As an Etsy Expert who works daily with shop owners to increase views and bring in more revenue by working on their SEO, I have gathered a few key tips for how to optimize your listings to fit Etsy’s latest search algorithm. Etsy uses a combination of query matching and ranking to decide who should show up first in their search results. If you’re looking to improve your Etsy listings’ performance in 2020, check out the following 5 key steps:
- Have a plan!
Before you begin work optimizing your shop, make sure you know what your goals are for your Etsy business. For example, who is your target customer you’re hoping to reach? Most businesses can’t and shouldn’t try to serve everyone, and niching down to an audience who you can specifically market your products to can only help connect you to the right customers – who are ready to buy! Whether it’s your target customer, upcoming new product lines or a monthly revenue number you want to hit, write down your goals and use them to help you keep focus along the way.
- Gather your shop stats.
The first thing you need to do is look at how people have been finding your products on Etsy thus far. You can find this in two ways. The first is by clicking on the Marketing tab in your Shop Manager and choosing “Search Analytics”. Here Etsy will have a list of the search terms shoppers have found your listings or shop with for the time period you enter. You can really go in depth here, but essentially the first page of terms will give you a list of your shop’s current strongest keywords. The second method is by clicking on each item’s individual listing stats, which show the exact search terms people have used to find that product – so important! Use these terms as a base for your listings’ titles and tags.
- Do your new keyword research.
You then want to create a list of new keywords you can utilize and test for your listings. What would your target customer type into the search bar to find you? Look at competitor shops’ tags and titles, type terms into the Etsy search bar to see popular queries, use Google Keyword Planner, or utilize the Marmalead or Erank programs to compare keywords and search for new ones. Pinterest is also a good place to see what alternate words and phrases people are using to refer to your products. I recommend keeping a running keyword bank categorized by listing type to keep track. It’s so worth it!
- Update, Monitor and Tweak
Now that you have a solid list, decide on 1-3 important keywords or phrases to focus on for each item, and repeat them in the title, tags and beginning of the description.
Your title shouldn’t just look like a string of keywords, however – make it easily readable, with long tail search terms separated by a comma or slash. Put your most important keywords in the front. For example, if I was selling hand lettered wedding invitations, I might use the following title – “Custom hand lettered wedding invitations | Personalized wedding invites | Calligraphy style wedding invitation”.
You get 13 tags for each Etsy listing – use them ALL! Repeat those important keywords you chose for your title, and then experiment with others on your list. Make sure you are using a variety of terms throughout your listings to reach a broader audience.
Bonus Tip: For your tags, you generally don’t need to repeat the words or phrases you used for categories and attributes as they are already included in search results.
Take time to look at your stats regularly and tweak your listings, replacing poor performing keywords with high value ones. I recommend keeping a running spreadsheet with your listings’ title and tags, and updating it regularly.
- Lastly, Improve Your Photography
Although not technically SEO, in my opinion images are as equally important to your success on Etsy. Compelling images are how most Etsy customers decide what they want to click on as they skim a page full of search results. Your photos should be high quality, on brand, styled if possible and appealing! Even if it’s a mockup image, try and make it look unique so it stands apart from the crowd. In summary, Etsy wants to see high quality listings that match what their searchers are looking for as exactly as possible. Using the above tips, invest the time to optimize your shop listings and you’ll see results quickly!
