Learn how Etsy SEO is a game-changer for generating sales through listings.
‘I’m running a shop on Etsy, but so do 6.30 million sellers!’ – this thought in itself is a nightmare for sellers on the Etsy marketplace.
However, there’s a way to outrun the competition and keep your shop on top of Etsy results – ‘Etsy SEO.’
In this article, I’ll walk you through Etsy SEO, what it is, why it matters, and how it can help convert listings to sales within weeks.
Let’s start with the basics.
Etsy SEO: What it is and How it Works
Etsy SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a technique to optimize your Etsy store and product listings to rank higher on search engines of both – Etsy marketplace and Google.
Yes, Etsy has a search engine in place. 🤖
The search engine ensures that marketplace visitors get the best results for queries. And to achieve this, Etsy performs search hierarchy in two folds – query matching and ranking.
Query matching is exactly what you guessed.
The algorithms pick users’ queries to match with the inventory of listings based on ‘keywords.’
It goes deep down your listing, looking for query-matching keywords at several places, like attributes, categories, tags, and titles.
Once query matching is over, Etsy starts listing products based on its ranking factors.
A total of seven factors go into Etsy search ranking:
- Relevancy score: Exact-match keywords in the listings have a higher potential to appear in the Etsy search results. Be it tags, titles, listing descriptions, categories, and attributes that match the query, it’ll be seen as more relevant to the search.
- Listing quality score: This metric measures the quality of Etsy listings. Simply put, it measures how well a listing converts. More conversions result in higher quality scores and vice versa.
- Recency score: Every newly listed or relisted item gets a temporary boost in search results. The boost can last from a few hours to a few days, depending on how shoppers interact with it.
- Customer and Market Experience (CME) score: An Etsy metric that measures the likeliness of sellers having a customer-centric policy. Great reviews, complete shop policies, and About sections are some ways to maintain a good CME score. Thereby positively impacting your search ranking.
- Shipping price: The cost to ship an item impacts search rankings. A shop offering US free shipping stands a chance to rank higher than the one charging shoppers for shipping the product.
- Shopper habit: Etsy has Context-Specific Ranking (CSR) technology that learns what buyers are interested in to show them the items they’re most likely to purchase.
- Translation score: Although Etsy performs machine translations of listings to different languages. However, manually doing it for your shop beats machine translations.
But what after you tick off all the SEO norms?
Do you just get to rank #1🏆 on listings? No, there’s more to it.
Benefits of Etsy SEO for Sellers
Etsy SEO is advantageous in many ways, like:
- Increased Visibility: Etsy SEO helps your products appear higher in search results, increasing visibility and making it easy for potential customers to discover your shop.
- Higher Traffic: Optimized listings attract more organic traffic to your Etsy shop, increasing the number of visitors actively seeking products like yours.
- Improved Sales: With increased visibility and targeted traffic, your conversion rate is likely to improve, leading to more sales.
- Competitive Advantage: Effective SEO can help you outperform competitors, making your products and shop more attractive to potential buyers.
- Cost-Effective: SEO generates organic, cost-effective traffic, eliminating the need for ongoing ad spending to attract potential customers.
Proven Tips for Etsy SEO
#1. Perform Keyword Research
Keywords are the building blocks when performing SEO for Etsy. Not only do they help rank better on Etsy listings, but they also share the word with search engines to show your product whenever there’s a user query matching the keywords.
For example, when I typed ‘Mother’s day gifts‘ in Google, this Etsy listing showed up. Notice how the title of the listing is an exact match for the search query? – that’s keywords in play!
…So how to research keywords for Etsy SEO?
I typically use two methods:
Method 1:Use the Etsy search engine to determine relevant keywords
Visit the Etsy marketplace and type in your main product in Etsy’s search bar. For instance, if your store deals in gift items, type in ‘Gifts.’
When you finish typing, Etsy will recommend a list of related terms that users search. See the image below, for example.
Add another word, say ‘to‘ – ‘Gifts to,’ and find another set of search queries having your product or category name.
Method 2: Use third-party tools to identify top-ranking keywords for Etsy
There are online tools available that can help unlock Etsy SEO and the keywords that bring users to Etsy. I can vouch for tools like:
- Semrush
- Keysearch
- Alura.io
Semrush provides a rather comprehensive overview of the Etsy domain. While the other two generate marketplace-related keywords and Etsy tags simply by entering a product name.
#2. Optimize Shop Name and Product Titles
Once you have a list of keywords, start planting them in your Etsy store, starting with – shop name and product titles.
Your shop name is the first impression on search engines. Thus, choose a name that’s relevant to your product offerings.
Think of this: What would a customer search🤔 to find your product📦?
If you’re running a clothing store, your potential customer might be searching for related terms like Fashion or Apparel. You’d want to include that somewhere in your shop title.
And this is exactly what FriendsFashion did.
