eBay Listing Titles: The 80-Character Strategy That Gets More Views

eBay's Cassini search algorithm is heavily title-driven. Unlike Google, which also weighs body content, backlinks, and engagement signals, Cassini relies on your title more than almost anything else. If your keyword isn't in the title, you won't rank for it.

That makes your 80 characters the most important real estate in your listing.

How Cassini reads your title

Cassini scans your title left to right and weights words based on their position. Words at the start of the title carry more ranking weight. Words at the end carry less.

This is called keyword front-loading — and it's the single most impactful change most eBay sellers can make today.

Cassini also matches exact phrases, not just individual words. A buyer searching for "vintage Levi's 501 jeans W32" will only see your listing if all five of those words appear in your title (or close to it). Partial matches rank lower.

What to put in your 80 characters

eBay buyers search very specifically. They include brand, model, size, condition, colour, and sometimes year. Your title should pack in as many of those specifics as possible.

A strong eBay title typically includes:

Brand — buyers often search by brand first
Model or product name — exact model number if relevant (electronics, cameras, tools)
Key specifications — size, colour, material, capacity, voltage
Condition descriptor — "new," "unused," "refurbished" (separate from the eBay condition field)
Relevant variant — if you sell multiple variations, the title should describe the specific listing

Words that waste space

eBay explicitly advises against including these in titles — they consume characters but don't help search ranking:

Adjectives like "amazing," "great," "beautiful," "nice"
Filler phrases like "look!" or "must see" or "check this out"
Symbols and special characters (!!!, ***)
Your store name (buyers aren't searching for it)
Shipping info ("fast shipping," "free post") — Cassini reads that from your listing settings, not your title

Every character you spend on filler is a character you can't spend on a searchable keyword.

A before and after example

Here's a real pattern we see from sellers new to eBay SEO:

Before: "Beautiful Vintage Denim Jacket — Great Condition — Look!" (54 characters)
Problems: "Beautiful," "Great," "Look!" are filler. No size. No brand. 26 characters wasted.

After: "Levi's Denim Trucker Jacket Vintage 90s Size M Blue Distressed" (62 characters)
Brand, product type, era, size, colour, style — every character earns its place.

The second title will rank for: "Levi's denim jacket", "vintage trucker jacket", "90s denim jacket size M", "blue distressed denim jacket", and more. The first title ranks for almost nothing.

Use all 80 characters

Most eBay sellers underuse their title. A 40-character title has 40 characters of unused ranking potential.

If you've included all the obvious keywords and still have space, add:

A secondary search variation ("jacket" → also add "coat" or "outerwear")
A use case ("hiking," "workwear," "gift")
An era or style descriptor ("Y2K," "retro," "classic")
A key feature buyers filter by ("waterproof," "genuine leather")

Subtitle: worth using?

eBay offers a subtitle field (up to 55 characters) for a small fee. Subtitles appear below the title in search results and can improve click-through rate — but they don't affect search ranking.

Subtitles are worth it for high-value items (over $50) where a supporting line like "Includes original box and warranty card — ships next business day" can tip the click. For low-margin listings, the fee isn't usually justified.

Check your search term reports

eBay Seller Hub gives you data on which search terms are landing buyers on your listings. Go to Seller Hub → Marketing → Promoted Listings → Search Term Reportto see this. If buyers are finding you with terms you don't have in your title, add them.