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Starting a handmade business has become much easier in recent years thanks to online platforms like Etsy. But although you can easily open an Etsy shop just by signing up for an account and adding a few products, there’s no guarantee that you’ll actually make any sales.
If you want your products to get found, you need to understand how the platform works and how buyers use it. That’s where Etsy SEO tips come in.
Here are some Etsy SEO tips to help you get your handmade products in front of as many potential buyers as possible.
Etsy SEO
Include the Category in Your Title
When crafting the titles for each of your listings, it’s important for you to be as clear and concise as possible. By including the terms that people are likely to search for right in the title, you’re more likely to show up in search results and more likely to show up before other products.
Include Keywords First
In addition, when you come up with those search terms and keywords, it’s good practice to use those at the very beginning of your titles. If you use a cutesy name for your product first and then clarify it at the end of your listing title, your product is likely to show up in search results after all of the other listings that actually included the search term at the very beginning of their titles. If they have to scroll through pages and pages in order to get to your products, you aren’t likely to get found by many shoppers.
Think About Different Names for Your Items
It is important to have that one main keyword or search term that you include at the beginning of your product title. But you might also consider thinking of other names that shoppers might use to search for products like yours and include those either later in the title or in your item description or tags.
Stay Away from Cutesy Names
It can sometimes be tempting for handmade business owners to come up with creative or cutesy names for products. But shoppers aren’t likely to search for cutesy names, so they aren’t likely to come across your products if you use them. For example, if you like to come up with unique names for your paintings, you can include those names briefly in your product listing. But your title should be more straightforward and descriptive, like “landscape painting, acrylic on canvas” or something that actually tells shoppers what the item is.
Don’t Use Crafting Terms
In addition, try not to use the crafting terms for items when creating your listings. Sure, you know the specific techniques and materials that you used. But if the people who you want to buy your products aren’t makers themselves, they aren’t likely to search for those terms — and you will have lost the sale.
Focus Keywords at the Beginning of Your Listing
Just as the beginning of your title is most important, the beginning of your item description is also the most important when it comes to getting found. You can include a lot of information in an item listing, from sizing information to shipping policies. But that should all go toward the end so that you can pack in as many descriptive terms within the first few paragraphs as possible.
Include Keywords in Tags
Your tags offer another opportunity for you to pack in some relevant search terms. Etsy gives you the ability to add up to 13 tags to your items. And each can be up to 20 characters. So think of as many potential search terms as possible and add those to your tags. They can be related to your exact product, like “white printed t-shirt” or more of a general category like “women’s clothing.”
Don’t Spend Time Optimizing Photos
If you’re familiar with SEO tactics on other websites or platforms, then you probably know how important it is to add relevant titles and tags to your images. But on Etsy, photos are all given titles that are a random assortment of letters and numbers when they’re uploaded, regardless of if you named the photo something different prior to uploading it. So it’s not worth spending time adding relevant titles to each of your images.
Make Your Listings Eye-catching
The more interaction your listings get from customers, the more likely they are to show up early in future search results. So if your products are relevant and have clear titles, good prices and eye-catching photos, they could be more likely to attract customers to click on those items. And the more they click, they better your chances are of getting found in the future.
Consider Relisting and Promoting Popular Items
Etsy also takes how recent the item was listed into account when it comes to search results. It’s not as important as it once was. But relisting popular products regularly can help keep the listing fresh and have a small impact on your search rankings. Also, if you want to pay to promote your products on Etsy, try it with products that you already know are popular since they’ll be the most likely to get good results and bring in more traffic to your shop as a whole.
Syndicate for Google Shopping
Getting your products found on Etsy doesn’t just mean optimizing for people searching within Etsy’s platform. Plenty of Etsy sellers also make sales by getting their products found by people searching on Google. So as long as you follow Google’s policies, you can syndicate your products so that they show up in Google Shopping results.
Focus on Creating a Great Customer Experience
Creating a positive shopping experience for your customers is good practice regardless of its impact on Etsy SEO tips. But Etsy is actually likely to rank items higher in search results if they come from shops that have a good history with customers. So do your best to make your policies clear, communicate with your customers and provide a quality product. If you do all of that, you’re likely to get some positive reviews and thus improve your odds of getting found in the future.
Keep Up with Etsy Changes
Etsy is constantly changing its algorithms and user experience. So when it comes to getting found on the site, what’s true today could be totally different a few months from now. So it’s important that you keep up with any changes either by subscribing to Etsy’s newsletter, following the blog or even participating in the forums. You can’t always have a say in the changes, but if you at least know what they are you have a better chance of making them work in your favor.
Etsy Photo via Shutterstock
Good tips. One of the biggest mistakes a lot of Etsy shops make is keyword stuffing their listing titles so that they are strings of tags that make little or no sense. It actually results in a lower sales conversation rate because the customer simply does not understand what they are buying.
Annie Pilon
That’s a great point! Including keywords is one thing but ONLY including keywords is just plain confusing
This is an excellent article, and covers all the things a successful Etsy seller will do to get listings found. The last item is especially true – Etsy keeps changing the algorithms. There must’ve been some doozy of a change in early April, because lots of formerly successful shops have been struggling with an unusually persistent sales slump, and no one on the forums seems to know exactly what the problem is.
Annie Pilon
The changes can definitely get confusing for sellers, especially when they’re relatively new. I’m sure people will start figuring out how to navigate the recent changes just in time for even more changes! But i think overall trying to create the clearest listings and best experience possible for buyers is what shop owners should be aiming for. Thanks so much for reading/commenting!
robin
Just to comment on being found on Google…all but unique items generally funnel into Etsy searches for that term.
Do you have a way to circumnavigate this?
Annie Pilon
Hi Robin – not sure I understand the question fully. But there’s a link included in the post to some best practices for getting products included in Google Shopping results. Maybe that will have the info you’re looking for?
Debra Dzuris Short
Keeping up with Etsy’s changes is a full time job on it’s own – for a smaller and smaller return. Etsy has failed it’s core sellers , failed.
Smartly building your Etsy store is one thing but daily general busy work chasing after the “change du jour” has stolen the last shred of interest I had in Etsy. It is much harder than it’s worth , at some point – if you consider yourself a real business you need to look at return of investment in not only dollars spent but hours as well. The secret sauce of understanding Etsy’s SEO is not your mastery of the current & ever changing quagmire – it’s understanding Etsy makes more money off of sellers when they can’t be found, Etsy is based on maintaining that model.
Annie Pilon
I’ve heard a lot of frustration from Etsy sellers in recent years – totally understandable! I feel like fully relying on a platform that’s constantly changing isn’t the best plan for a business. But I know some still like the ability to reach more customers through Etsy in addition to having a website of their own. Everyone just has to decide what’s right for them. But it’s definitely a shame that the platform seems to not be working as well for a lot of sellers.
Aira Bongco
It helps to think in the same way as your buyer. What would you type if you are searching for a product like yours? Your answer to that will lead you to some keywords. From here, you can search for more keywords using tools like Google Suggest and the likes.
Annie Pilon
That’s a great tip that a lot of people might overlook!
Sanjay
Hi Annie,
Awesome post. As an Etsy seller to increase my visibility on the web, I needed this guide. Thanks
Just have a question, when i put my focus keywords at the beginning of my listing its make no sence, so can i write some words first then put my focus keywords?