with the intention of buying. However, an online marketplace with a variety of merchandise tends to attract a large number of visitors who simply enjoy browsing.

Still, it is a good idea to keep an eye on those conversion figures. Sellers should have a spreadsheet with records that indicate the number of items listed, the number of items with enhanced listing, the number of items sold, and the number of visitors to each listing. Then they should keep an eye on the conversion rates trend - and start worrying if the numbers show a clear downward trend over a longer period of time.

It goes without saying that conversion rates matter only in conjunction with profit margins. Sellers who regularly convert listings into sales only to the detriment of their profits might want to re-think their strategy.

When you decide to give your merchandise a good start on the marketplace you are patronising, do it for items that are really worth promoting. Disappointed visitors are not a pleasant sight to behold. Disappoint them once, and you may not see them again for a long time. Therefore, choose to enhance only the cream of the crop.

This will not cost you anything

There are many ways to ensure that your item gets a good start in life on an online marketplace that will not cost you a cent. All it takes on your part is a bit of effort.

1. Upload a good - or, even better, an excellent image of your product. Image is the single most important "bait" for attracting visitors.

2. Give your listing a clear, short, accurate title. Spelling mistakes are an absolute no-no. Get one letter wrong, and no one will be able to find your item when searching for it.

3. List for shorter durations (seven to ten days maximum), because the closer to the ending date your item is, the further up it will be placed on the search results page od the site on which you are trading.

If your non-enhanced listings are worth the four steps outlined above - the items you choose to enhance are even more worth it. Since you will be paying to get them noticed, it makes sense to bestow them with all the free trimmings you can think of.