👀 Note: You can change your shop name a maximum of 5 times⚠️. After that, you will need to get your name change approved.
Likewise, try including keywords in product titles. However, don’t overstuff product titles and descriptions with keywords.
Etsy search algorithm is smart enough to detect any black-hat practice with the intention of manipulating search rankings.
📢 Etsy Says:
“When writing your titles, be sure to include your most descriptive keywords but keep a buyer in mind, not a computer.”
#3. Use All 13 Tags in Your Listings
Etsy allows a total of 13 tags to describe your product. Tags act as secondary keywords for your listings. Except they can be 20 characters long.
The best part is: Instead of splitting the search term, you get to add the entire phrase.
For example, “custom bracelet” has a higher chance to match with a user query than “custom” and “bracelet” used individually.
Each tag you add is a chance to match with a shopper’s search. And the unused tags have essentially no value. So it’s better to use them all – but be skilful.
Here are a few things Etsy encourages when implementing tags for Etsy SEO.
- Use all 13 tags, but ensure they are all unique (add variety).
- Avoid repeating phrases already used in categories or attributes
- Write ‘long-tail’ or ‘multi-word’ tags
- Consider including synonyms or regional phrases in tags
- Check tags for typos and grammar errors
- Refrain from using irrelevant tags
If you are unsure about phrases or catchy lines, you can try AI writing generators for some ideas.
#4. Include Eye-Catching Photos
Etsy’s customer research found that almost 90% of its shoppers can make or break a purchase due to the quality of product images.
In other words, whether it’s Etsy, another platform, or your website, adding compelling photographs of your products makes them more likely to attract customers.
Let me ask: when was the last time you purchased a product online with a bad photo?
Exactly! Unlike traditional shoppers, online shoppers cannot touch and feel products before buying. Thus, they can only learn about the product via:
- Product images
- Customer Ratings
- Total times it was bought
This Etsy store selling posters uses high-quality images for its listings.
As a result, the product has attracted a large number of customers – thousands of positive reviews, bestsellers, and demand tags – all adding up to getting noticed by the Etsy search engine.
#5. Offer Free Shipping
Free delivery🚚 is always an attractive offer, isn’t it?
Especially for businesses, offering free shipping is a golden way to turn those interested shoppers into customers.
💡 Did you know: Shoppers on Etsy are 20% more likely to complete their purchase when the item has free shipping.
Etsy encourages shops that offer free delivery to US buyers. Even better, you can set up free delivery for domestic or international or both kinds of orders.
Another way around this is to set up a free shipping guarantee for your Etsy shop.
Enabling it automatically applies free shipping for US buyers when they purchase the following from your shop:
- Any individual item $35 USD and up.
- Orders with a total cost of $35 USD and up.
While customers might have willingness to pay for the product, they mostly aren’t too happy with additional charges.
#6. Add an About Section to your Etsy store
Etsy favors shops having a complete profile. Basically, they want them to act like real businesses rather than just digital shops.
For that, the marketplace encourages stores with an About section.
An ‘About’ section is where you share the story of your business.
Where did it all begin?
How have you grown in recent years?
Why should a shopper trust your business among a million others?
…you tell your story to the world.
And it’s not just about storytelling. Having or not having an ‘About’ section plays a significant factor in Etsy SEO.
💡You can read this article for tips on how to excel at storytelling.
#7. Get Loads of Good Reviews
Good customer reviews⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ are like a cherry on the cake🍰 for Etsy store owners. And Etsy search engines largely favor them.
To systematically rank shops based on reviews and CX (customer experience), Etsy gives each shop a customer and market experience score and factors it into search placement.
Seaside Press, a 05 year young Etsy store, shares some tips to earn great customer reviews on the platform.
- Treat every buyer like they are first; show gratitude every single time
- Keep your shop honest – the About section, policies, product images.
- Work on improving mistakes right away
- Ask yourself, “Is there anything else I can do?”
- Always follow up with customers
While description and tags are important, the way your product images look too matters as customers tend to buy what they see. Thus, if you are on a budget, you can use AI product photography tools to get professional looking snaps.
#8. Optimize Your Etsy Store for Mobile Users
Over 50% of traffic to Etsy comes from mobile devices. This makes it necessary for sellers to optimize their store and offerings for small-screen devices.
This is also necessary since Etsy has dedicated mobile apps for iOS and Android users. And these mobile users tend to spend $6.27 billion per year on Etsy.
What I Think Of Etsy SEO?
Doing SEO for Etsy is similar to optimizing your website for search engines.
In fact, it can be a game-changer when you are competing with millions of other sellers on the platform.
The Etsy SEO tips mentioned in this article are strategically taken from Etsy guides and real-life examples of shops that are slaying it on Etsy.
Whether you’re a new seller or an established store looking to attract more customers – this article is your way to go from listings to sales within weeks.
Next up, expand your online market with these platforms to start selling online.
Was this article helpful?
Thank you for your feedback!
