One “marketplace title” prompt produces a title that fails on every platform at once: Amazon rejects the promo words, Etsy buries it without long-tail phrases, eBay wastes its 80 characters on padding, and Mercari truncates the product name at roughly character 40 on the mobile feed. The limits and the rules differ per marketplace, so the prompts have to differ too.
These 13 prompts are tuned per platform with the character ceilings verified as of June 2026, plus A/B-test planning and a CTR rewrite for a listing that already has impressions but no clicks. Run them in any modern model — GPT-5.5, Claude Sonnet 4.6, or Gemini 3.1 Pro all handle these well. Pair the output with the product description prompts for the body copy.
TL;DR
- Each marketplace has a different hard title limit and a shorter visible zone before search results truncate. Write to the limit; front-load the keyword into the visible zone.
- Amazon is 200 characters in most categories but 80 in apparel, shoes, jewelry, watches, baby, and pet — and since January 2026 it rejects most promo words and allows the same word at most twice.
- Etsy gives 140 characters, but only the first ~40-50 show in search; the pipe-separated structure (
Primary | Secondary modifier | Occasion) ranks best. - eBay and Mercari both cap at 80, but eBay’s full 80 is searchable while Mercari only shows ~40 on mobile — so write each one differently.
Per-platform title limits (as of June 2026)
| Platform | Hard limit | Visible in search before truncation | One key rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon (most categories) | 200 chars | ~70-80 on mobile | Same word max twice; no “best/sale/free” |
| Amazon (apparel, shoes, jewelry, watches, baby, pet) | 80 chars | ~70 | Brand must lead |
| Etsy | 140 chars | ~40-50 | Pipe-separated clusters, natural phrasing |
| eBay | 80 chars | ~50-55 on mobile | All 80 are searchable (Cassini); subtitle is not indexed |
| Mercari | 80 chars | ~40 | Field is 80 but feed shows ~40; front-load brand + type |
| Shopify / Google Shopping | 150 chars | 70 (Google only renders 70) | First 70 carry ~80% of CTR |
Sources: Amazon title guidelines, Etsy seller handbook on titles, Google Merchant Center title spec.
How to use these prompts
Replace the bracketed placeholders ([product], [N], [primary keyword]) with your own details before sending. Paste your real product specs — brand, material, size, color, condition — so the model has something concrete to compress, instead of inventing generic phrasing.
1. Amazon title (brand-first format)
Write 5 Amazon title variants for "[product]" in the [category] category.
Format: Brand + Key feature + Product type + Material/Size/Color + Use case.
Limit: 200 chars (or 80 if apparel/shoes/jewelry/watches/baby/pet).
Front-load the search keyword in the first 70 chars. Use each word at most
twice. No promotional language ("best", "sale", "free", "#1"). No special
characters except hyphens.2. Etsy long-tail title
Write 5 Etsy title variants for "[product]". Max 140 chars but put the
strongest buyer phrase in the first 40-50 chars (that is all search shows).
Use a 3-cluster pipe structure: [Primary keyword] | [Secondary keyword +
modifier] | [Occasion or recipient]. Natural language, not stuffed.
Example shape: "Ceramic Coffee Mug | Handmade Boho Plant Pot Mug | Gift for Her".3. eBay attribute-dense title
Write 5 eBay title variants for "[product]". Use all 80 chars (every word is
searchable in Cassini). Pack in: brand, model/SKU, condition, size/color,
key feature. Front-load the keyword in the first ~55 chars for mobile. Use
accepted abbreviations (BNIB, NWT) only where natural. No filler ("L@@K",
"WOW") — it triggers spam filters.4. Mercari mobile-first title
Write 5 Mercari title variants for "[product]". The field allows 80 chars,
but the mobile feed shows only ~40 before truncating — put brand + item type
+ one distinctive attribute (size/color/condition) in those first 40 chars.
Buyers scan 20+ listings a minute, so be skimmable, not clever.5. Shopify / Google Shopping product title
Write 5 Shopify product titles for "[product]" optimized for Google Shopping.
