If You Were Ru ing SEO at eBay Today, What Would You Fix First?

Introduction

Jordan Koene, CEO and Co-Founder of Previsible, has an unusual vantage point on this question. He ran SEO and content development at eBay, where he managed the company's largest traffic cha el and drove the biggest search growth in its history, then served as CEO of Searchmetrics, and now advises Fortune 100 companies on organic search and AI-driven discovery. We overlapped at eBay more than a decade ago, so I asked him to climb into the wayback machine and tell me what he would fix first if he walked back in today. His answer wasn't a tactic. It was a positioning problem, and it applies to any large brand trying to stay visible as search shifts toward AI-generated answers.

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The Authority Problem: Trying to Be Everything

Koene's first fix is what he calls eBay's authority problem. When we were both there, the biggest brand campaign was "Whatever it is, you can get it on eBay," complete with a fuzzy pink plush doll. That's a great line for a TV spot, but it's a hard promise to keep in search. Big marketplaces try to be the answer for every category, and search engines don't reward that kind of sprawl. "I don't think that they're phenomenal being a car dealer, but they certainly sell a lot of really cool, unique collectible cars," Koene said.

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Why Focus Matters More in AI Search

The distinction between selling everything and being known for something has always mattered in SEO. Koene's argument is that it matters more now, because showing up in AI responses depends on being recognized as the authority for a specific thing. His recommendation for eBay is to put time and energy into the traditional categories that made the company what it is, with collectibles being the most notable. For marketers at any large brand, the lesson is the same: pick the categories where you are genuinely the best, and build authority there before you chase the long tail.

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Wi ing Collectibles in AI-Driven Discovery

When I pushed Koene on how he would actually get collectibles more visible, he reframed the question. He's not trying to win classic rankings. He's trying to win AI search, where people are already researching cards, coins, and other collectibles in droves. His goal would be simple: show up more frequently than anybody else when those questions get asked.

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The Competitive Reality in Niche Categories

The challenge is that the internet has become an easy place to build a website, so every collectible category now has tons of competitors. eBay isn't just competing with other marketplaces. It's competing with every individual coin shop and reseller that publishes content in that niche. "If eBay is out-dueling every single coin shop and reseller on the Internet, great. That's where I would want to be wi ing and dominating," Koene said. Enterprise brands that only benchmark against other enterprises are missing the specialists who actually own the answers.

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Key Strategies for Enterprise Search Teams

A few strategies stand out from Koene's answer. First, audit where your brand claims authority versus where it has earned it, and be honest about the gap. Second, start with heritage categories, the ones your customers already associate with you, rather than trying to lift every category at once. Third, benchmark against niche specialists in each category, not just your largest rivals. Fourth, treat presence in AI responses as the target, since that is where the research is already happening.

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Conclusion

I'll be honest, I have no idea how to optimize eBay for SEO, and I said as much. But Koene's answer holds up well beyond one marketplace. Authority in search is earned one category at a time, and AI-driven discovery raises the stakes on being clearly the best at something rather than acceptable at everything. If you're ru ing search at a large brand, the first fix probably isn't a new tool. It's deciding what you actually want to be the answer for, then out-dueling everyone who competes for that answer.