Buy SEO Services on EBAY!
In trying to Google information about Ebay's SEM strategies and in-house tools, the above is pretty much all I came up with.
My (very limited) insider knowledge into other companies' SEM strategies has lead me to conclude that Ebay is on top of their game. I am currently in the final stages of interviewing for a Paid Search Manager position in Ebay's newborn (or, more accurately newly-congealed) ECG. In addition to acquiring a decent chunk of Craigslist, Ebay Classifieds Group has purchased a handful of various classifieds companies all around the world. This decentralized international company co-op is headquartered at Ebay's San Jose campus, combining start-up-like dynamic environment with access to corporate Ebay's wealth of knowledge, experience and tools.
My current manager once mentioned, in an argument against "keyword clean-up"*, that Ebay has in-house methods of automatically mass-uploading every internal search query. I asked about this during an interview and was given an "it's a hairflip"-type reaction followed by a dive into some pretty amazingly analytical stuff that got my gears turning and my blood boiling. From automatically changing millions of keyword bids to simultaneously managing accounts on all major search engines... Ebay's software makes it easy to monitor and optimize million dollar campaigns. Who knew Paid Search could be so much fun?!
In trying to find info on their in-house software, I found Ebay listings for work benches, boats and music instruments sharing the same name. A search on Ebay SEM led me to the service auction above. Despite the fact that Ebay is branching out and offering their in-house SEM techniques/service/software to external companies, information about it is kept under wraps. Even in todays relatively transparent world.
Big ups to Ebay & ECG. In the past several weeks I have had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with individuals from all around the world who are collaborating cross-functionally on moving the classifieds market to the next level. Globalization at it's finest.
Even if I don't go on to write ad creatives in German, build dashboards and mine click through data, this has been an awesome learning experience and has reignited my interest in Paid Search.
*deleting poorly performing keywords from accounts. Cons: poorly performing (CTR) today doesn't necessarily mean poorly performing tomorrow, resource consuming. Pros: removing them will have a positive impact on adgroup/campaign/account quality scores (debate-able, given Google's black-box-ness).
