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Etsy SEO: Optimizing Your Etsy Shop for Keywords, Listing Descriptions, Tags, and Tools

Etsy SEO: Optimizing Your Etsy Shop for Keywords, Listing Descriptions, Tags, and Tools

Running your own Etsy store takes a lot of work and know-how. One vital feature of Etsy is the specific search engine optimization involved. Without it, your store won’t be able to reach its maximum potential– no matter how great your products are! 

If you’re looking for a guide on everything Etsy SEO, you’ve come to the right place. 

We’ll break down all you need to know about what Etsy SEO is, why it’s so important, and how you can use it to boost your store’s visibility.

So, what are you waiting for? Keep scrolling below!

What Is Etsy SEO?

Etsy SEO relates to how to make your store rank more highly within Etsy’s search. The more optimized your SEO is, the higher your store will potentially be ranked!

SEO is extremely important, as users generally only stay on the first page of a search query and will typically only click on the first few results that show up!

Learning how to optimize for Etsy’s search engine is crucial if you’re looking to run a successful store and make your brand more visible (as well as for a variety of other reasons).

Why Etsy SEO Is Important

Without intentionally implementing SEO, your store’s fate will be decided entirely by the Etsy search algorithm and by the SEO efforts made by other businesses.

In this situation, your store is likely to rank low and remain unseen by the majority of customers.

Search engine optimization is used by many businesses outside of the Etsy platform (i.e. on the World Wide Web)— and just like them, anyone operating within Etsy’s framework should optimize their store and product pages for Etsy search if they want to be successful!

Two Types Of SEO On Etsy

There are two types of SEO when it comes to Etsy; both will impact your search ratings, but in different areas. 

Read on to find out exactly how Google and Etsy SEO differ:

Google SEO

Google SEO is the optimization of web pages in accordance with the Google search algorithm. 

This means tailoring certain aspects of a web page so it shows on the first page of a search result page (and preferably at the top).

SEO is a vital part of digital marketing; the internet is a growing force and it’s showing no signs of stopping, meaning that Google SEO will only become more important in the short and long-term. 

The influence of Google SEO is being felt even outside of Google’s domain, as services with in-house search functions such as Etsy are also developing sophisticated search algorithms to provide users the most relevant results. 

That’s where Etsy SEO comes in.

Etsy SEO

Etsy SEO is how you optimize your Etsy product pages to get them to the top of search results pages on the Etsy platform. 

It works similarly to SEO for Google, in that the right balance of relevant keywords, images, titles, meta-tags, and product descriptions will land your Etsy store on the front page of any search for the keywords you’ve targeted!

How Etsy Searches Work: Elements, Algorithm, And What Impacts Etsy SEO

When it comes to understanding how Etsy searches work, there are a few elements at play that you need to understand in order for your SEO efforts to be successful. 

There’s no one perfect strategy; instead, it really depends on how all the elements work together to improve SEO as a whole.

Search results are determined by an algorithm, depending on the searched-for keyword. The algorithm is a piece of code that performs tasks step-by-step, seeing if each page that comes up fits the search criteria, and ranking each accordingly. 

So, what impacts SEO? What are these so-called criteria the Etsy search algorithm checks every page against? 

Well, it starts at the beginning– with query matching.

Query Matching

The search algorithm uses query matching to determine if a search result is relevant. 

A match query is a type of code that returns text matching with, or similar to, a provided text (in this case, the keywords users search for).

If a page is found to be query matching in some way, shape or form, the Etsy search algorithm will then perform its next integral function: Ranking.

Ranking

Etsy search results pages are ranked according to the following criteria, though it’s worth noting the exact weighting of each criterion is unknown– most likely intentionally to prevent excessive gaming of the system.

The good news is you can use the tips provided in this article to make improvements to your product page ranking scores!

Relevance

Keyword relevance is one essential contributing factor to good Etsy SEO practice. This is more than simply targeting keywords that relate to your product. 

Relevance is when a keyword in a customer’s search appears in both the title and tags of your listing. 

Etsy considers this to be more relevant than if the keyword appears in just one of those sections.

Not only should your keywords, product tags, attributes, categories, and titles all be relevant, they should be unique. Now, if you’re in a competitive market, this may be difficult. 

Consider what makes your product different, and what people are searching for. 

Include your findings into your title, product tags, and throughout your page (with care). With any luck, you’ll then be able to watch your page climb in the rankings!

Quality Of Your Listing

Etsy search takes a measure of how interesting your page is, otherwise referred to as its ‘quality’. 

This is measured by how many users view your page and purchase something. The more views and higher purchase rate, the better your listing quality is.