Format: Brand + Product Type + Distinguishing Feature + Color/Size. Max 150
chars, but Google only renders 70 — put the keyword and the ~80%-of-CTR info
in the first 70. No price, sale, or shipping text (Google rejects it). No
ALL-CAPS emphasis.6. Used / pre-owned item title
Write 4 used-item title variants for "[product]". Include a condition signal
(Like New / Good / Fair). Add original retail context if it helps ("Retail $X").
Honest, not over-claiming. State any flaw the buyer would notice on arrival.7. Bundle / set title
Write 4 bundle title variants for a "[N]-piece set of [products]". Communicate
quantity, the savings frame, and use case. Spell out exactly what is included
to avoid post-purchase complaints and return requests.8. Variant / size-color title
I have [N] size/color variants of "[product]". Write the parent title and the
variant-modifier suffixes. Do not stuff every variant into one title — let the
platform handle child SKU variants under one parent listing.9. Keyword-rich title (without stuffing)
Write 5 keyword-rich titles for "[product]" targeting [primary keyword] plus
[secondary keyword 1] and [secondary keyword 2]. It must read naturally to a
human. If a word does not serve both search and clarity, cut it. Never repeat
the same word more than twice.10. Holiday / occasion-targeted title
Write 5 holiday-specific titles for "[product]" for [occasion] (e.g., Christmas,
Mother's Day, Diwali). Name the gift recipient explicitly. Match the search
phrases shoppers use 2-4 weeks before the holiday, not the day-of phrasing.11. International / multi-region title
I sell "[product]" on [marketplace] in the US, UK, DE, and JP. Write one title
per market that respects local spelling (color/colour), units (oz vs g), and
shopping vocabulary. Keep each within that marketplace's character limit.12. Title CTR rewrite
Below is my current title with [N] impressions and [Y]% CTR. Rewrite 5 variants
for higher CTR while staying within the platform limit. For each variant, mark
the one word or phrase you expect did the lift, and why.
[paste your current title]13. Title A/B test plan
I want to A/B test my listing title for "[product]". Generate 3 test variants
with isolated changes (front-loaded keyword vs feature; with/without size;
with/without color). Output a table: hypothesis, variant, expected winner, why.
Change only one variable per variant so the result is readable.Common mistakes
- Keyword-stuffing past the point a human can read the title — Amazon now caps any single word at two uses.
- Using promo words Amazon explicitly rejects (“best”, “sale”, “free”, “#1”) or eBay spam triggers (“L@@K”, “WOW”).
- Treating Mercari’s 80-char field like its visible zone — the feed cuts at ~40, so anything past that is invisible while scrolling.
- Reusing one title across regions: UK vs US spelling alone changes which searches you match.
- No condition signal on used items, which erodes trust and drives returns.
- Jamming all variants into one parent title instead of using the platform’s child-SKU structure.
FAQ
What is the maximum title length on Amazon in 2026?
Most categories allow 200 characters, but apparel, shoes, jewelry, watches, baby, and pet are capped at 80. Since January 2026, Amazon also enforces a rule that any single word can appear at most twice (articles, conjunctions, and prepositions excepted) and rejects most promotional language and special characters.
Why does Mercari truncate my title even when it’s under the limit?
Mercari’s title field accepts up to 80 characters, but the mobile search feed only displays roughly the first 40 before truncating. Anything after character 40 still helps with search matching, but a scrolling buyer never sees it — so put brand, item type, and your strongest attribute in those first 40 characters.
Should I copy the same title across Etsy, eBay, and Amazon?
No. Etsy rewards natural pipe-separated long-tail phrasing within 140 characters, eBay wants a keyword-dense 80, and Amazon needs a brand-first format that avoids promo words and repeated terms. A title optimized for one platform breaks the rules of the others. Generate per-platform variants from prompts 1-5.
Which AI model is best for writing marketplace titles?
All three frontier models — GPT-5.5, Claude Sonnet 4.6, and Gemini 3.1 Pro — produce strong titles when you paste real specs and the exact character limit. Sonnet 4.6 and Gemini 3.1 Pro tend to respect tight character ceilings most reliably; whichever you use, always count the final characters yourself before listing, since models occasionally overrun the limit.
Related
- Amazon bullet prompts
- Etsy listing prompts
- Product description prompts
- Product title prompts
- Product FAQ prompts
- AI Marketplace Listings: Facebook, Craigslist, Local Templates
Tags: #Prompt #E-commerce #E-commerce