The Truth about Etsy SEO
What’s your number one hangup when it comes to Etsy?
Out of all the times I’ve asked that question to my readers and email subscribers, Etsy SEO is the most common answer. So today, I’m here to cover search engine optimization on Etsy and offer some valuable tips to getting your products found on the platform.
Before we get started…
Etsy SEO can be complicated. You could spend hours researching keywords and long tail search phrases. But, I want you to keep two things in mind first.
A great product can be better than great etsy seo
A great product with amazing images is better than having a decent product with all the best keywords. The thing is, a really great product is more likely to be purchased by shoppers, shared on social media, and/or featured in publications, like Martha Stewart Weddings, Southern Living, etc.
And when you have an item that’s popular across the Internet and getting a lot of purchases and/or favorites, it will rank well in search even if the keywords aren’t that great. That’s because keywords aren’t the only factor considered in Etsy’s search ranking.
According to Etsy:
“…the search algorithm also considers how well individual items tend to do in search. We call this ‘listing quality.’ If a buyer clicks, favorites, or purchases an item after they’ve seen it in search results, that action contributes to the listing’s quality score.”
inbound links can greatly increase etsy shop traffic (and sales)
This brings me to my next point: inbound links can be huge for your Etsy shop. Backlinks, or inbound links, are links to your store or products from other websites like BRIDES or The New York Times. These are vital to Etsy SEO strategy as they increase search engine confidence in a site.
Take a look at what happened after a return address stamp of mine was featured in BRIDES:
I listed this item in my shop in 2018. It did well in Etsy search, had decent product photos and reviews, and shipped quickly. I have not made any major changes to this listing in the past three years, and I don’t promote it on social media or to my email list.
Fast forward to today, and my revenue grew exponentially for this item after it was featured in BRIDES last year.
There are many ways to gain inbound links to your Etsy shop, but the most effective way is to reach out to other publications or bloggers. See if they might be interested in showcasing your shop or including your items in a product roundup.
How Does Etsy Search Work?
When a shopper types a phrase into the search bar, the Etsy algorithm returns results that match the shopper’s search query best. Items that do not include any words in the shopper’s search query will not display in Etsy search results.
titles and tags
For example, if a shopper searches for “wedding invitation”, Etsy will only return items that match both “wedding” and “invitation” in either the listing tags or titles. Items with the exact phrase match in the title (like “wedding invitation”) rank higher in search placement.
If the shopper’s search query (i.e. “wedding invitation”) appears in both the title and tags, it is a stronger match and will rank higher in search over a listing with that phrase in the tags or title alone. For example, if you use the title “wedding invitation” and have the tag “wedding invitation” in the same listing, your item will rank higher in Etsy search for that keyword phrase.
It’s also important to remember that words at the beginning of titles are considered more important than words at the end.
listing attributes
A listing’s attributes are also considered in Etsy search, the same way keywords are considered in item titles and tags. Attributes are additional types of information sellers should provide about their products while creating or editing a listing to help describe what they’re selling so that buyers can easily find just the right item.
For example, here are some of the attributes for items in the “invitations” category.
Etsy recommends that sellers select as many accurate attributes as each item has available. This will help maximize your item’s exposure in search results because each attribute acts as an additional tag for your listing.
listing quality
I mentioned this briefly earlier, but listing quality is also considered in Etsy search. The more clicks, favorites, or purchases you have for an item, the higher your listing quality score and the higher you rank in search. Just like Instagram, engagement on Etsy is key.
customer and market experience
Your shop’s record of customer service and whether or not it’s in good standing according to Etsy’s policies is also considered when it comes to ranking in Etsy search. According to Etsy:
“Great reviews, completed About section, and completed shop policies can all help your placement in search. Using the shop policies template will also slightly improve your placement (FAQs and seller details are not factored). However, recent cases and past intellectual property infringement issues can have a negative effect. New shops have a neutral score, which has no impact on placement.”
recency
Etsy’s search algorithm also considers how recently an item was listed or relisted. This is designed to keep results looking fresh for frequent shoppers of Etsy who would otherwise get bored seeing the same things over and over again in search.
shop location
Etsy also takes into account the location of the shopper and the seller, but it doesn’t look like this is currently applicable for sellers in the United States. According to Etsy:
“Many buyers from the EU, Australia, and Canada have told us that they like purchasing from sellers based in their own countries or neighboring countries. To make local items slightly more prominent in search results in these specific countries, we take the location of the shop and the shopper into account. Searches made within other countries do not take shop location into account for search results.”
Etsy used to display a “local seller” badge for those of us in the United States. For example, if a shopper from Alabama searched for “wedding invitations” and found one of my designs, it used to have a “local seller” badge underneath the listing since I also live in Alabama. However, it doesn’t look like they are currently doing this anymore.
Keywords in your listing title are just one of the factors Etsy search looks at…
Keywords in your listing title can help you match with a shopper’s search query. However, that’s not the only factor Etsy looks at. Etsy also considers categories and attributes to find keywords that match a shopper’s search.
Rather than stuffing a bunch of keywords into your listing title (like “watercolor wedding invitation, floral wedding invitations”), use short and concise titles instead. A better title might be “watercolor floral wedding invitation”. Not only do long titles confuse buyers, it also makes it more difficult for them to filter through search results.
Categories and attributes act as additional tags…
There are only 13 tags available to use with every listing. However, categories and attributes act as additional tags. Improve your Etsy SEO by selecting all relevant categories for your listing and adding any relevant attributes.
You do not need to add words from your categories or your attributes to any of your 13 listing tags. For example, if you’re selling a gold foil wedding invitation, you can add the attribute “gold” under the primary or secondary color attributes. It’s redundant to add the word “gold” as a standalone tag. Instead of wasting one of those tags, add a different keyword or add it to a multi-word descriptive tag, such as “gold foil invitation.”
Don’t include misspellings or worry about plurals…
Etsy search redirects shoppers to the correct results if they make a common mistake. Don’t misspell keywords on purpose to reach shoppers who’ve made a tiny typo. So, if you’re selling personalized notecards, do not include the word “stationary” in your titles or tags. Use the correct form, “stationery”.
Similarly, if you’re selling invitations, don’t worry about plurals. When a shopper enters their search query, Etsy looks at the root word for the phrase they typed in and matches them to the root words in your listings' keywords. For example, a search for "invitations" would still be matched with listings with the tag "invitation" because they have the same root word. So you don’t have to include both “invitation” and “invitations” in your titles and tags.
One last thing…
Many of us get hung up on Etsy SEO because we’re overthinking it. The truth is, Etsy SEO is more about appealing to shoppers rather than the algorithm. When it comes to finding the right keywords, think like a shopper. What are they searching for, in the most basic and concise terms?