Trend And Recency

Another factor is recency, or ‘trend’. This refers to how recently your page was put up. New listings are given a boost by the Etsy search algorithm for a short amount of time.

Price

Price, specifically the price of shipping, plays a significant role in Etsy SEO. Stores that offer free shipping or some other sort of shipping assurance are prioritized in the rankings.

Customer Experience

A bad review is every seller’s worst nightmare. It’s true what you’ve heard: bad reviews on Etsy can negatively impact SEO.

Etsy search takes customer experience into account, which means if you’re a consistent receiver of customer dissatisfaction, you might not rank as highly as your more well-received competitors. 

So, it’s vitally important to make sure you’re selling quality products! 

Then, work on fostering a relationship with your customers– especially those who aren’t satisfied. 

If you’re able to figure out what the problem is and fix it, you might get some positive feedback as a result and improve your Etsy SEO.

Language

This one is obvious: Write your product descriptions, titles, and tags in the language of your target demographic. 

Know that the majority of your customers are from the US? Use American English. 

Are you experiencing a surge of popularity in Russia? Write with the Cyrillic alphabet! 

Your pages will perform better in the search results if they’re written in a language relevant to you and your customers. 

Location

As you might expect, Etsy search takes location into account. It wouldn’t be very effective if it showed Americans only Australian search results, or vice-versa! 

It’s important to know your clients down to where your products are most popular, and then targeting those places.

Seller-location is taken into account by Etsy search for all sellers in the EU, Australia, or Canada. 

Countries outside of those listed above are not considered by Etsy search.

Etsy SEO: Best Tips, Tricks, And Practices To Improve Visibility

Here are some of the best tips, tricks, and practices to improve visibility on Etsy. 

All of the following techniques are useful in improving your Etsy SEO results– it’s best to use them all in combination, rather than relying solely on one or two.

Choose A Relevant and Descriptive Shop Title

Shop titles on Etsy have to be two things if you’re wanting to optimize them effectively: They must be relevant (i.e., connected directly to what you are selling), and descriptive. 

Descriptive means that there’s detail in the shop title that elevates it above the level of ‘generic’. 

If shoppers wanted something generic, they could get mass-produced goods on Amazon or Aliexpress!

People come to Etsy so they can support unique creators; individuals, rather than corporations. 

Maybe you’re a carpenter specializing in chairs. Don’t just title your shop, “Chairs” – describe what makes your chairs special:

“Hand-carpented Outdoor Lounging Chairs”, and “Artisan Craftsmanship – chairs and more!” are some examples. Choose a relevant and descriptive shop title!

Use Keywords Relevant To Your Goals And Business

To understand what it means to use keywords relevant to your goals and business, it pays to know just how keywords work in Etsy search.

How Keywords Work In Etsy Search

Etsy search will look for any items on the site that match the phrases searched by a user. Matches that are exact are ranked higher. 

Customers searching for something like “wooden chairs” will be given results that have the word “wooden” and the word “chair” in them. 

Results that have both words together in the searched-for order will rank higher than those containing the right words but separately.

Finally, keywords at the beginning of a title outweigh those at the end. These are often put there purely to increase the chances of the page being picked up by the search.

Be sure to put your most relevant keywords at the beginning of your title, if and before you put more on the title’s end!

How To Find The Best Keywords For Your Etsy Listings

The following three variables should be considered when deciding how to find the best keywords for your Etsy listings. 

Occasion, style, and solution all have a part to play in determining the relevance and eventual quality of your on-page Etsy SEO.

  • Occasion

Are your products perfect for certain occasions, such as anniversaries, birthdays, or weddings? 

Be sure to include those terms in your tags, as shoppers often use blanket terms to get plenty of results.

  • Style

Similar to occasion, shoppers often have a vague sense of what they want, but are willing to explore within that. 

Use this to your advantage, and include what style/s your products may fall under, such as ‘contemporary’, ‘vintage’, ‘nostalgic’, ‘futuristic’, ‘autumnal’, ‘summery’, etc.

  • Solution

If your store/product aims to service a need and/or solve a problem, include that in your product tags! 

People shop to scratch an itch – utilize their itch to improve your SEO efforts. 

But, Avoid Keyword Stuffing!

One thing all Etsy store owners should avoid is keyword stuffing. 

You’ve probably seen it, either on Etsy itself or on websites especially in the earlier days of the internet. 

Back then, webmasters would often create extensive lists of keywords in the hope of being picked up by the widest number of searches. 

Additionally, don’t use the same keywords for every item you sell– regardless of whether they’re in a similar category. If you do, you’ll be competing against yourself and your SEO efforts (also known as “keyword cannibalization”)

Keyword stuffing is being actively combated by both Etsy and Google. Make sure to avoid getting penalized for over-stuffing your page with keywords, especially to the point your page is hard to navigate or understand.

