6 Simple Ways to Find Keywords that Improve your Etsy SEO

You're probably aware that Etsy SEO is important for gaining traffic and ranking on the first pages of Etsy search. It is quite literally the topic of conversation when it comes to building a profitable business on the platform. But, you might be a little intimidated by it all or unsure where you should start.

I can relate to the uphill battle of trying to get your products in front of Etsy’s millions of shoppers, so today I’m going to share easy, sneaky little ways to improve your Etsy SEO.

Before we get started…

SEO, or search engine optimization, is not an overnight strategy. Rather, it’s a long term strategy. Although Etsy will immediately pick up on any changes to existing listings and any new listings can show up quickly in search, Etsy SEO takes about 4-6 weeks to see optimal results. Once you have about 4-6 weeks worth of data on a single listing or on your Etsy shop as a whole, you can make better decisions to improve your Etsy SEO.

For example, I added this listing to my Etsy shop exactly three days ago from writing this post. Take a look at the stats.

As you can see, I don’t really have a lot to go off of here to determine whether or not this listing will be successful.

But, it is showing up in search results. In fact, I’ve gotten 1 visit from every day since the listing was published. Etsy even shows me what search terms were used to find this specific listing. However, because there is so little data, it would not be wise to make keyword decisions based on data from literally three people.

Now, let’s take a look at another listing. This listing has been in my shop for a little over a year, but we’re only going to explore the past 7 days and the past 30 days to compare data.

Looking at the data from the last seven days, you can see a lot more information. There are even more search terms to filter through for this listing. You can get a general idea of how well the listing is performing on the app, in Etsy ads, etc.

Now let’s take a look at this same listing, over the past 30 days. Specifically, let’s look at the search terms to see if we can make better decisions about our SEO.

Within a 30 day period, there are so many more search terms to sort through. I can also tell which keywords are performing better in search, like “wedding menu” and “menu cards”.

So, before you jump in to this post, keep in mind: Etsy search works almost immediately. Once you add a listing to Etsy, it can be indexed through their search pages. However, for optimal results, you’ll need at least 30 days of data to improve your Etsy SEO.

How to Find Keywords

Keyword research tools like Marmalead will absolutely help you improve your Etsy SEO. However, sometimes it’s hard to think of all the search terms people could be using for your products. Plus, you may not be at a point financially where you can invest in a keyword research tool.

This is where these six, free resources below come in handy.

Etsy Search Bar

The good ol’ Etsy search bar can produce a gold mine of keyword ideas. Just start typing in the search box and all the top, related searches will automatically populate.

Google Search Bar

Optionally, the Google search bar is a great place to find keywords, too. After all, you not only want your keywords to rank across Etsy, but it doesn’t hurt to have them show up on Google either.

Take a look at all the related keywords that come up for “greeting cards set”:

Most of these keywords would likely perform very well on Etsy, too. You could use Marmalead to investigate each keyword further. Or, do a little testing in your own Etsy shop by trying them out and checking the stats in 30 days.

Pinterest Search Bar

There are a few different ways to find the best keywords on Pinterest. First, you can start typing in the search bar and see what related keywords pop up.

For example, from this list a great keyword is “elegant wedding invitations”. You could implement this phrase in your Etsy title and tags.

Use the Pinterest app on your phone to research keywords, too. For this example, I used a general term, like “wedding inspiration” to generate even more keyword ideas.

From this list, you could use “wedding stationery” or even “wedding ceremony decor” for related products like wedding menus or signs.

Some search terms on Pinterest are so broad, they are divided into several categories. For example, take a look at the categories that pop up for “home decor” below. Any of these categories could be used as a search term for your home decor listings on Etsy.

Etsy Listing Stats

From the shop dashboard, head over to Stats. Click any metric under “How shoppers found you” to see additional data. For example, let’s look at the Etsy app & other Etsy pages for the last 30 days.

Scroll to the bottom under “Search terms” and you’ll find a variety of keywords to choose from. This option works best for shops that are over six months old. You’ll have a lot more data to sort through and, likely, pages of keyword ideas.

Etsy Ads

If you’re running Etsy ads, explore the data to find even more keywords to improve your Etsy SEO.

From the Shop Dashboard, click “Marketing”. Then head to “Etsy Ads”. Once you’re on the Etsy Ads homepage, scroll down to your listings. Click any listing to see related search terms.

Take a look at all of the data for this wedding menu:

You can find dozens of keyword ideas here, depending on how well your ads are performing in search. This data even tells me which keywords have a high click rate. For example, buyers who searched for the term “wedding menu” were more likely to click on my listing.

This data will also tell you the title words and listing tags that matched the search, as well as how many impressions each search term has. (Impressions tell you how many people saw your ad for a given search.)

If you are running ads on Etsy, this is one area that can generate a plethora of keyword ideas.

Search Analytics (Beta)

Lastly, Search Analytics can also help you generate a multitude of keyword ideas. This page is still in beta, which means it’s still being tested. From the Shop Dashboard, click “Marketing”. Then head to “Search Analytics”.

There is a lot to unpack on this page, but I’ll give you a brief overview here. For more information about Search Analytics, see Etsy’s guide here.

For now, let’s take a look at all of the keyword data.

You can filter data by clicking “filter columns” and selecting the options from the dropdown menu. Click the column name to select or deselect it. Click the title of a column to sort by that column. For example, I have data sorted by Visits in the above image.

Here are all the details about what each column means. (Note: I only have some columns selected from my example above.)

Search query: The search query is the exact wording that someone searched on Etsy.com. Shopper may have seen your listings in the search results.
Impressions: How many times shoppers saw your listings for this query.
Position: The average place your listings appear in search results for this query. For example, on “wedding program” I appear (on average) as the 318th listing in Etsy search.
Visits: The total number of times shoppers browsed your shop. “Browsing” means that a shopper viewed your listings and shop.
Visits per impression: The percent of times a person saw your listing in search and visited your shop.
Orders: The total number of orders from shoppers who found your shop through this search query.
Conversion rate: The percent of visits from this search query that resulted in a sale.
Revenue: Your gross earnings from shoppers who found your listing through this search query and ordered an item. This is the revenue for the entire order.
Average order value: The average amount paid for orders from shoppers who found your shop through this search query.
Listings: The number of your listings that appeared in the search results for this query.

When selecting keywords from data like this, I recommend looking at the number of impressions or the number of visits. Typically, keywords that rank higher in these two areas will improve your Etsy SEO.

One last thing…

The best way to familiarize yourself with these tools is to just jump right in. Etsy shop optimization is a great way to improve traffic to your Etsy shop and grow revenue. This post is just the tip of the iceberg, but my hope is that it’ll get you headed in the right direction when it comes to finding keywords for your titles and tags.