| Keyword | Volume | CPC | Competition | 12-month trend |
|---|
How it works
The eBay Keyword Tool harvests real autocomplete suggestions from eBay's public suggest API. That is the same engine that powers the dropdown in eBay's search bar, so every suggestion is something real shoppers have typed when looking for products. We then enrich every phrase with monthly Google search volume, CPC, competition and a 12-month trend from the Keywords Everywhere API.
How the harvest works. The harvest runs in your browser, so the requests come from your IP address, not ours. It calls eBay's autosug.ebaystatic.com/autosug endpoint with callback=0 to get plain JSON. Your seed term is combined with every letter and digit, plus about 70 modifier words covering brands, models, sizes, conditions, era words and buying phrases. eBay returns up to 10 suggestions per prefix, and we keep every unique one. A typical 5-seed harvest produces 200 to 500 or more keywords.
Volume enrichment. As keywords arrive, we send them to the Keywords Everywhere API in batches of 100 for Google volume, CPC, competition and the 12-month trend. eBay does not publish per-keyword volume, so we use Google's data as a stand-in. For product terms it tracks eBay demand well.
Country targeting. The Country dropdown sets the country for the volume lookup. eBay's suggest endpoint is tied to the site domain (.com, .co.uk, .de and so on), so the suggestions always reflect the US .com market. Your last-picked country is remembered for next time.
Careful pacing. The harvest sends about one request every 1.5 seconds to stay under eBay's per-IP rate limit. A full 5-seed harvest takes about 15 minutes. You can stop at any time and keep the keywords found so far.
Plan caps. On the Free plan you can run 500 keyword lookups per day across all our keyword tools combined.
What the columns mean
- Keyword
- The exact suggestion eBay's autosuggest returned for one prefix of your seed term. Use these phrases in your listing titles, item specifics and descriptions to match how real eBay shoppers search.
- Volume
- Google's average monthly searches over the past 12 months, from Google Keyword Planner via the Keywords Everywhere API. eBay does not publish per-keyword volume, so Google's number stands in for it. For product terms the two track each other well.
- CPC
- The average cost per click advertisers pay in Google Ads for that keyword, in the country's currency. For shopping keywords it is a useful guide to the commercial value of the term, on Google Shopping and on eBay Promoted Listings alike.
- Competition
- Google Ads' competition score: Low, Medium or High. It shows how many advertisers bid on the keyword. For eBay listings, High usually means many other sellers list items in that category, so the market is crowded.
- 12-Month Trend
- A small chart of monthly Google search volume over the past year. A rising line often means growing demand for a product, which is a reason to source stock. Sharp seasonal peaks, such as Halloween or holiday gifts, help you time listings. Hover over any point for that month's exact value.
Frequently asked questions
What is the eBay Keyword Tool?
A free keyword research tool with no signup. It runs in your browser and asks eBay's public autosuggest for real suggestions around your seed term. Every phrase it finds is then enriched with monthly Google search volume, cost per click (CPC), competition and a 12-month trend from the Keywords Everywhere API. Use it to see what shoppers actually type into eBay's search bar.
Why search eBay for keywords instead of Google?
eBay shoppers already intend to buy. Someone who searches "vintage levi 501 36x32" on Google might be reading about the history of jeans. The same person on eBay is ready to buy a specific pair. eBay's suggestions capture the exact phrasing buyers use, including brand names, model numbers, sizes, conditions and era words such as "antique", "vintage", "NWT" and "used". Using those phrases in your listing titles matches how real buyers search.
How does eBay's autosuggest work?
eBay exposes autosuggest through the public autosug.ebaystatic.com/autosug endpoint, the same engine behind the dropdown in eBay's search bar. Called with callback=0 it returns plain JSON instead of the usual JSONP wrapper. We combine your seed term with every letter and digit, plus about 70 modifier words, and keep every unique suggestion eBay returns.
How do I write a better eBay listing title?
Run the tool with your product's main descriptor as the seed, such as "leather jacket" or "ipad pro". Pick the 5 to 10 highest-volume phrases that truly describe your item and work them into the title. eBay allows 80 characters, so use them all. A title like "Vintage Leather Jacket Brown Men's Large 1980s Real Genuine Cowhide Bomber" beats "Brown Leather Jacket" because it matches more long-tail buyer searches.
Are the volume numbers from eBay?
No. The Volume column shows Google search volume for the phrase, from Google Keyword Planner via the Keywords Everywhere API. eBay does not publish per-keyword volume. In practice Google volume tracks eBay demand well for product terms. If many people search for a product on Google, many of them search for it on eBay too. Read the number as a relative popularity signal across product categories.
Why does the harvest take about 15 minutes?
To stay under eBay's per-IP rate limit, we send about one request every 1.5 seconds. A 5-seed harvest makes about 530 calls (5 seeds times 106 prefixes), so it takes about 15 minutes. Any faster and eBay would block your IP. Leave the tab open. Results stream into the table as they arrive, and you can stop early and keep what has been found so far.
How do I find trending products to sell?
Look for rising lines in the 12-month trend column. A phrase with a sharply rising trend often points to a product gaining momentum. Then check Volume. A high-volume phrase with a rising trend is a good category to source stock for. Watch for seasonal patterns too. A phrase like "Halloween costume" peaks on schedule every year. A phrase with rising volume and no seasonal pattern usually means real growth in demand.
Does this work for Amazon or Etsy keyword research too?
Not directly. eBay, Amazon and Etsy each have their own suggest endpoints. Amazon's blocks requests from other websites, and Etsy's sits behind bot protection. We tested both and chose not to ship tools that would break. eBay's endpoint accepts browser requests with the callback=0 trick, which is why this tool works. For Amazon and Etsy, use research tools built for those platforms, such as Helium 10 for Amazon and Marmalead for Etsy.