Make Use Of All 13 Tags For Your Listings

While you shouldn’t overstuff your page, don’t neglect any tagging possibilities. You have 13 tags per listing– so use ‘em! 

Any tag left empty is a wasted opportunity. Be diverse and think outside the box to determine some of the underutilized SEO keywords your potential client base may be using. 

Use these to make your taglist diverse and easy-to-catch by the search algorithm! 

Front-Load Your Keywords

  • Item Title

This part  is the most straightforward: Include what the item is in your title! Use a keyword you’re certain a buyer would use when searching for your product.

  • Item Description

Here, you have more freedom. Up to 160 characters are available to you to make your product come alive. In the first 40 of these characters, use the most common keywords people use to search for your product. 

With the remaining 120, you can cover more ground; try and rank for keywords your competitors haven’t thought of yet! 

  • Shop Sections

You can make up to 20 shop sections within your store. 

The sheer number may not seem necessary if your products are all in the same category, but use this chance to capitalize on all the keyword potential you’ve got here!

Get creative, get diverse, and you’ll soon be ranking for terms you didn’t expect.

Regularly Update Your Listings

Take advantage of Etsy’s recency criteria by updating your listing regularly. If a listing is tagged as ‘recent’ by Etsy’s search, it will experience a boost in search result rankings for a limited time.

Get Inbound Links

A crucial element of SEO is inbound links. These are noted by the search engine crawler, and contribute hugely to the domain authority of your page. 

Domain authority is simply how trustworthy a page is; this is linked directly to SEO results.

Higher domain authority equals higher page rankings, so be sure to get inbound links in the following ways:

  • Promote On Social Media

Social media is titled so for a reason– everyone is on there, interacting, being ‘social’. Is there anywhere better to promote your product?

One of social media’s defining features is that there’s a niche for everyone. Find your niche, create a page, build up a base of followers and then start promoting! 

If your promotion is successful, people who interact with your posts may share or link them across social media (or even the entire internet!). 

This will give your Etsy store a huge increase in domain authority, and therefore higher SEO potential.

  • Work With Influencers And Bloggers

Rather than running an ad campaign yourself or paying big bucks for a specialized marketing agency, why not work with influencers and bloggers? 

They already have a brand or platform and act as walking advertisements, so you don’t have to worry about the middleman! Utilize this and connect with your chosen influencers’ fanbases for further promotion and inbound link-building.

Find influencers and bloggers who gel with your style, your service, and/or your product. 

Offer them some kind of deal, like a discounted or free sample of your product, in exchange for promoting them on social media. 

In this modern, social-media-driven age, influencers are at the forefront of advertising – like living billboards, they’re there to promote products. 

Developing a rapport with one or many influencers can be more effective in the long-term than even a professionally produced marketing campaign. It’s all about knowing your audience!

  • Collaborate With Other Etsy Sellers 

One way to get inbound links is to collaborate with other Etsy sellers. This method is particularly useful if: 

  1. Their products and yours are complimentary, rather than competitive. This means each product can be used to enhance the other in some way, rather than replace it.
  2. Your chosen collaborator has already built up a successful shop with many inbound links leading in. 

If so, you’ve just scored a huge increase in domain authority for your store– simply by working with someone else’s store and developing links between yours and theirs. 

If the links are good quality, you’ll benefit from your collaborators’ SEO efforts by default!

  • Affiliate Programs

Generate inbound links by starting your own affiliate program! Partner with bloggers and other web page owners that write content relevant to your product. 

Broker a deal with them to put links to your page on theirs; this is usually done in exchange for commission on sales generated via the linking page. 

Try and get your affiliate links spread out across the internet, so your store is established as one that can be trusted and has authority.

Prioritize Customer Service And Customer Experience 

Just as bad reviews will be analyzed by Etsy search and used to rank your page, good reviews affect your SEO standing too. 

By prioritizing customer service to ensure everyone has a good experience in your store, you’ll likely generate good reviews– and even possibly organic shares on the blogs or social media pages of satisfied customers! 

In Conclusion

There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy when it comes to Etsy SEO. Rather, there are many factors to consider, with the most important being keywords and their relevance.

While it’s vital to use the generic keywords you know people will search for, don’t stop there! 

Use shop categories and product descriptions to target as many diverse yet relevant keywords as you can, and be sure to update your pages regularly so they can be considered ‘recent’ by the search!

Write in the language/s your customers speak, and provide them with good service for a pleasant shopping experience.

Use everything you already know about Google SEO– along with everything you’ve just learnt here– to get your store and product pages ranking higher on Etsy just in time for the holiday season!